Designer Profile: Jony Ive

Jony Ive (image from apple.com)

Monday February 17, 2014 was a scary moment for Apple fans.  The biography information for Sir Jonathan Ive (Jony Ive) was missing from the Apple Leadership page.  Jony Ive, after Steve Jobs, may be the most well known figure in Apple, and rightfully so.  As the Senior Vice President of Design, he is responsible for the beauty and simplicity that Apple products showcase.

Jony Ive was born in Chingford, London UK in 1967.  He received his Bachelor of Arts from Newcastle Polytechnic and focussed on industrial design.  In 1992 he was commissioned as a consultant for Apple and eventually became a full time employee.  In just 5 years he became Senior Vice President of Industrial Design on Steve Jobs' return to the company.  With Jobs' return and Ive's leadership in design, Apple had a huge turnaround. In 1998 Apple released the original iMac which was very popular (selling two million units in its first year).  He went on to design the original iPod in 2001, the iPhone in 2007, and the iPad in 2010.  Six of Ive's works are on permanent display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Original iMac (image from designmuseum.org)

Jony Ive is featured discussing some of his work in Gary Hustwit's documentary Objectified.  In this documentary, Dieter Rams, the chief designer of Braun from 1961-1995, explains that Apple is one of just a few companies that follow his Ten Principles of Good Design.  Ive was influenced by Rams' work.

Looking at Apple today you can see some of Jony Ive's biggest accomplishments.  He is responsible for the iMac, iPod, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and the iPhone.  Because of the work that Jony Ive did, Apple has become synonymous with beautiful products and good design.  Many companies have tried to copy the look of Apple products in their own due to the reputation of the design. 

HP Envy - of the MacBook Pro? (image from HP)

Jony Ive has received numerous awards for his work in design. He was awarded Designer of the Year by the Design Museum of London in 2003. In 2004 he was named the Most Influential Person on British Culture by the BBC.  Ive was listed at #1 on Fast Company's list of 100 Most Creative People in Business in 2009.  Also in the year he was named Inventor of the Decade by The Guardian and #2 in Forbe's list of Most Powerful People in Technology.  He was knighted in 2012 for his service to design and enterprise.

Jony Ive also occasionally designs products for other organizations and auctions.  His most notable design was for a Leica camera, which set a record for auction price for a camera at $1,805,000.

Leica camera designed by Jony Ive (image from http://britishphotohistory.ning.com)

With the departure of Scott Forstall from Apple, Jony Ive became the lead designer for the mobile operating system, iOS.  His first project became the newly released iOS7, which sparked the biggest change in design in iOS since it came out in 2007 with the original iPhone.  This was a departure from skeuomorphism design and introduced a flat UI to Apple's mobile operating system.  The reintroduction of bright colors accompanied the design as well.  Ive's official title now is an all encompassing Senior Vice President of Design at Apple. 

I think Jony Ive is one of the most notable and influential designers of our generation.  I don't solely think that Apple's success is based on Jony Ive alone, but he has certainly made a huge contribution to the company. 

If you'd like to find out more about Jony Ive you may want to check out the recently published biography by Leander Kahney entitled Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple's Greatest Products.