Jonathan Ive on Design and Apple's Focus on Great Products Instead of Profits

MacRumors · Jul 30, 2012

Wired UK reports that Apple design chief Jonathan Ive participated in a keynote session today at the UK Trade & Investment department's Global Business Summit on Creative Services in which he offered up some of his thoughts on the creative process at Apple and other anecdotes about his two decades at the company. While he had previously shared some of his thoughts on design, his comments today offer a bit more perspective on how things work at Apple.

"To me I still think it's remarkable that at a point in time on a Tuesday afternoon there isn't an idea and then suddenly later on there is an idea. Invariably they start as a tentative, barely-formed thought that becomes a conversation between a couple of people."

Apple then builds a prototype that embodies the idea and that's when the idea goes through "the most incredible transition". "You go from something tentative and exclusive to something tangible and -- by nature of it being a thing -- a table of people can sit around it and start to understand it; it becomes inclusive and it galvanises and points to a direction for effort."

Ive, who shared his unsurprising view that design should be a "prerequisite" and not simply one aspect of product development, also repeated several mantras that have been commonly quoted by Apple executives, calling good the enemy of great and noting that Apple says "no" to many, many good ideas in order to focus all of its energies on a select few great ones.

Ive also made reference to Steve Jobs' return to Apple in 1997, noting that he brought a fresh view in which the company focused on making great products with the belief that profits would follow, rather than focusing first on profits.

"We are really pleased with our revenues but our goal isn't to make money. It sounds a little flippant, but it's the truth. Our goal and what makes us excited is to make great products. If we are successful people will like them and if we are operationally competent, we will make money," he said.

Ive has long been a very private individual, but has begun opening up a bit more to the public as Apple's stature has grown and accolades for his group's design work have continued to roll in. Ive was knighted in late May, and he noted at the time that Apple's current projects are "the most important and the best work" his team has done with the company.

Article Link: Jonathan Ive on Design and Apple's Focus on Great Products Instead of Profits

spiderman0616 · Jul 30, 2012

Ive is a genius--though if you go by the forum comments lately, I think a lot of people assume he doesn't work there anymore after Jobs' death.

Mr.Tuvok · Jul 30, 2012

words of wisdom.

sulpfiction · Jul 30, 2012

True designing genius!

Peace · Jul 30, 2012

Nice words Jony. Let's see you make a new Mac Pro now ok ?

Reach9 · Jul 30, 2012

"We are really pleased with our revenues but our goal isn't to make money. It sounds a little flippant, but it's the truth. Our goal and what makes us excited is to make great products. If we are successful people will like them and if we are operationally competent, we will make money," he said.

what an incorrect statement. Every competitive company's goal is to maximize profits. Their goal is to make money.
Jonny is trying to make it look like Apple is different than any other company, when in it's definition it's the same as Samsung, RIM, Google etc, ... their goal is to make money.
Apple makes great products to get money, but money is still the main driving force.

Also, if a two-toned iPhone is their 'best work yet'.. then i'm unpleasantly surprised.

Allenbf · Jul 30, 2012

Ive is a REAL Apple Genius. Period.

Ochyandkaren · Jul 30, 2012

Great to hear that. Let that mindset to marketShare grabbers who*res

: I never doubt that.

:Apple biz model would not allow it.
:apple:

: Reason to weight on copy-cats. When creativity only is yr raison d'être for growing/surviving in the cheap-cheap land you have to.

Zunjine · Jul 30, 2012

Reach9 said:
what an incorrect statement. Every competitive company's goal is to maximize profits. Their goal is to make money.
Jonny is trying to make it look like Apple is different than any other company, when in it's definition it's the same as Samsung, RIM, Google etc, ... their goal is to make money.
Apple makes great products to get money, but money is still the main driving force.

Also, if a two-toned iPhone is their 'best work yet'.. then i'm unpleasantly surprised.

Subtext: I'm angry! I hate the world! I hate you! I need a hug!!!

TimAlia · Jul 30, 2012

So that Podcasts app... is that focused on great product or profits?

nick_elt · Jul 30, 2012

WEEEWOOOWEEEEWOOOOWEEEEWOOOOWEEEWOOOWEEEWOOO
My B.S alarm is going Kah-razy!! Iphone 4s anyone??

Skika · Jul 30, 2012

Jony is THE man.

Cheffy Dave · Jul 30, 2012

Jonathan is the soul of Apple!

