Interview with Ive

[arn]

The Independent has an interview with Jonathan Ive, Apple's designer. It's a very good read, with some insight into the design of the new iMac:

Because Ive's designs aren't intended simply to attract, pictures consistently don't do them justice. It's only first-hand that you notice the tiny things: the magnetically-operated latch on the notebook computers; the light which, when the machine is "asleep" rather than off, "breathes" brighter and dimmer; the drop-hinge on the iBook, which puts the screen further away than usual on a notebook.

 

[Pica19]

Ive is the Michaelangelo of our time, a master at his craft. His industrial design prowess will influence many different brands, for many, many years.
His attention to simplistic detail is something that can't be overlooked. In a world full of bad design, and dsigners, he is at the top of the ID world!

He and his design staff are certainly underpaid, and over-worked... I'm sure.

 

[Unregistered]

What?

Something here?

/Nubus

 

[amichalo]

The "Value" of style

I found the following passage the most interesting in the article:

You can try, though. In terms of size, Apple's closest rival in the PC world is Gateway Computer, currently the sixth-largest PC maker. But Gateway is struggling because in the Windows world, where the software is the same, hardware competition creates murderous pressure on margins. Bigger companies push down prices, squeezing rivals. Last year, that forced Gateway to shut all its operations in Europe and fire more than 3,000 people, a quarter of its staff. Overall, it lost $1bn (£700m) on sales of $7.39bn (£5bn); on Wednesday its bonds were downgraded by Moody's, the big credit group, to "junk" status.

Now: could you sketch any of Gateway's products? Got any thoughts about what makes them special?

Apple had a tough year, too, losing a total of $242m (£160m) on sales of $5.36bn (£4bn), principally because of a dreadful first quarter at the end of 2000. But Jobs eschewed big layoffs, and even pushed the company into new areas. It completely remodelled its laptop machines Ð making one out of titanium Ð and pushed into the consumer electronics area with the iPod, an MP3 music player the size of a cigarette packet with a tiny hard drive able to hold 1,000 songs. So far, more than 150,000 have been sold.

So you might put the value of design at the difference between Apple's profits and Gateway's Ð about $750m (£520m), or about seven cents (5p) for every dollar of sales. Seven per cent of turnover is significant for any company.

To summarize, it says when compared to Gateway (Apple's closest sized competition in the PC world) that Apple lost seven cents less per dollar of sales than Gateway did in 2001. It also cites Gateway as lacking style.

This is the first attempt I have ever seen to quantify the value of style, but I like the attempt. I would have to say that Apple's software sales, of which Gateway has virtually none (those bundled with systems) helped the margins too. But even if 'style' earned an extra 5 cents per dollar, that's a big difference in such a thin margin market as retail computer sales.

 

[eyelikeart]

Gateway

I'm really surprised that Gateway isn't much further ahead than we are. I would have thought for sure they would have more sales since they are the first choice by most people who don't have a clue....

 

[Unregistered]

I think Apples design team is vastly overated. Theres no particular magic in developing a cantilever to hold the screen up. Apple has consitently overdesigned its products. As a community, albeit a disfunctional one, we need to get past the notion that using a mac is in itself cool, i want my apple to be a background player consitently and quietly , with a efficient stealth releasing a ever more advanced stream of products that I can use to "make cool things" Which puts the spotlight back on the content developers and off the platform. Platform worship is foolish. Wake up and start recognising the real person behind the machine, behind the technology, that makes it worth having a mac. be inspiured in such a way that you need a mac to create what you dream. But worshipping this hardware and the man that directs the company, is sad. NEWS FLASH, apple is not concerned with marketing to you, you are allready hook line and sinker sold.

 

[IndyGopher]

Originally posted by Unregistered
I think Apples design team is vastly overated. Theres no particular magic in developing a cantilever to hold the screen up. {Blah, Blah} products that I can use to "make cool things" Which puts the spotlight back on the content developers {Like ME!} and off the platform. Platform worship is foolish. Wake up and start recognising the real person behind the machine {'Cuz it's all about ME!} , behind the technology, that makes it worth having a mac. be inspiured in such a way that you need a mac to create what you dream{Yada, Yada} NEWS FLASH, apple is not concerned with marketing to you, you are allready hook line and sinker sold.

