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Former Apple Design Chief Jony Ive Shares His 12 Favorite Tools of the Trade
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He should have included on his list a ten pack of BIC disposable pens.
What were those comments on cars?
Personally I dislike SUVs but I'm also not fond on those Bentleys he seems to like.
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Former Apple design chief Jony Ive, who still partners with Apple on products, has revealed his 12 must-have design tools for making, marking, measuring, and carrying with him every day.
![jony-ive-ipad-pro.jpeg]()
The list appears in a special issue of Financial Times' "How to Spend It" magazine (paywalled), of which Ive is guest editor, and the designer uses the opportunity to put the focus on his obsession with "making."
Ive doesn't offer any explanation for what makes the list or what specific products they helped him design, but in a separate piece in which Ive and fellow LoveFrom designer Marc Newson talk about the equipment in their Cotswolds workshop, he opines:
- Torque wrench — Snap-On adjustable torque wrench, £455
- Tonearm — Linn titanium Ekos SE tonearm, $5,645, basilaudio.com
- Hex Keys — Wiha colour-coded hex L-Key set, from $3.69
- Paper folder — Paper folder, hwebber.co.uk
- Measuring Tape — Hermès leather In The Pocket measuring tape, $530
- Loupe — Vintage brass folding magnifier by Leitz Wetzlar, from Ive’s personal collection
- Fountain pen — Vintage pen by Montegrappa, from Ive's personal collection
- Eraser — Graf Von Faber-Castell platinum-plated eraser, £100, jacksonsart.com
- Pencil case — Vintage leather pouch by Visvim, from Ive's personal collection
- Protractor — Mitutoyo 6in universal bevel protractor, £264
- Depth gauge — Starrett 440Z-3RL depth micrometer, $355
Weather station — Wempe Navigator II ship’s clock and weather station, $1,960
Later in the conversation, Ive recalls how Newson helped him through the challenges he faced working on the Apple Watch, and how he "really struggled" with the physical design.
Ive co-founded LoveFrom with Newson in 2019 after leaving his position at Apple. At the time, the tech giant said it would remain one of Ive's primary clients, but which Apple products he has helped to design since then is unknown. Apple said Ive was involved in the design of the colorful 24-inch iMac released in April, but it's not clear if that work occurred after Ive left the company.
It remains unclear how many employees work for LoveFrom, but Ive recruited at least four of his former Apple colleagues to work with him at the firm, including Wan Si, Chris Wilson, Patch Kessler, and Jeff Tiller.
Article Link: Former Apple Design Chief Jony Ive Shares His 12 Favorite Tools of the Trade
Jonny Ive made the full transition to Phil Collins since he retired from Apple
I really hope he doesn't mispronounce Aluminium in that manner...
My exact thought.
I get that if you earn more, you generally spend more but I always think there is a point at which you’re just spending money on names/for bragging rights.
With this, though, I don’t think we can even see that point in the rearview anymore.
I think he made a veiled reference to a kind of Toyota. I forget which one. You know, the kind of car that millions of us little people drive because it’s affordable and safely gets us from point A to B. Sure give me millions of dollars and I’ll get something more stylish. He just came off like an affected jerk.
Nah, fountain pen people typically despise disposable pens, especially BIC ones, and Ive is apparently a fountain pen person. Usually, it’s concerns about writing quality, ink quality, and disposability (usually, fountain pen people like having a favorite reusable writing implement, which is part of the reason why fountain pen ink cartridges are contentious in the fountain pen fandom).
Hermés leather measuring tape and a $100 eraser are amongst the most stupid pieces of equipment anyone could run around with.
No, I suspect he loves using tools that work well and are easy to use. I don't know what that is about the Hermes tape measure. It could be the legibility of the lettering, the retraction mechanism, who knows.
It's why I pay a lot of extra $ for Starrett hook rules. Easy to use, easy to read, and a quality tool manufactured in the United Sates.
Ive, is a perfect example of elites disconnected from reality. No wonder these folks cannot be held responsible when making decisions on a broad societal scale. Not saying he is that person but other billionaires for sure.
These folks live in a bubble and don't understand the struggles of ordinary folks. When you have exorbitant amounts of money, you really become blind to everything outside the scope of your life.
These folks live in a bubble and don't understand the struggles of ordinary folks. When you have exorbitant amounts of money, you really become blind to everything outside the scope of your life.
There's not a single chance that people who actually buy a LEATHER measuring tape are actually measuring anything other than the depth of their wallet
Right, I don’t get the feeling that he’s buying expensive things just for the sake of buying expensive things. There’s something he genuinely likes about the quality, the aesthetics, or the feel of using these items. Darned if I have any idea of what he sees in these objects (and most people likely wouldn’t see it or value the same things in these tools), but he presumably sees something in them. (And most people with strong opinions about the tools they use are typically like that, after all!) As for the tonearm or the sailing weather displays? I dunno, maybe he views music and sailing as being essential to his design process? (Not too far fetched, maybe it’s his way of winding down and relaxing, recentering his mind.)
Edit: Seems like he’s a guy who has strong opinions about and strong attachments to his tools (not at all weird for a craftsman or artist, even as a programmer, I can see it’s not much different than having a strong opinion about keyboards and pointing devices, when you get down to it). And he has the money to spend on perceived quality.
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Regardless of what's inside the leather case, I guarantee you the tape measure wasn't made by Hermes. You're paying $520 for leather. Also:
Stanley 0-39-055 "Powerlock" Tape Measure, Silver, 1 m/6.35 mm
STANLEY is a leading global manufacturer of hand tools, power tools and related accessories, and a flagship brand of the wider Stanley Black & Decker Corporation. Ever since its foundation in 1843, STANLEY has been committed to providing professionals across the globe with products which are smar...
www.amazon.co.uk
Dude’s eyesight is clearly getting weaker (look at the strength on those glasses), and he’s getting on in years. Honestly, I’m not especially comfortable with the comments about him squinting at the screen, if just because I have my fears of one day losing my own eyesight like that.
so true. I understand the need for torque wrench or protractor or measuring tape but not overpriced, branded stuff that marks up the item like 1000 times what it should cost.
