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Apple Businesses

Jonathan Ive Named Designer of the Year 275

Posted by pudge from the mmmm-ipod dept.
no_demons writes "Jonathan Ive, the man behind the iMac and the iPod, has won the first Designer of the Year award from the Design Museum in London. The Independent has the scoop, and BBC2 has the documentary on Wednesday, June 11th."
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Jonathan Ive Named Designer of the Year More

Jonathan Ive Named Designer of the Year

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  • Good for him!! (Score:4, Insightful)

    by bgog ( 564818 ) * on Monday June 02, 2003 @10:42PM (#6102418) Journal
    Now we just need this guy to design a universal remote control since most designs suck!

  • PDA (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Aliencow ( 653119 ) on Monday June 02, 2003 @10:43PM (#6102427) Homepage Journal
    Now I want this guy to Design a PDA... Palm should hire him for their high end devices...

    • Re:PDA (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Jason1729 ( 561790 )
      The original Palms and the ones with roman numeral numbers were nice looking. The M-series and now the tungsten ones are ugly. I agree palm needs to put a lot more effort into the look of their handhelds. So does Handspring; Treo is a huge step down from Visor.

      Jason
      ProfQuotes [profquotes.com]

    • Re:PDA (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Now I want this guy to Design a PDA

      He did. [apple.com]

    • Re:PDA (Score:5, Insightful)

      by KludgeGrrl ( 630396 ) on Monday June 02, 2003 @11:08PM (#6102612) Homepage
      Well isn't Apply trying to make the iPod into a watered down PDA, with its "More ways to have fun."

      According to Apple [apple.com]: "The iPod now lets you do a whole lot more in addition to maintaining your contacts, calendar and to-do lists. iPod now includes Solitaire, Brick and Parachute... iPod also includes a notes reader that lets you download text-based information and read it on the screen... The iPod features a sleep timer, so you can fall asleep to your music."

      And we all know that the iPod cn act as a portable hard drive, right?
    • How about getting the famous designers to work on a usable website for the design museum?

      No I do not want to install your untested closed-source software.

  • Not yet (Score:5, Funny)

    by corebreech ( 469871 ) on Monday June 02, 2003 @10:44PM (#6102434) Journal
    Almost any room you put a new Mac in is going to look ugly by comparison.

    I want to see the iRoom. With an iDesk, an iLamp, and an iSeat.

    Them maybe we talk about awards and such.

    • Re:Not yet (Score:5, Funny)

      by berniecase ( 20853 ) * on Monday June 02, 2003 @10:50PM (#6102483) Homepage Journal
      God, that's the truth. I've got this ugly desk with my cinema display, and the desk just looks like crap compared to everything else. See for yourself:

      Any way you slice it, the compuer always looks better than the desk. I'm trying to find a decent glass desk to compliment the computer, but then I'll need to see about getting rid of the crappy carpet in here.
      • The shots are very good, and demonstrate the same problem I have with my eMac on a crappy old wooden bench. But I must ask, why did you toss the stock / pro keyboard?

        As we're talking about Apple design ( heh ) this is one of the things that really surprised me when first using the e - the keyboard has very clean lines, nice key size and elevation, and very satisfying tactile response. The special keys are well laid out and chosen ( even if the contrast ones don't seem to be marked? ) and it even shipp

        • Everybody asks about the keyboard, and while it is pretty ugly, it's very comfortable for me. I like ergonomic keyboards, and as you can see from the pics, I've had it now for over three years. I doubt I'll be getting rid of it anytime soon.

          It's actually an Adesso Tru-form, not a Logitech.

        • Re:Why the Logitech Keyboard? (Score:4, Insightful)

          by petsounds ( 593538 ) on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @03:58AM (#6103781)
          Its possibly one of the best keyboards I've ever used, including an old "clicky" IBM one I had in one of my old jobs.

          I'm incredibly surprised to hear comments like this. All of Apple's current keyboards are ergonomic hazards, unless you perhaps have really small hands or have replaced your hands with cybernetic limbs. There is no wrist support, the keys do not bounce back well, and the keys are too close together. In the case of their keyboards, Apple has chosen form over function.

          Only two Apple keyboards have ever been good enough for day-to-day usage. One was the Apple Extended Keyboard [cgu.edu] (the original, not the II), which had good tactile response, though its ergonomic features were slim-to-none. The other was the Apple Ergonomic Keyboard [acornworld.net] -- you know, the one they released in 1992 which could split into two sections and had a separate numpad. It was more ergonomic than anything MS puts out, its keys were reminescent of the early IBM clickity-clackity keyboards, and the keys had ample space between themselves. It's one of the best keyboards I've ever used, though it was a bit on the large side.