Anyone could have, Apple did. And what the hell is wrong with you, EgoBoy? Don't be impressed with design... Except the cool things *I* design with it? Did you plan on sounding like an ass, or did that just happen?

 

[liebke]

Apple Design

Originally posted by Unregistered
I think Apples design team is vastly overated. Theres no particular magic in developing a cantilever to hold the screen up. Apple has consitently overdesigned its products. As a community, albeit a disfunctional one, we need to get past the notion that using a mac is in itself cool,

There is nothing wrong with appreciating design.

I can do everything on a PC that I use my Mac for, but I enjoy doing everything more on the Mac. This is a consequence of hardware and software design.

I also do not believe Apple's design team is over-rated. I think the article explained it perfectly. The genius in their designs is in the small details you only notice with usage, including workmanship and choice of materials.

If none of that matters to you, I wonder why you bother using a Mac. It's not because they are cheaper, or that software is more abundant for them, or that they are faster.

I use Macs because Steve Jobs is cooler that Bill Gate and Michael Dell, and therefore makes cooler products.

 

[Unregistered]

Plop a 40 pound beige PC case on your desk, THEN talk to us about 'stealth'.

The iMac virtually disappears compared to these things.

TL

Originally posted by Unregistered
I think Apples design team is vastly overated. Theres no particular magic in developing a cantilever to hold the screen up. Apple has consitently overdesigned its products. As a community, albeit a disfunctional one, we need to get past the notion that using a mac is in itself cool, i want my apple to be a background player consitently and quietly , with a efficient stealth releasing a ever more advanced stream of products that I can use to "make cool things" Which puts the spotlight back on the content developers and off the platform. Platform worship is foolish. Wake up and start recognising the real person behind the machine, behind the technology, that makes it worth having a mac. be inspiured in such a way that you need a mac to create what you dream. But worshipping this hardware and the man that directs the company, is sad. NEWS FLASH, apple is not concerned with marketing to you, you are allready hook line and sinker sold.

 

[Unregistered]

Originally posted by Unregistered
I think Apples design team is vastly overated. Theres no particular magic in developing a cantilever to hold the screen up. Apple has consitently overdesigned its products.

Are you one of those people that looks at modern art and says "anyone could have drawn that"? If the things Apple does are so simple and obvious, why is it that Apple keeps doing them? Why not another company? Do you think that Apple is repeatedly lucky?

 

[Unregistered]

YES I AM, I AM NOT BRAINWASHED INTO BELIEVING THAT SOME ARE BESTOWED WITH MAGICAL GIFTS OF CREATION. I present, for your inspection the fine design of: The apple mouse.

First they couldnt seem to make one you could tell where it was going, with a cord to short ( one button). Then they made one with a poorly designed switch mechanism that looked cooler, but still had one button. DOH.

let us for a oment consider THE CUBE: Small and lame, YES Case prone to creaking YES apple products look like toys YES.

***** will quote me interspering my words with their foolish commentary:YES

Lets discuss the infamous burning battery, the still unfounded and pervasive design philosophy "hide the cd door, make it really hard to get open manualy"

All I want is sturdy, functional, customizable. I dont want plastic crap anymore.
I dont want see thru. I dont want lame colors. I want speed and performance matched with software thats offers function. NEWS FLASH Computing is NOT ABOUT APPLE. MACS are not STARS. MACS are TOOLS. TOOLS are DIRT, I make TOOLS do what I Want! I do not wait for TOOLS to save me, or present me with new life options, I make choices and adpot tools that fit my needs. PS. YOU ARE ALL DORKS.

 

[mischief]

Get bent.

wow, proof that many netizens are under age 3. Notice the little chicken-squirt didn't even register. Funny how some will come onto a MAC RUMOR BOARD and get all pissy 'cause it's all about Macs. I saw a COPs a while back where a Crack head tried to convince a cop that this lady had taken her money and not given her her crack. It was total, obvious B S and the cop laughed at her for trying to frame somebody while admitting to soliciting the purchase of Crack.Kinda the same attitude. It's like PC junkies stumble into these boards and go "Hey! Where's my Crack!!" And we all set our blunts aside and laugh.

