Inside Apple's industrial design lab
A rare visit with the man who designed the iMac, the iPod and the iPhone
"I guess it's one of the curses of what you do," says Jonathan Ive, Apple's senior vice president for industrial design, "is that you are constantly looking at something and thinking 'Why why why is it like that? Why is it like that and not like this?'"
Ive's five-minute appearance in Objectified is one of the centerpieces of Gary Hustwit's 2009 documentary about contemporary industrial design. It's a follow-up to Hustwit's amazing Helvetica (2007), the only full-length film about a typeface. Objectified may not be as surprising or groundbreaking, but it does feature this rare inside look at Apple's (AAPL) secretive design lab, an inner sanctum on the Cupertino campus only slightly less guarded than Fort Knox.
"I remember the first time I saw an Apple product," says Ive as the camera pans across a busy Apple Store. "I remember it so clearly because it was the first time I realized when I saw this product I got a very clear sense of the people who designed it and made it."
Below fold, unless Hustwit has pulled it, a YouTube clip of that video.
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I have, personally, never owned anything other than a Mac because of the magical way it makes me feel. I can't imagine a better definition of design success!
I can't stop laughing. Cynik is back with his insideout backwards forwards what planet is is on wit.
Brilliant! Wonderful portrait. What's so great about Ives is that he understands the intimate connection between aesthetics and functionality.
It's what makes Apple's products so special. There is a magic in the design; a wonder in their use.
Ives is freaking awesome. I love him so much. I think I love him almost as much as the Stev-o.
The way he can hold a piece of blank aluminium in his hand and look at with such awe, it is like he can see the face of god in a fingernail clipping.
The guy is so incredibly obsessed, and therefore honest, I think it is impossible not to feel touched by his madness.
I suspect the reason Apple have been able to effectively corner the market for innovation in computer design is because Stev-o has always demanded that crazy people at apple struggle right on the precipice of madness, struggle to ask stupid questions that can only be made sane after hours and hours of mundane mechanical and digital engineering.
I can't see how anyone can hate or even fail to be in awe of Ives. It is like hating dolphins. It doesn't work.
This guy can sit down with a lump of clay and show you the human spirit. He's a freak, and like all freaks he is a channel for the divine to enter the material pool.
James wrote: "In the Louvre… how pompous."
Where does it mention it's in the museum? It is however in a shopping mall that is located on (Or really under) the museum grounds where 35 other stores reside. The neighbouring stores are the Virgin Megastore, Swatch Store and Tie Rack. Heck there's even a Hertz rental shop.
My local mall has higher end stores
Methinks James you're being a touch sardonic.
carrouseldulouvre.com/
@Luis: "Cannot play on my touch"
Both videos play beautifully on my first generation iPod touch. Maybe an Apple Store "genius" can show you how it's done, Luis.
long live ives! he always achieves the perfect balance of form and function, and he is absolutely right about aesthetics and the calming presence of simplicity. the new mouse and the shuffle are PERFECT examples of this. they do their essential functions perfectly without the distraction of superfluous features. there are a few half-wits out there that dont appreciate this, but these are the reasons why apple has such a loyal following and why the lines outside the paris store today are so incredibly long.
I hate Ives, he values aesthetics over functionality. He had ruined every one Apples mice and new Shuffle. He simplifies things to the point that they look great but you can't use them efficiently or easliy.
Come on, center piece? Enough with the Apple fan-boyerism. There were a lot more interesting stuff in that movie. Especially from Dieter Rahms. Jon is practically a Rahms-fan-boy.
Woah there Don! YouTube takes time to make h.264 versions of their videos. It's very possible the videos didn't work on an iPhone earlier this morning, no need to be sassy.
@Brian: "Can't play on my iPhone."
Yes, it can. In fact, both YouTube videos on this page play perfectly on the iPhone/iPod touch. If they don't work on yours, take it in for service.
I want to have sex with this man. Jonathan Ive is undeniably sexy! His products are as sexy as he is!
"Ive's five-minute appearance in Objectified is the centerpiece…" for good reason. See it to see the brighter side of OCD. Re: "Helvetica (2007), the only full-length film about a typeface." …the ONLY one, yet such a riveting subject







Was that an iPod or iPhone with silver backing in Ives' hand? Generation?