          Sadly, Apple stopped making ergonomic keyboards, even though it helped to popularize their usage with the mainstream. I guess Steve has a secretary to dictate all his typing; I'm not sure why else he would be so ambivalent about the risks of CTS (I got minor nerve damage from use of the Mac Plus keyboard while in college).
          • All of Apple's current keyboards are ergonomic hazards, unless you perhaps have really small hands or have replaced your hands with cybernetic limbs...

            Or perhaps unless you have learned to type properly. Wrist support should be a non-issue since one shouldn't be resting one's wrists to begin with. Having learned to type on an IBM Selectric, I don't particularly care for the amount of key travel or the lack of clickiness on Apple's (or most anyone else's) keyboards, (especially my iBook -- and don't get

          • Apple keyboards are unsuitable for UNIX users! [oreillynet.com]

            (That's just my little joke for those of you who remember that crank from about a year back!)

        • For me, its a problem that Apple likes to put the tactile reference spots on the "D" and "K" keys and not the "F" and "J" keys like nearly everyone else.

          I feel that the keyboard is the most important interface between Human and machine. In a multi-system invironment, like my basement, I want every keyboard to have the same keys in the same layout.

      • your iRoom is uGly. ;-)

      • Re:Not yet (Score:2, Informative)

        by porter235 ( 413926 )
        Try a glass desktop [yahoo.com]. This is but one type of glass desktop that would make your mac look very sharp.

      • Re:Not yet (Score:5, Funny)

        by cioxx ( 456323 ) on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @12:25AM (#6102974) Homepage
        Go into nearest IKEA (Office section) and look for the Glass surface desk. It's not available in the web catalogue and I saw one as recently as last month.

        These things really emphasize the mental asylum enveloped in minimalism if you work hard enough on arranging the shit around and stealthing the cables and such out of the view.

        Wood desks are so last century. The rule of thumb is: the computer environment should be at least 1/4th of the price of the hardware that sits on top and beneath it.
        • The rule of thumb is: the computer environment should be at least 1/4th of the price of the hardware that sits on top and beneath it.

          Why would you say that? You are probably going to purchase a new computer every 2-3 years, give or take... how often should you need to buy a new desk? I say spend some cash on a nice desk, that is the one thing you should be able to keep for a very long time. I bought a nice oak corner desk for about a grand, about 6 years ago, it's still in great shape, and I'm not look

      • Re:Not yet (Score:3, Informative)

        by RalfM ( 10406 )

        The Mac Table [macmice.com] could be one thing to look at...

        Ralf

        • Erm... (Score:3, Funny)

          by Cyno01 ( 573917 )
          Something tells me that optical mouse isn't gonna work to well on that entirely glass desktop...
        • Or for the rest of us mortals who can't afford (or aren't crazy enough) those $1000 tables here's an alternative [www.ikea.ca] from Ikea. They have nicer ones but I can't find them now. That price is Canadian dollars so it comes out to ~$100 US. And I have had a computer table from Ikea for 3 years now and it's perfectly fine so don't get me started on Ikea quality. I can buy a new one every year at that price and still save cash for neat machinery.
      • here's the desk you're looking for...

        http://www.ikea-usa.com/product_presentation/sho w. asp?productnumber=58091400&type=ART&id=434,433

        (called MOMENT)

        i've owned it for the past year and a half and its a really great computer desk. it goes really well with my g4 and the glass top look nice (when i can see it). its a good size desk too, so your cinema display won't feel cramped.

        not bad for $200.
      • My iMac looks fine on my desk, but it's one I restored. Genuine mahogany with 'antique-looking' iron hardware and a leather top that was made/installed by a guy here in town. It cost a few sheckles, but boy, for all the time I spend at the desk, is it ever worth it!

        Sometimes you need to pay for quality ... but why do I need to say that on the Apple forum? Oh, right, slashdot. Nevermind.

      • Buy the iMac with the 17" screen and this desk [igo4mac.com].

      • The BioMorph desks [biomorphdesk.com] are pretty well designed.

        I'm looking at one for the home office. Anyone have any experiences with said company?

    • Re:Not yet (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      IKEA has a similar neo-hip funk to all its furniture that Apple does to its computers.. ever been to a store ? They're like bizarre labyrinths where each room idea melds into another.. .. iKEA ? ;-)

      www.ikea.com

  • Hmmm (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Though I love the industrial designs of the iPod and the new iMac, I can not seriously consider the professional opinion of any entity whose website is so damned ugly.

