Jony Ive is the senior vice president of the design division within the Apple company and, believe it or not, he is one of the most important current employees of those from Cupertino. Because Ive is so important in the gearing of the Apple company, the New Yorker thought of doing an extended profile to present the man behind the "character" Jony Ive. The whole profile presents life of Jony Ive from the moment of his employment at Apple in the 90s and up to the present day, he is now working in a world where the former CEO Steve Jobs no longer exists.
We put the product ahead of anything else. Let's say we're talking about something that I've done that's ugly and ill-proportioned—because, believe you me, I can pull some beauties out of the old hat. Akana had proposed that an Ultrasuede cloth inside the box for a gold version of the Apple Watch should be an orangey-brown. I have objected with comic hyperbole, comparing it to the carpeting in a dismal student apartment.
The profile begins with a presentation of Jony Ive's secret laboratory, which is "dominated" by work tables with various components of some products under development. Ive's design team focuses on every aspect of a product's design, so each table has the attention of one or more people from the team of 16 designers. Each designer makes proposals for the products under development, and an example is given for the Apple Watch, one of the designers proposing an orange-brown material to cover the gold watch case, Jony Ive comparing the material to the carpet of a student apartment.
Jobs visited the design studio and, as I've recalled it, said, "Fuck, you've not been very effective, have you?" This was a partial compliment. Jobs could see that the studio's work had value, even if Ive could be faulted for not communicating its value to the company. During the visit, Ive said, Jobs "became more and more confident, and got really excited about our ability to work together."
Speaking about the first meeting with Steve Jobs, Ive claims that the former CEO criticized him for caring too much about what others say about him, the vice president learning to make harsh criticism without caring about the impressions of employees, as Jobs did. The collaboration with Jobs began with a criticism regarding the poor way in which Ive presents the value of a product to the company, but the former CEO was always confident in their relationship and in the fact that it will give rise to extremely important products.
You can find additional details in the profile made by the New York Times and I recommend that you read it in its entirety.
