The fascinating journey of Sir Jonathan "Jony" Ive, from designing combs, toothbrushes, and toilets to iPods and iPhones, what are the lessons?
Jony was born in Chingford, London, United Kingdom His father, Michael Ive, was trained as a silversmith and taught design at a vocational high school in East London.
Jony often followed his father around, presenting drawings for go-karts, tree houses, or other design ideas for his review.
Jony struggled to read and was happiest being left to daydream with a sketch pad. At school, he was labelled as an unsuccessful student.
Jony’s gifts as a draftsman made him a candidate for fine art school, he graduated with flying colors from Newcastle Polytechnic in Industrial design.
Jony joined Tangerine, where he designed everything from combs, toothbrushes to toilets. He quickly became disillusioned, the final straw came when his boss rejected his toilet and sink designed for ideal standard stating that it was too modern.
Jony joined Apple but almost quit several times. All of that changed when Steve Jobs returned to Apple as CEO.
Together, Jony and Jobs changed the trajectory of consumer electronics. Jony's design language complemented Jobs' product vision, creating products that were not only beautiful but also practical, intuitive, and empowering.
Toward the end of his life, Jobs told Walter Isaacson, “If I had a spiritual partner at Apple, it’s Jony. Jony and I think up most of the products together. He gets the big picture as well as the most infinitesimal details about each product".
Jony officially left Apple in November 2019, after almost 30 years with the company. During his time at Apple, he designed of many of the company's most iconic products, including the iMac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad.
What are the lessons?
1. You can't judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, find your arena, and play your game. Jony excelled when he started playing his game in the design arena.
2. Success is never guaranteed, even for the best. Keep rolling the dice to increase the probability of success.
3. It is never the institution, it is always an individual who will change your career trajectory. It was not Apple but it was Steve Jobs who changed fortunes for Jony. But, you can’t plan to meet the people who will change your career or life. Keep playing your game.
4. Creativity cannot be boxed, it is boundaryless, do not judge the future by the past. Remember, the designer of your iPhones and Airpods mastered his craft designing combs, toilets, and bidets.
5. Simplicity is the ultimate goal. According to Jony, "Simplicity is not the absence of clutter, that's a consequence of simplicity. That's not simple."
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