  • is it a wonder? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by lingqi ( 577227 ) on Monday June 02, 2003 @10:46PM (#6102449) Journal
    IIRC ID (industrial design) is about aesthetics and functionality. Looking at the other three contestants, most are very skewed in one of the two. Actually I have no idea why Vice-City was in there altogether.

    Anyway, well deserved regardless. After all the attempts of copy-cat manufactures from Korea and Taiwan, nothing beats the simple and elegance of Apple products.
    • IIRC ID (industrial design) is about aesthetics and functionality. Looking at the other three contestants, most are very skewed in one of the two. Actually I have no idea why Vice-City was in there altogether.

      That's because the award was the Designer of the Year, by given by London's Design Museum. Its awarded for all types of design, not just industrial design.
  • was responsible for the new bug? (No, I'm not blaming software glitches on him -- I mean the new beetle)

  • Innovative (Score:4, Insightful)

    by scorpioX ( 96322 ) on Monday June 02, 2003 @10:49PM (#6102470)
    Good. I think he deserves this. The iPod/iMac are/were "innovative". Even if that word has lost most of it's meaning with the use of it by a certain Northwest company.

    • Re:Innovative (Score:4, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 02, 2003 @10:54PM (#6102511)
      Even if that word [innovative] has lost most of it's meaning with the use of it by a certain Northwest company.

      Yeah, Alaska Airlines has totally lost its edge.

  • Only this year? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by OmniVector ( 569062 ) <see my homepage> on Monday June 02, 2003 @10:50PM (#6102477) Homepage
    I think it goes without saying that this guy has changed the way a lot of people look at computers today.
    They aren't just mindless machines that perform a task, thanks to him and apple they are elegant pieces of art and form met with function.

    I mean come on, take a look at the iPod for example. It uses a radial menu -- the most efficient menu design, combined with the scroll wheel and a large LCD. It's completely intuitive, and so simple to use that it justifies the extra $100 compared with other mp3 players of it's class.

    • Re:Only this year? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by berniecase ( 20853 ) * on Monday June 02, 2003 @10:53PM (#6102499) Homepage Journal
      Simple test - give an iPod to someone who's never used it before. In about a minute, they'll have figured out the menu system. Seriously, there is something to be said for making a device without a million buttons nobody knows the function for!

    • Apple doesn't understand their own designs... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by wadetemp ( 217315 ) on Monday June 02, 2003 @10:58PM (#6102536)
      The radial menu of the iPod is really efficient, but evidentally Apple doesn't know/care. The latest revision of the iPod does away with the buttons laid out around the edge of the wheel, replacing them with 4 similarly-labeled buttons above the wheel. (And they're "touch" buttons, rather than mechanical ones, allowing for easier accidental pushing than the mechanical ones, besides the fact they no longer guard the touch wheel... all in all, meaning you had better have the thing locked when it's in your pocket.)

      It seems like they're willing to throw away good design to get upgrades.
      • I think the new layout is much better. Yeah, the touch buttons do have the downside of no tactical feedback. The touch buttons only work if you touch them with you're skin, so they do have an upside (unless you're wearing gloves). I have acctually played with one and was supprised to find that it wasn't really as bad as I though it would be.
        • The touch buttons only work if you touch them with you're skin

          Is the scroll wheel also this way? On the touch wheel iPod I have, it's not, so they must have redesigned it. Anyway, on my revision of the hardware, the only thing that prevents the touch wheel from being "jostled" is the fact that it is surrounded by a rim of mechanical, somewhat press-resistant buttons.

          Another advantage to the old-style 4-corners buttons is that I can reach in my pocket and by only knowing the orientation of the iPod (which
          • The touch wheel and buttons are not flush with the surface, they're set in about a milimeter or so. Its not all that bad, but I think I like the buttons surrounding the wheel better, and you don't really need the lighted buttons in that case since one develops a memory more easily of the functionality of each button.

      • Apple does understand, so they revise. (Score:4, Insightful)

        by zerocircle ( 559005 ) on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @12:42AM (#6103067)

        I'm still saving up for an iPod, but I've been reading up, asking around, and visiting my local Apple Store.

        The radial menu of the iPod is really efficient, but evidentally Apple doesn't know/care. The latest revision of the iPod does away with the buttons laid out around the edge of the wheel, replacing them with 4 similarly-labeled buttons above the wheel.

