Today, as reported by BBC, Jonathan Ive (Apple’s senior vice president of industrial design) was knighted in Buckingham Palace. During his continuing tenure at Apple, starting in 1992, Ive has had a significant impact on what are arguably the best designs in the technology sector. He’s also worked on a wide spectrum of products, ranging from the MessagePad110 to the current iPods and iPhone models.
In an exclusive interview with The Telegraph, following his newfound knighthood, Ive revealed some interesting aspects of his life and his astounding achievements.
His incredible run of success has made him revered in the design community and helped him to amass a fortune in excess of £80 million. Even so, he says, he isn’t recognised all that often. “People’s interest is in the product, not in its authorship,” he says.
Ive, apparently a real team player, continually mentioned the teams he’s worked with over the years during the interview. Additionally, instead of taking full credit, whenever possible Ive used phrases such as: “We’re keenly aware that when we develop …”:
‘We try to develop products that seem somehow inevitable. That leave you with the sense that that’s the only possible solution that makes sense,’ he explains. ‘Our products are tools and we don’t want design to get in the way. We’re trying to bring simplicity and clarity, we’re trying to order the products’.
While Ive has received numerous rewards in the past for his outstanding work, they simply pale in comparison to his recent accession to knighthood – which is indubitably an impressive feat. As an exciting endpoint, Ive gave the public something to look forward to.
When asked which design has been the most memorable, Ive strayed from the past and mentioned the present: “It’s a really tough one. A lot does seem to come back to the fact that what we’re working on now feels like the most important and the best work we’ve done, and so it would be what we’re working on right now, which of course I can’t tell you about”. With that said, stay tuned for coverage on Apple’s upcoming, and hopefully game-changing, products that will inevitably be released.
