Behind Apple’s products is longtime designer Ive
AP
FILE - In this Oct. 14, 2008 file photo, Apple CEO Steve Jobs talks about Jonathan Ive, Apple senior vice president of Industrial Design, at a meeting in Cupertino, Calif. Jobs may be the company's most recognizable personality, but much of its cachet comes from its clean, friendly-looking designs _ the product of its head designer, Jonathan Ive. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)
Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO
Steve Jobs has been Apple’s most recognizable personality, but much of its cachet comes from its clean, inviting designs. For that, Apple can credit its head designer, Jonathan Ive.
Ive, a self-effacing 44-year-old Brit, helped Jobs bring Apple back from the brink of financial ruin with the whimsical iMac computer, whose original models came in bright colors at a time when bland shades dominated the PC world. He later helped transform Apple into a consumer electronics powerhouse and the envy of Silicon Valley with the iPod, the iPhone and, most recently, the iPad.
In the wake of Jobs’ resignation as CEO, Apple must show that it can keep churning out head-turning products even without its charismatic leader. Apple’s chief operating officer, Tim Cook, is now CEO, taking on the role of Apple’s public face.
But in many ways the real pressure will fall on Ive to make sure Apple continues its string of gadget successes.
Ive, known to his friends as “Jony,” has led Apple’s design team since the mid-’90s. Working closely with Jobs, Ive has built a strong legacy at Apple.
Apple’s pride in this work is evident even in the packaging: Open up any iPhone box, for example, and see Apple proudly proclaim, “Designed by Apple in California.” Six of Ive’s works, including the original iPod, are even part of the collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
“Products have to be designed better now for people to buy them because of Jony Ive and Steve Jobs and Apple,” Antonelli said. “All of a sudden people have gotten used to elegance and beauty, and there’s no going back.”
Ive started out far from Apple Inc.’s Cupertino headquarters. He grew up outside London and studied design at Newcastle Polytechnic (now Northumbria University) in Newcastle, England. After finishing school, he co-founded a London-based design company called Tangerine. There, he designed a range of products including combs and power tools. It was through Tangerine that he first got to work with Apple.
In 1992, while Jobs was still in the midst of a 12-year exile from Apple, the company’s design chief at the time, Robert Brunner, hired Ive as a senior designer. Thomas Meyerhoffer, who worked under Ive at Apple in the ’90s, believes Ive came because he understood Apple was different from other computer companies.
Brunner left in 1996 and suggested that Ive take the post. When Jobs returned and became interim CEO in 1997, he named Ive as senior vice president of industrial design.
With Jobs again at the helm and Ive as his style guru, Apple refocused around design and produced a hit that got the company back on track. Apple shook up the personal computer industry in 1998 with the candy-colored all-in-one iMac desktop.
These days, Apple’s products are more popular than ever, allowing the company to surpass rival Microsoft Corp. last year as the most valuable technology company in the world.