Jony Ive

Apple’s PR tour for the Apple Watch doesn’t appear to be slowing down with Apple’s design chief Jony Ive showing off the device and revealing an exclusive collection of never before seen Sport band colors tonight in Milan. Apple this morning kicked off a showcase of the device at Milan’s Salone Del Mobile Design Fair in Itlay, which was attended by Apple executives including marketing head Phil Schiller and designer Marc Newson.

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Less than 24 hours after a report surfaced revealing Scott Forstall began serving as an advisor to Snapchat last year, the former iOS chief has announced via his Twitter account an unrelated project: a Broadway musical.

I’m thrilled to be co-producing the Broadway musical Fun Home http://funhomebroadway.com  opening this Sunday. Bravo to the phenomenal team!

The announcement is especially notable as it marks the first time the former Apple executive has surfaced in public since his ousting at Apple under current CEO Tim Cook in late 2012.
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WIRED has posted a new story on the Apple Watch, which revolves around interviews with Apple human interface designer Alan Dye and Apple’s VP Technology Kevin Lynch, who heads Apple Watch software. The piece shines new light on the foundation of the smartwatch project at Apple as well as some new details about the product — which ships later this month.

Amusingly, Lynch did not know what he would be working on when he accepted the Apple job. He walked into the role with the project already underway; early ‘experiments’ from the iPod team with click-wheels and such. Dye says that the idea for a watch blossomed during design meetings for iOS 7, Apple’s major software overhaul.

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Apple will introduce several major initiatives to ready its retail stores for the Apple Watch’s launch in April, according to sources briefed on the upcoming changes. Starting on April 10th, Apple will allocate 15 minutes per customer for in-store try-on appointments, using 10 or more try-on stations to manage what’s expected to be a steady flow of customers interested in having hands-on time with the Watch. While customers will not necessarily be required to have an appointment, they will be time-limited and guided during the hands-on experience. Additionally, they will be given the opportunity to place a reservation at the time of try-on for a particular model, and make a follow-up appointment to pick the watch up during the April 24th launch date. Stores will also have launch day stock for walk-in appointments.

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Although many people expected that Apple’s Spring Forward event would mostly focus on the Apple Watch, more than half of the event — notably, the first part — covered other topics. Collectively, there were so many interesting developments that their individual significance was somewhat lost, particularly given that long-awaited Watch pricing news wrapped up the event.

That’s why I wanted to reconsider what Spring Forward revealed about some of Apple’s non-Watch products. Some of the announcements signal that big changes are ahead for Apple’s Mac, iPad, and Apple TV product lines, as well as Apple itself. Read on for my thoughts, and add yours to the comments section below…

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London’s Financial Times today carries a profile of Jony Ive in which he discusses how the Mac changed his dislike of computers, why he is consumed by design and disinterested in sales, the difference between designing a phone (and its slim battery)  and designing a smartwatch–and why Apple decided to take a low-key approach on even the top-end Edition watch.

The piece also contained an interesting (if possibly mistaken) estimate on Apple Watch pricing (update: Apple PR has now confirmed to us that the FT is indeed mistaken) … 
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Apple will soon make a significant change to retail store Genius Bar appointments to improve the customer experience, according to several sources briefed on the upcoming shift. During the week of March 9th, Apple’s United States stores will launch a new initiative called “The new Concierge” that replaces traditional walk-in Genius Bar appointments. Currently, a customer seeking Genius Bar assistance can walk into an Apple Retail Store, explain the issue to a check-in assistant, and get a specific time to return for an appointment…

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In an amusing retaliation to Jony Ive’s opinion of Motorola’s Moto Maker, Motorola president described their company as a ‘different philosophy’ as well as directly attacking Apple’s product lineup, describing iPhone prices as ‘outrageous’ in a conversation with the BBC.
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The New Yorker has published an extensive profile on Jony Ive, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Design. Many newspapers have written up articles on Ive in recent years, but this latest account by Ian Parker is by far the most detailed and (arguably) the most interesting, revealing new anecdotes and tidbits on Apple’s latest products in the process.

The story tracks how Jony arrived at Apple back in the late 90’s, how his relationship with Jobs developed over that period, and how he is adapting to ‘leading’ design in post-Jobs Apple. The piece includes some new details about how the Watch project and the newest iPhones formed, as well as incorporating quotes from Tim Cook, Bob Mansfield, and others.

Read on for some select excerpts from The New Yorker’s story.

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Samsung announced last year that, after negative reviews of the design of its Galaxy S5, its head of mobile design Change Dong-hoon was being replaced by then VP of mobile design Lee Min-hyouck. Today, however, it was revealed that the company is bringing in an outside designer to help refresh its product lineup. A report from the Korea Herald states that Samsung has hired Lee Don-tae to be its new head of design. Don-tae would lead design of all Samsung gadgets, including smartphones.