Quite the genius! I am ruined by his Retina Display in the iPad,so much so,that it is all I will buy,so it is mandatory for any purchase.I fear the MBA's will never see them however, due to untethered power needs of the display.I would like to see it in the iMac,as well as the TB Cinema Display. Please make that happen Sir
Jonathan!

I highly admire this man!

boss.king · Jul 30, 2012

If your goal isn't making money, then why not lower your profit margins and sell your stuff at a reasonable price?

Edit: before telling me why I'm wrong, please read beyond page 1.

Rennir · Jul 30, 2012

Zunjine said:
Subtext: I'm angry! I hate the world! I hate you! I need a hug!!!

If you disagree with his point, you realize you won't be able to pull the "But Apple is just a company like every other company in the world! Their main goal is profits!" excuse every time the NYT or some other source publishes an article lambasting Apple for being unethical right?

Risco · Jul 30, 2012

Jonny, you might be a great designer but don't try to hoodwink us in to thinking profits do not matter. If they really are irrelevant, why do you have the highest profit margin out of all the manufacturers!

Thunderhawks · Jul 30, 2012

Reach9 said:
what an incorrect statement. Every competitive company's goal is to maximize profits. Their goal is to make money.
Jonny is trying to make it look like Apple is different than any other company, when in it's definition it's the same as Samsung, RIM, Google etc, ... their goal is to make money.
Apple makes great products to get money, but money is still the main driving force.

Also, if a two-toned iPhone is their 'best work yet'.. then i'm unpleasantly surprised.

Yes, incorrect statement ....by you. He is not saying making money is unimportant.

He simply mentions that Apple's way of doing business is different. You can believe that or not. They just know that the money will come.

There is actually a proof that Jobs vision almost bankrupted them and they were saved by Microsofts money.

I see plenty of hair raising designs and products "designed" by US companies.

Take Black & Decker, Sunbeam, Broan, Faberware and the list goes on uurrrrgh

The phone is not out yet and as much as people hated the iphone 4, they will hate the next one too until they see it, hold it etc.

Ive likes the Rams design philosophy and simplicity is a beautiful thing.

Between the saturation in electronics and no real new idea around, I just hope Apple can keep things up for a while.

RoboCop001 · Jul 30, 2012

When he says "we're not in it to make money" he could just as well be talking personally, about himself, or his team. Not necessarily Apple in general.

But he could also believe that Apple really puts product first, profit second.

We're not there, we can't know that.

Obviously every company must make money, and therefore it is absolutely the goal. Because without money you can't operate.

Maybe individually - and this doesn't go for everyone - the people at Apple and other companies aren't just thinking about making money. But as a whole, when people become a company, then the company becomes a "thing" that "wants to make money." But I still don't think it's 100% the goal, at least not in the broad sense. But sure, some companies are just scamming everyone.

For me, I'm thinking it's like the chicken and the egg scenario. Which came first... the want to make money? Or the want to make great products? Maybe it doesn't matter. Because either way, you end up with great products from Apple (most of the time).

50548 · Jul 30, 2012

Reach9 said:
what an incorrect statement. Every competitive company's goal is to maximize profits. Their goal is to make money.
Jonny is trying to make it look like Apple is different than any other company, when in it's definition it's the same as Samsung, RIM, Google etc, ... their goal is to make money.
Apple makes great products to get money, but money is still the main driving force.

Also, if a two-toned iPhone is their 'best work yet'.. then i'm unpleasantly surprised.

Apple has ALWAYS (well, at least since the late 90s) been driven by DESIGN, not by PROFIT - it's clear that Ive was referring to the fact that it's not about designing the cheapest crap at the lowest cost to sell it at high margin...it's about designing the BEST possible device and THEN reap the rewards.

If you can't understand this basic principle, you can't understand why Apple is successful nowadays.

Ryth · Jul 30, 2012

Reach9 said:
what an incorrect statement. Every competitive company's goal is to maximize profits. Their goal is to make money.
Jonny is trying to make it look like Apple is different than any other company, when in it's definition it's the same as Samsung, RIM, Google etc, ... their goal is to make money.
Apple makes great products to get money, but money is still the main driving force.

Also, if a two-toned iPhone is their 'best work yet'.. then i'm unpleasantly surprised.

You're absolutely crazy if you think Apple is anything close to the company that is Samsung, RIM, etc. Their views on everything are completely opposite. Apple has ALWAYS been about the superior product and user experience. You cannot argue this because they've never worried about market share in PCs or other products.