        The original, circular arrangement of the iPod buttons makes for one of the most gorgeous, pure-Ive creations ever, but the outermost circle of buttons (top: menu; left: skip back; right: skip forward; bottom: play/pause) are just that, the outermost, which makes them inefficient for one-handed operation -- say, in your jacket pocket. You've got to slide your thumb (or other finger, if you like RSI) all the way across the middle of the circle to reach the other side, which (1) is too much of a stretch and (2) risks messing with the scroll wheel.

        The linear arrangement of those four buttons on the new-design iPod, while not nearly as visually elegant, makes for a much more ergonomic interface. The wheel-touchpad and its center button get their own dedicated space, and the transport controls get theirs. As a user of several past Sony VCRs, I can tell you that having your transport controls separate is far more sensible than having them visually melded with, and thus placed too damned close to, a rotary control.

        And they're "touch" buttons, rather than mechanical ones, allowing for easier accidental pushing than the mechanical ones, besides the fact they no longer guard the touch wheel... all in all, meaning you had better have the thing locked when it's in your pocket.

        Actually, the "touch" buttons are harder to accidentally push than the mechanical ones. I've been told that you have to set the hold button on an original iPod just to put it in your pocket; otherwise, something gets pressed, or the scroll wheel (on the early, mechanical-wheel models) gets spun, none of which is good for uninterrupted listening. The new "touch" buttons don't trigger on contact with clothing or even an accidental brush with a finger. The touch wheel doesn't need to be guarded, and you don't have to lock it for your pocket.

        It seems like they're willing to throw away good design to get upgrades.

        The original design has a beautiful geometric simplicity, but don't mistake geometric simplicity for higher usability.

        Don't get me wrong: I love the look of the original iPod, and someday I'll pick up a dead one on eBay just to hold and ogle. The thick transparent faceplate, with its sharp edges, is too gorgeous for photographs to convey. But, as with the buttons, it's not a better design.

        • The original, circular arrangement of the iPod buttons makes for one of the most gorgeous, pure-Ive creations ever, but the outermost circle of buttons (top: menu; left: skip back; right: skip forward; bottom: play/pause) are just that, the outermost, which makes them inefficient for one-handed operation -- say, in your jacket pocket. You've got to slide your thumb (or other finger, if you like RSI) all the way across the middle of the circle to reach the other side, which (1) is too much of a stretch and (

  • Deserved praise (Score:3, Insightful)

    by fordgj ( 522469 ) on Monday June 02, 2003 @10:53PM (#6102505)
    I believe that he has been fundamental in Apple's recent successes. It also speaks well of Apple's management. Love him or hate him, Jobs seems to be making some excellent decisions, including personnel decisions. I'm sure HP would love to get him in to FIX the Athens PC. It's one thing to have visionaries at the helm, which I don't doubt that most execs have visions for their companies, but its another to be able to build a team that will bring it to brilliant fruition.

    • Re:Deserved praise (Score:3, Insightful)

      by craw ( 6958 )
      Nice point about Jobs. Apple went down the tubes after a former Pepsi-Cola exec led a palace revolt against Jobs. Apple didn't recover until Jobs returned.

      I have to surmise that he does hire good people. Pixar has a pretty good track record when it comes down to their movies.

      While NeXT was a failure, it is interesting to note that the Nextstep OS is the basis for Mac OS X. The goal of making a UNIX based OS the basis for a consumer computer has been something the goal of the linux community.
  • Pudge, please don't use the slashdot main page to send me messages.

  • AUGH! (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 02, 2003 @10:56PM (#6102527)
    Too many fuckin links, you fuckin tools! I'm looking at the story going, "shit, what the fuck do I click?" I try one. Shit! It's the goddamn iMac site. I KNOW what an iMac looks like, you morons, I'm from EARTH. So I try another one. Augh! Fuckin "Design Museum" site! Bitches! Screw this!

    This reminds me of 19-fuckin-93, when hyperlinks were this new and kewl thing. D00D! I can make words to things! So whenever I type "iMac" I should make it link to the iMac site! KEWL! I AM MAD SKILLZ WEBMASTAR!

    You guys suck. Oh, you guys suck.

  • congrats (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 02, 2003 @10:56PM (#6102529)
    Congratulations to Mr. Ive.

    I'm glad there are still companies that care about DESIGN and the feel of something in your hand.

    I was thinking of this today when I saw the ugly new Canon G5, an otherwise great camera that looks like a shrunken down 1970's rangefinder, complete with gratutious and useless chrome trim.

    The best designs are MINIMAL. The best designs have no more buttons than necessary, that have a screen just large enough, that focus on small details and never add elements unless they are absolutely necessary. If they are held in the hand, they should be smooth and inviting and free of buttons to accidentally press, and not sharp or cold, which may look beautiful, but subconciously you want to avoid touching it.

