Interview with iPhone Designer Jonathan Ive

By Rene Ritchie
last updated

If Steve Jobs is the patron behind the concept of the iPhone, then Jonathan Ive is certainly the artist whose hand crafted its ultimate realization.

Apple's reclusive Vice President of Design recently spoke with the Independant's Claire Beale on the nature of design, winning an unprecedented six (6!) Black Pencil awards, and what drives Apple's success:

"We have a very clear focus that all the development teams at Apple share, a focus around trying to make really great products. That can sound ridiculously simplistic, almost naive, but it's very unique for the product to be what consumes you completely. And when I say the product I mean the product in its total sense, the hardware and the software, the complete experience that people will have. We push each other, we're very self-critical and we'll take the time to get the product right."

Witness, of course, the iPhone.

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Rene Ritchie
Rene Ritchie
Contributor

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.

5 Comments
  • I have been (impatiently) waiting for one aspect of the IPhone to be fixed so I can buy one. You need to be able to use a fingernail to type letters in an email. Having to use the pad of your finger is very difficult to do with any speed, especially if you have any length in your fingernails (which thousands of us women and some men have). Otherwise, I love this gadget! But I cannot and will not buy one until this problem is corrected. Please listen Mr. Designer man!!!!!
  • That isn't a fixable problem, it is just the way the technology works. "Fixing' it would require a drastic technological redesign of the entire device.
  • Dang. I was hoping the guy would look more like Bill Gates than some hipster Apple dude.
  • I believe several companies are working on iPhone Styli : )
  • @Harold:
    He's a Commander of the British Empire, for Jobsake! So that would be more Stephen Hawking than some hipster Brit, at least!
    @Vincent:
    Why do you want to make Ive cry?
    @Julia:
    Never thought about the long nailed women, but the iPhone requires a finger because inanimate objects don't trigger it (if they did, it would cause all sorts of other problems). Knuckle typing would be terrible... Hmmm... An engineering problem to be sure...