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Apple Watch at Colette

We’ve already seen how Apple is presenting the upcoming Apple Watch, which it calls its most personal device yet, as not just another technology device but also a piece of jewelry that the fashion world will be proud to embrace.

9to5Mac has now learned from internal hiring documents that Apple is recruiting retail candidates this month with “a fashion or luxury background” suggesting Apple is preparing to deliver some changes to its retail stores in time for the Apple Watch’s early 2015 debut. With former Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts leading Apple’s retail efforts and the Apple Watch set to transform the Apple Store into a jewelry store, what could a potential Apple Store makeover include?
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[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KggyHTY1mIA]

UX designer Joseph Shaffery shared some quotes from a talk Apple’s design head Jony Ive gave (another account) to an audience of designers last night at London’s Design Museum – together with his take on the three top tips a designer should take away from the evening … 
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Apple chief designer Jony Ive said that designing the Apple Watch was more difficult than the iPhone because it needed to meet so many diverse expectations, reports the WSJ.

“Even though Apple Watch does so many things, there are cultural, historical implications and expectations,” Ive said. “That’s why it’s been such a difficult and humbling program […] As soon as something is worn, we have expectations of choice,” said Ive. Only “in prison,” he joked, do people all wear the same thing.

He made the remarks while accepting the 2014 Bay Area Treasure Award from San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art last night … 
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Last week Jony Ive took part in an interview during Vanity Fair’s New Establishment Summit where he discussed topics such as his views on product design, development of the first iPhone, Steve Jobs, and more. Today the magazine made the full 25-minute video from the interview available for viewing.

In the interview, Ive calls the fact that some other companies copy Apple’s product design style “theft” and gives more insight into the process behind why (and how) the first iPhone featured a large touchscreen display when other phones of the day were getting smaller and smaller. He also discusses his first experience with an Apple product and how to led to his current career in design.

You can watch the full video below:

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Image via <a href="https://twitter.com/stevekovach/status/520360606994415617" target="_blank">Steve Kovach</a>

Jony Ive appeared live today at Vanity Fair’s New Establishment Summit and talked about Apple’s design team, principles, and process. For example, the executive revealed that Apple’s core design team is made up of only about 16 people, and the company almost gave up on the first-generation iPhone because they weren’t sure they could get a touch interface working.

According to Business Insider, Ive said that no one has ever voluntarily left his small design team, which is a pretty fantastic track record. He also said that the rounded edges on the newest iPhone models were designed to make it feel thinner. Previous attempts had been made at creating a larger iPhone, but the squared edges made it feel bulky.

You can find some of the more interesting tidbits below. Video footage of the event below.

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Vogue has published a new interview with Jony Ive, covering the life of the designer from his beginnings to the present day. Whilst many of the stories are simply retellings of previous interviews, the piece discusses Ive’s relationship with Marc Newson and — most importantly — Ive comments on the new Apple Watch. Apparently, Sullivan (the Vogue interviewer) was allowed to see the watch several weeks before the September 9th public unveiling.

When Ive shows it to me—weeks before the product’s exhaustive launch, hosted by new CEO Tim Cook—in a situation room that has us surrounded by guards, it feels like a matter of national security. Yet despite all the pressure, he really just wants you to touch it, to feel it, to experience it as a thing. And if you comment on, say, the weight of it, he nods. “Because it’s real materials,” he says proudly. Then he wants you to feel the connections, the magnets in the strap, the buckle, to witness the soft but solid snap, which he just loves as an interaction with design, a pure, tactile idea. “Isn’t that fantastic?”

Ive once again mentions that Apple Watch development began over three years ago. Cook has previously said that work on the project started just after Jobs died, in October 2011. In the interview, Ive discusses the evolution of watches and how the wristwatch concept was actually very late to the game relatively.

He also touches on how he believes Apple Watch will enable new forms of communication, referencing the drawing, walkie-talkie and emoticon features.

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Earlier this week, ABC News teased an exclusive look at Apple’s newly-revealed product lineup. Today, the network put the first clip from that segment online, giving viewers a peek at an interiew with Tim Cook conducted right after the press event. Now ABC anchor David Muir has posted another clip, this time featuring Apple’s design chief Jony Ive.

In the clip, Ive notes that the entire Apple Watch project has been in development for about three years and discusses the “millions” of possible band, face, and casing combinations that make up the full family of wearables.

You can view the two-minute video below. The full interview aired earlier this evening, but is not yet available online.

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Marc Newson has joined Apple’s design team under Jony Ive, according to a new report which was confirmed by Apple. The duo have previously worked together to create such products as a special edition red Mac Pro and a similar Lieca M camera, so it’s no surprise to see Newson officially join forces with his good friend at Cupertino. As quoted by Vanity Fair:

“Marc is without question one of the most influential designers of this generation,” Ive said in a statement provided to VF Daily. “He is extraordinarily talented. We are particularly excited to formalize our collaboration as we enjoy working together so much and have found our partnership so effective.”

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