Apples and Tangerines are scrump-tious fruits

Sir Jonathan Paul Ive has been a constant source of inspirational patriotism for me as a designer.

He has carved an indelible mark in modern design, inspiring creatives across industries through his innovative approach and commitment to excellence, making design a central part of technology.

Jonathan Ive was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2012. His designs have often been described as fundamental to Apple’s successes, making the Cupertino company one of the largest tech organisations in the world.

Jony lived in London for 12 years, until his family moved to Stafford, in the West Midlands. He studied design at Newcastle Polytechnic (now Northumbria University) and was hired by the start-up design firm Tangerine before moving to the United States. According to an interview with Time, Jony’s teenage love of cars made him want to become a designer. After several car design courses in London, he decided on Industrial Design instead.

Jony was diagnosed with dyslexia while attending secondary school (I can relate to this), but rather than being perturbed by the challenge, he embraced it and forged ahead. Like many successful professionals in the creative industry, being neurodiverse gave him the strength and motivation to push beyond his limits.

This is yet more proof that we should nurture creatives with neurodiversity, not just in life but in our beautiful industry, too.

Jony’s attitude to design was modern, polished and carefully designed. From the beginning, his product designs featured several innovative traits. Clients at Tangerine would reject some of these ideas for being too modern or costly.

In the early 1990s, Apple became a client of Tangerine, with Jony leading the initial Powerbook designs for the Cupertino giant. Robert Brunner, Apple’s Director of Industrial Design, attempted to recruit him. Jony was unsure about accepting the position, as he believed that moving to California from Britain would take a toll on his family, eventually, Jony accepted the position and joined Apple in September 1992.

One of Jony’s first designs for Apple was the second-generation Newton MessagePad, an electronic handheld device with a flip cover. The flip cover was his favourite part of the design, anticipating the popularity of flip cellphones sometime later. The initial lack of commercial success nearly prompted Jony to quit. Jon Rubinstein, Apple’s Senior Vice President, convinced Jony to stay and help Apple make history, following the revival in 1996.

It was around this time that I made one of the most important purchases of my life (after my 1975 Austin Mini): The very large and very beige Apple Power Macintosh 5500/225.

Steve Jobs was ousted by other Apple executives in 1985. On his return in 1997, with renewed energy and determination to make history by leading the way in technological innovations. He appointed Jony as the Senior Vice President of Industrial Design. Together, they worked on revolutionising hardware design year after year.

It was around this time I received my Powerbook G3 Apple computer by way of payment for a logo design.

Jony got his first project from Steve Jobs, the iMac G3 (1998 with the translucent white plastic all-in-one). Everything at the time was enclosed within a boring beige case, and Jony designed a colourful all-in-one, establishing their bond and solidifying his relationship with Steve Jobs and kickstarting the story of the iMac.

Since the early 2000s, Jony led the design of Apple’s biggest products, including iPod, iPhone and iPad.

In the early 2000s, Jony was given his own office at Apple and was the only Apple designer with a private office. Only his core team and top Apple executives were allowed access to his office, as it contained all the concepts and designs for early prototypes that the company would later develop. Steve and Jony were so close that their offices were linked through a hidden, built-in corridor with single-access doors, an invisible laser security system, heat sensors and a trap door to a pool full of great white sharks with lasers on the heads (OK… I may have made the last part up but they really did have a built-in corridor). Proving that while working together, Jobs and Ive really did “Think Different”.

In 2001 Apple released the iPod and iTunes. The iPod was a portable media player with a fat-free design consisting of a screen, a scroll wheel and five buttons. Setting it aside from the bulky and inconvenient portable MP3 and music players of the time. It sold over 450 million units. Apple released iTunes the same year. The iPod and iTunes would dominate the music market until the iPhone in 2007 made it obsolete. A victim of its success it still single-handedly revolutionised the industry. Steve Jobs said that Apple aimed to reinvent the phone, which was essentially a larger iPod Touch with internet access. The iPhone has since been updated multiple times leading to larger screens and the removal of all front buttons. The continued success of the iPhone made the iPod’s younger sibling the Touch obsolete mid 2022.

“It’s very easy to be different, but very difficult to be better.”

– Jonathan Ive (Apple)

Later, Jony Ive’s ideas would make the history of industrial design, with the iMac G4 Sunflower model (2002) now part of the permanent collection at MoMA (The Museum of Modern Art) an art museum in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.

“When we were looking at objects, what our eyes physically saw and what we came to perceive were exactly the same. And we would ask the same questions, have the same curiosity about things.“

– Jonathan Ive (Apple)

Later, Jony Ive’s ideas would make the history of industrial design, with the iMac G4 Sunflower model (2002) now part of the permanent collection at MoMA (The Museum of Modern Art) an art museum in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.