 

[blackpeter]

A List Of Tools I Use From Day To Day

Tools:

Clothes (I use these to cover my body and protect me from the weather)
Home (I use this to keep me and my belongings safe and dry)
Automobiles (I use one of these to transport me from place to place)
Food (I use this to fuel my body and keep it healthy)


I can just as easily:

Wear the same Sweatpants/Sweatshirt everyday (hey, who needs Style? .. they do the Job)
Live in a Shack in the woods (it's a roof... what more do I need?)
Drive an 86 NOVA (it gets me from place to place ...who needs a BMW?)
Eat Ramen all day, every day (Food is just Fuel... nothing more, right?)


I think you can see my point about Style (or design)

There are some people who get it - and some people... well, just look for the Dork in sweatpants - driving a NOVA - lips stained with Ramen as he sits lonely in his shack...

 

[mischief]

You just described the unibomber

Who, as I recall was a technophobic redneck.

 

[whatever]

My Other Computer Is A Mac

Some people just don't get it. I could drive a crappy car, but I can and choose to drive a Jaguar. Why because I can and it's better. Sure when it breaks down I have to pay more to fix it, but it's better.

The Cube was and still is a brilliant product. Why did it fail? Price point and surprisedly bad marketing. Had Apple address those issues it would still be around today.

Design is everything in the computer industry, the problem in the Wintel world is that none of the vendors can do anything pioneering without the risk of backlash from their masters (Intel and Microsoft).

The only company doing anything of interest is Sony and they also make toys.

 

[mac15]

THIS DUDE IS A GOD
SUPER ELEGANT DESIGNS ALL THE TIME
HE'S BANG ON
EVRY THING HES DESIGNED LOOKS ELEGANT AN SIMPLE
ON A MAC CAN

 

[SPG]

Design, aesthetics, ergonomics.
These are all important to most of us Mac users. Hell, they're important to most of us humans. That is why we appreciate beauty.
Mate with a pig, use a Wintel, eat dirt. I will appreciate beauty, surround myself with well designed as well as useful tools, continue to express myself through creating art with these tools, and live a satisfying life.
Outward appearaqnces are only part of the equation, but they are still there, if you only account for the dollar cost, you will be stuck with inferior and uninspiring things that will wind up costing more dollars and possibly a good part of your soul if you still have one.

 

[SPG]

On the topic of aesthetics...

mac15, Please check the caps lock key over on the left. If the light is on, please hit it once to turn off the caps.
WRITING IN ALL CAPS IS UGLY AND IMPLIES THAT YOU ARE DOING THE TYPING EQUIVALENT OF RAISING YOUR VOICE
I DO NOT LIKE TO BE YELLED AT AND IM SURE MOST PEOPLE ON THE FORUM DONT EITHER
PUNCTUATION IS A GOOD THING TOO
USE THE PERIOD AT THE END OF YOUR SENTENCES PLEASE

 

[grrr223]

I forget who said but, in one of my managerial communications classes, the prof. put this quote at the beginning of the memo-writing section. Actually, i forget the actual quote too, but it went something like this "I apologize for the length of this letter for I didn't have the time to make it short."

Less is usually more. But it takes time and effort to arrive at simplicity. This is what Apple does. Why do computers even have a GUI? Even that is design and style, why doesn't this unregistered unibomber use a command line in Unix? There is a lot of software available for PCs that I can't run on my Mac (without the use of VPC 5), but quite frankly, I don't care. My Macintosh does what I need it to better and faster, with fewer problems, and in generally is more pleasant to use. Quite frankly, i don't care what the rest of the world uses as long as there are enough of us who appreciate the finer things in life and Apple doesn't go away, which I don't see happening anytime in the future.

 

[Unregistered]

Loser

If you find Apple's so annoying, why did you come here?