6 Secrets Apple’s Chief Design Officer Revealed in Naomi Campbell Interview
Apple Chief Design Officer Jony Ive is an influential man. Not just at Cupertino, but in the entire technology industry. Indeed, the products and services he personally works on have a global reach— from the iPod to the iPhone.
Ive isn't a stranger to interviews. But, in a new interview conducted by Naomi Campbell and published in the British Vogue on Monday, Apple's chief designer revealed a handful of secrets on everything from his design process to what he looks for in a new hire.
6 Apple's Reason for 'Secrecy'
Apple is notorious for its strict culture of secrecy, and it’s a point that the Vogue interviewer touched upon during her chat with Ive. “Is it hard not discussing what you’re up to?” she asked the Apple design chief.
Interestingly, Ive was hesitant to outright call it secrecy. Instead, he the culture is built to protect the “idea” and keep it away from “premature criticism,” he said.
“I don’t really see it as being secretive — if I’m working on something and it’s not finished, I don’t want to show somebody!”
5 He Really Misses Steve Jobs
In many of his interviews, Ive talks about late Apple cofounder Steve Jobs. And, specifically, the working relationship the two had when pioneering Apple products. “We looked at the world in the same way,” Ive told Vogue, going on to say that he misses and appreciates Jobs more as time goes on.
“Steve understood the creative process in a way that’s extremely rare…” Ive told Campbell. “There was an incredible liberty in the way he would think. He wouldn’t obey rules that were perceived to be accepted wisdom, and he had an extraordinary optimism and enthusiasm. He was so inquisitive — and very supportive of me.”
4 How to Get Hired By Him
To wrap up the interview, Campbell asked Ive what he looks for when hiring a new team member. In response, Ive said that the “main thing is how they see the world.”
He went on to say that Jobs’ legacy is a “set of values” including a “belief in trying.”
“Often the quietest voices are the easiest to overlook, but (Jobs) was brilliant at listening as well as leading and speaking,” Ive added. “A lot of communication is listening — not just listening to figure out what you want to say in response.”
3 He’s Most Proud of FaceTime
Campbell asked Ive if there was anything he was particularly proud of designing — and she specifically brought up FaceTime, Apple’s cross-OS video chatting platform. In response, Ive said he’s proud of his work on that feature.
“FaceTime is one of the most lovely examples of communication,” he said. Whereas some types of digital communication, like texting, is very “transactional,” Ive said that FaceTime is much more intimate and nuanced. “Seeing someone’s eyes is really important.”
2 How He Started as a Designer
Ive revealed several facets of his childhood, including how he got his start as someone involved in the creative and design industry. From a young age, Ive enjoyed “drawing and making things.”
The Apple designer added that he didn’t draw “for its own sake,” but as a way to help him make something.
“I later found out that was called design,” he added. That’s a skill his parents encouraged, too.
His father was a silversmith, which helped him to grow up “understanding how things were made.”
1 On His Work Process
At one point, Campbell brought up a rumor that Ive slept on the factory floor during the production of the first iPhone. While he didn’t specifically acknowledge the validity of that rumor, he did speak about some of the laborious work process.
Ive said that he and his team are “very involved” in the manufacturing process of Apple’s devices. “I’ve stayed for months in places where we make products. I don’t know how you can be an effective designer and not do that,” Ive said. Later, the Apple designer said he balances his work and life “appallingly.”