Jony Ive Shares his Thoughts on Design and the Tech Industry in a Recent, Interesting Interview

[RaduTyrsina]

Apple's design SVP Jony Ive gave a rare live interview at Vanity Fair's New Establishment Summit in San Francisco. He spoke with Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter about a variety of topics, focusing mainly on Apple's current lineup of consumer gadgets.

Here are some highlights from the interview:

What do you think of Xiaomi, the Chinese startup often criticized for copying Apple designs?

There is a danger...I don't see it as flattery. I see it as theft. (Talking about copying desings in general). When you're doing something for the first time and you don't know it's going to work. I have to be honest the last thing I think is "Oh, that is flattering. All those weekends I could've been home with my family...I think it's theft and lazy. I don't think it's OK at all."

Why did you go back to rounded edges on the iPhone?

Years ago we made prototypes with bigger screens. They were interesting features having a bigger screen, but the end result was a lousy product because they were clunky like a lot of competitors' phones are still. Years ago we realized this is going to be important that we have larger screens but we need to do a lot of things to make it a compelling product.

What was the first Apple product you used before joining Apple?

In art school. The computers colleges had were terrible. I assumed the problems were with me.

When you eat something that's bad, you assume the food is bad. But when you use a bad product, you assume it's you.

In art school I used the Mac. There were some shocking things. For the first time in my life, I had a very clear sense of the people who had gotten together to design and make that product. I realized there are stuff that we do that attest to our values. From that point, I developed a real interest about these group of guys in California that made a computer that you could change the noises. I was absolutely intrigued by that. I wanted to find out who did this.

How did you end up at Apple?

I met the guys at Apple and then went back to London and did my own designs. Apple went on a big world tour to find a designer and chose me. I had two commissions: One to work with Apple on the PowerBook. The other was working in ceramics for an English company to design bathroom hardware. The contrast between the two projects was fantastic. Then I decided to come out with Apple.

Lessons working with Steve Jobs?

Focus. Steve was the most focused person I've met in my life. It's terrifying that when you really truly focus, it seems a bit illegal. You can achieve so much. Steve would say "How many things have you said no to?" And I would have these sacrificial things...and he knew that I wasn't interested in doing those things anyway. What focus means is saying no with every bone in your body to something you know is a good idea but you say no because you're focused on something else.

I remember talking to Steve Jobs and asked why he was perceived as harsh. And I said couldn't we be more moderate? And he said why? And I said because I care about the team. And he said: "No Jony, you're just really vain. You just want people to like you. I'm surprised at you, because I thought you really held the work up as the most important and not how you are perceived by people."

People misunderstand Steve because he was so focused.

Source: Vanity Fair