And RIM, that's a good one. Look where they are at now.

Of course Apple's goal is to make money...BUT instead of taking a money first, design second approach, they took the exact opposite...and you cannot argue this because it's working.

Look at MS...their goal is to make money. But it's their first goal. And here is the statement from Ballmer that explains why they are no longer the superior company...

There's no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance. It's a $500 subsidized item. They may make a lot of money. But if you actually take a look at the 1.3 billion phones that get sold, I'd prefer to have our software in 60% or 70% or 80% of them, than I would to have 2% or 3%, which is what Apple might get.

Apple created a superior device and the profits followed. Same with the iPad. Same with the iPod. Same with whatever else they come out with 90% of the time.

Meanwhile most of these other companies you mentioned are completely fine with putting out tons of versions of phones a year so they can maximize profits instead of developing and banking on ONE superior product. How many phones does Samsung make, have out on the market?

RoboCop001 said:
When he says "we're not in it to make money" he could just as well be talking personally, about himself, or his team. Not necessarily Apple in general.

Um...no...he's talking about Apple. Jonny Ive IS Apple just as much as Steve Jobs was.

I'm pretty sure Jonny is speaking for Apple and about Apple. This has ALWAYS been their philosophy. Design first. Profits second.

Thunderhawks said:
Between the saturation in electronics and no real new idea around, I just hope Apple can keep things up for a while.

Game changing products don't come along every year. It's just not possible.

What Apple has done in the last 10 years is mind blowing from a business perspective and disruptive force.

iPod - Destroyed CD/portable market. Changed Music industry forever. New business model.

iPhone - Destroyed most phone makers. Only few remain. Smart phone era is born. Portable 'computer' in your hand.

iPad - Destroying PC/Laptop market. Individuals realizing that tablet is all they need vs bulky desktop/laptops.

That is all within a 10 year period. Staggering.

spiderman0616 · Jul 30, 2012

Reach9 said:
what an incorrect statement. Every competitive company's goal is to maximize profits. Their goal is to make money.
Jonny is trying to make it look like Apple is different than any other company, when in it's definition it's the same as Samsung, RIM, Google etc, ... their goal is to make money.
Apple makes great products to get money, but money is still the main driving force.

Also, if a two-toned iPhone is their 'best work yet'.. then i'm unpleasantly surprised.

And this is why you're not in charge at Apple. Of course they care about their revenue--they can't go on as a company without it. But they are not thinking about revenue when they design products. They're just thinking about making the best product they can. Jony isn't paid to worry about exactly how many millions or billions the next iPad is going to bring in for Apple. He's paid to come up with the best design idea that he can.

pesos · Jul 30, 2012

LOL! What total BS. Profit margin is ridiculously high. What he really means is "great design is one of the many tools we employ in order to make sure we make a buttload of $."

Zunjine · Jul 30, 2012

I'm truly saddened by the degree of cynicism around this place.

Apple makes money, yeah, of course it makes money. But that's as a consequence of making great products, it isn't the purpose that drives them. If you want to make money you don't go into product design - you become a banker or lawyer. You can make plenty of money doing all sorts of stuff that's a darn sight less risky than launching innovative new products like the iPad or the iPod.

Why is it so many people want to believe the worst about others? If you really think such things, why the hell are you even here? Go and spend some time talking about something that makes you happy, eh?

blubyu · Jul 30, 2012

Risco said:
Jonny, you might be a great designer but don't try to hoodwink us in to thinking profits do not matter. If they really are irrelevant, why do you have the highest profit margin out of all the manufacturers!

Because they can. It's really that simple.

spiderman0616 · Jul 30, 2012

BRLawyer said:
Apple has ALWAYS (well, at least since the late 90s) been driven by DESIGN, not by PROFIT - it's clear that Ive was referring to the fact that it's not about designing the cheapest crap at the lowest cost to sell it at high margin...it's about designing the BEST possible device and THEN reap the rewards.

If you can't understand this basic principle, you can't understand why Apple is successful nowadays.

This. Google's goal on the other hand is quite different. Let's get Android in front of as many people as we can so we can make more money on ads and drive them to more Google services. God--if Apple switched to that strategy, I'd switch back to all MS products.

Jonathan Ive on Design and Apple's Focus on Great Products Instead of Profits

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