Jony Ive

Apple designer Marc Newson criticizes auto industry over lack of progress

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

An interview with the world renown designer and recent Apple-hire Marc Newson popped up in The Wall Street Journal yesterday, covering a wide range of topics. The discussion yielded a number of interesting tidbits, including Newson's thoughts on automotive design.

When asked what his design pet-peeve is, News responds unapologetically "the automotive industry." He goes on to elaborate, "there were moments when cars somehow encapsulated everything that was good about progress. But right now we’re at the bottom of a trough."

Apple promotes Jony Ive to Chief Design Officer, Tim Cook sends memo to troops

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 25, 2015

According to an internal memo CEO Tim Cook sent to Apple employees on Monday, Jonathan Ive, Apple's Senior Vice President of Design, has been promoted to a brand new role: Chief Design Officer.

According to the memo, a copy of which was obtained by 9to5Mac, Apple has also appointed Richard Howarth, who has been part of the iPhone team from the onset, its new Vice President of Industrial Design in charge of hardware design.

Human Interface chief Alan Dye has received a promotion, too. He is now Apple's new Vice President of User Interface Design in charge of both desktop and mobile user interface experiences.

Jony Ive talks Apple Watch’s mission and Apple’s approach to 21st century luxury

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 1, 2017

Jony Ive is in the limelight again. Earlier this morning, Condé Nast's inaugural International Luxury Conference kicked off in Florence, Italy — the birthplace of the Renaissance - and Ive, Apple's Senior Vice President of Design, was joined on stage by fellow industrial designer Marc Newson, who helped create the Apple Watch.

As reported by the British edition of the fashion magazine Vogue, Apple's wrist-worn device was the chief topic of conversation, with Ive discussing how Apple's approach to 21st-century luxury compares with traditional luxury as we know it.

Jony Ive shows off exclusive Apple Watch Sport band colors in Milan

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Apple continued its PR push for Apple Watch in Italy this evening, Jony Ive hosting a Design Week event in Milan allowing folks to try on the new wearable. The design chief also used the occasion to unveil what appear to be exclusive new colorways for the Apple Watch Sport band.

The photos you see both above and below, first spotted by 9to5Mac, were posted to Instagram by Umberta Gnutti Beretta, wife of heir to the Beretta firearms empire Franco. In them you can see Ive posing for photos, and a platter with dark blue, red, yellow, and light pink Sport bands.

Tim Cook makes TIME’s 100 Most Influential People list

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Tim Cook added to his long list of accolades on Thursday, by making TIME's annual '100 Most Influential People' list. The Apple CEO joins other pioneers, leaders and cultural icons such as rap artist Kanye West, Pope Francis, and Xiaomi founder Lei Jun.

Civil rights leader and Georgia Congressman John Lewis calls Cook a 'courageous innovator' in his TIME piece on the executive, praising him for both the work he has done at Apple, and his unwavering commitment to the fight for equality and human rights.

Jony Ive and Marc Newson to open ‘Conde Nast Luxury Conference’ in April

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Apple designers Jony Ive and Marc Newson are going to open the inaugural 'Conde Nast Luxury Conference,' Vogue announced today. The event will be held on April 22nd and 23rd, in Florence, Italy, and will focus on the future of luxury and technology.

"Apple is now a powerful part of the luxury industry," said International Vogue Editor and conference chief Suzy Menkes. "The iPhone, iPad, and the forthcoming Apple Watch are in direct competition with handbags, timepieces and high-end accessories."

Jony Ive discusses Apple Watch in another fascinating interview ahead of April launch

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 6, 2015

The Apple Watch is just around the corner and Apple's PR department is in full swing. In addition to a series of fashion magazine covers featuring the device and a wide-ranging interview with Jony Ive in The New Yorker, London's Financial Times newspaper has now been given access to Apple's design czar.

Billed as “the man behind the Apple Watch”, Ive shares a few interesting details with FT's Nick Foulkes regarding crafting Apple's first wearable device.

He also touched upon other related topics such as the team’s meticulous attention to detail, the myopic approach to designing the Watch, how the device differs from the iPhone in terms of usage patterns and much more.

Jony Ive and Tesla’s Elon Musk reportedly ‘inseparable’ at Oscars afterparty

Cody Lee ∙ Updated June 11, 2018

Apple's Jony Ive and Tesla CEO Elon Musk were acting pretty chummy at a party following the Academy Awards Sunday night, reports AppleInsider. The publication says that the pair were "basically inseparable" at Madonna's A-list afterparty, and exited together around 5am.

The conversation is interesting to us given the recent chatter that Apple is building an electric car. While we doubt they talked about automotive design all night, it seems unlikely that two of Silicon Valley's most influential people spent the entire night discussing the weather.

Jony Ive-designed lightsaber would look like this

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 14, 2018

An astonishingly detailed profile of Apple's design head Jony Ive that was published last week by The New Yorker makes an interesting side note about an upcoming Star Wars movie.

According to the article, director J.J. Abrams said Ive made “very specific” suggestions about lightsaber design for Star Wars: The Force Awakens movie.

The quote prompted 3D artist Martin Hajek to come up with a batch of renderings showcasing his amusing depiction of a Jony Ive-fied Star Wars lightsaber.

Motorola president says Apple charging ‘outrageous prices’

Jake Smith ∙ February 18, 2015

The smack talk between Apple and Motorola continues, as Motorola president Rick Osterloh called out Apple for "outrageous prices" in an interview published by the BBC on Wednesday.

"We do see a real dichotomy in this marketplace, where you've got people like Apple making so much money and charging such outrageous prices. We think that's not the future," Osterloh said. "We believe the future is in offering similar experiences and great consumer choice at accessible prices."

Wide-ranging profile offers Jony Ive’s thoughts on cars, watches, the future and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 16, 2015

The New Yorker's February 2015 issue features a lengthy interview with British-born designer Jonathan Ive who is widely credited with helping revive Apple's fortunes alongside his spiritual mentor Steve Jobs, who used to call Ive “my best friend in the whole world”.

Suggestively headlined “The Shape Of Things To Come,” the extensive profile offers deep insight into Ive's brain and centers around topics like the Apple Watch, cars, creating the iPhone 6 and working with Steve Jobs.

Seriously, it's an epic article you absolutely shouldn't pass. It also covers other wide ranging topics and reveals a few previously unknown tidbits about Apple's industrial design czar and his design process.

Here are the most interesting takeaways from the interview.

Jony Ive: creating Apple Watch posed more challenges than iPhone development

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 31, 2014

Creating the Apple Watch, Apple's first new category device since Steve Jobs's passing in late 2011, posed more challenges than iPhone development due to social expectations around wearing a pocket computer on one's wrist, Apple's design tzar Jony Ive told The Wall Street Journal on Friday.

Ive and his team are largely responsible for the look and feel of Apple's hardware over the past two decades, and since 2011 have been tasked with stewardship of the software and all design across the company.

Here are a few soundbites from the interview.