Jonathan Ive speaks on the brilliance of Apple design [Video]

Mon, Nov 9, 2009

Featured, News

Objectified is a 2009 documentary about Industrial Design, and Apple design guru Jonathan Ive was naturally a perfect choice to be interviewed for the film.  Ive, of course, has behind some of Apple’s most memorable designs, such as the iPod, the first iMac and its subsequent updates, and the iPhone as well.  Below, check out Ive’s contribution to Objectified where he discusses the impetus behind what he feels signifies good design.

Solid stuff, and one of the more telling quotes, we feel, is when Ive discusses the design of the iPhone:

a lot of what we seem to be doing in a product like that is actually getting design out of the way, and I think when forms develop with that sort of reason, and they’re not just arbitrary shapes, it feels almost inevitable, it feels almost un-designed, it feels almost like “of course it’s that way, I mean, why wouldn’t it be any other way?”

Indeed, when you look at an iPhone, the design seems so blatantly obvious that it’s sometimes hard to appreciate Apple’s design prowess until you hold and use devices from other manufacturers.  There’s a quote from the under-appreciated TV Show Futurama that aptly describes Apple design - “When you do things right, people won’t be sure you’ve done anything at all.”

And lastly, make sure to get a good look at the Apple design facility wherein Ive is interviewed - it’s probably the most extensive ‘tour’ of the place you’ll ever see.