    Although Apple doesn't get 100% right all the time (the best designs are also EGOLESS as well as minimal, and do not draw attention to themselves) they are trying hard where most manufacturers are content to use ugly swooping plastic or cold sharp metal.

  • Nobody told me. (Score:5, Funny)

    by Ignominious Poltroon ( 654513 ) on Monday June 02, 2003 @10:57PM (#6102533)
    Nobody told me this design award was up for grabs. If they had, I would have sent in photos of my cool case mod, which is entirely made of potato chips and twine. That would have easily clinched it.

  • Rigged Votes (Score:5, Insightful)

    by maggard ( 5579 ) <michael@michaelmaggard.com> on Monday June 02, 2003 @10:58PM (#6102543) Homepage Journal
    The other side of the story is that a number of Mac sites have been publicizing the online vote side of this and exhorting the faithful to cast a ballot. While I'm personally a fan of Mr. Ives work the whole tactic of stuffing the ballot box just annoys me.

    Of course this is all just as bad is the newspapers, TV stations, and websites who run these sort of garbage polls and tout them as having any sort of validity. In reality they're just calculated come-on's for for the website being used and anyone with half a clue knows to discount this sort of trivially rigged "slacktivism". Nonetheless I keep getting emails asking me to vote in blahblahblah.com's poll to show my support for #cause.

    My advice is not to play sucker for these folks & their fake poles, when you come across them ask the sponsors exactly how valid they consider their results to be. Then ask if this is really the "news" they pretend or are they just being slimers, do they feel this discredits their entire operation?

    • Re:Rigged Votes (Score:5, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 02, 2003 @11:15PM (#6102661)
      The winner was chosen by four jurors "and the public", so it's not as if the potentially rigged polls had the final say.

      I imagine that "the public's" votes could have been over-ruled by the four person jury, which was composed of accomplished designers in their own right.

    • Re:Rigged Votes (Score:3, Informative)

      by Ryano ( 2112 )

      From the Independent story:

      The winners were chosen by a combination of more than 20,000 votes from the public at the Design Museum's website, along with the votes of a four-strong jury. Mr Ive won both the public and the jury vote.

      I don't know what weighting they gave to the internet vote, but in any case Ive was the choice of the jury also. Normally in these processes, if the organisers have any sense at all, they don't give the internet portion more weight than a single juror.

    • While I'm personally a fan of Mr. Ives work the whole tactic of stuffing the ballot box just annoys me.

      Well, see, it's like this. Al Gore hired his old friend Bill Daley ...

  • If anyone deserves this award, it's probably him. It's very hard to say with a straight face that the tiBooks and iPods aren't sexy, sexy hardware. (And they're incredibly functional, too!) I may be a little biased (consider my nickname), but the amount of buzz heard about these products (including on /.), is astounding. They're like fad items whose popularity never seems to decline.

    Mr. Ive, congratulations!

  • The "Dyson" computer (Score:5, Interesting)

    by donnz ( 135658 ) on Monday June 02, 2003 @11:00PM (#6102559) Homepage Journal
    I went to a talk given by British invetor James Dyson (check out their Home Page [dyson.com]) a few weeks back. He invented the "bagless vacuum cleaner" and one of his engineers' "inovations" was to have a clear case round the rubbish it sucked up. They thought it was cool. One of the most interested people in the design was Steve Jobs...The rest is history.

  • iPod meets car door (Score:5, Interesting)

    by malia8888 ( 646496 ) on Monday June 02, 2003 @11:09PM (#6102620)
    Jonathan Ive should get special kudos for designing the iPod in a way that can take abuse. It is not only good-looking but it can take a good hit.

    I slipped my iPod in my cargo pants "leg" pocket one day as I was getting out of the car. I had totally forgotten that it was there. The car door was partly shut and locked; so, I have it a good body slam with my thigh. My iPod took it head on and it was not broken, not dented, not nuttin.

    Buying quality never paid off so well. A cheap mp3 box from Radio Snack would have been flat as a pancake.

    • Re:iPod meets car door (Score:2, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      For anybody who's never actually taken a close look at a G1 or G2 iPod, the damn thing is made out of steel and lucite. It's a fuckin brick, LITERALLY. You could build a HOUSE out of these things. You can drop it, sit on it, hit it with stuff, whatever. They're fantastic.

      I'm not sure if the G3 iPods are as well put-together or not. They feel a little less bulletproof to me, but maybe that's cause I'm so used to the heft of my G1 5 GB model.

    • Re:iPod meets car hood (Score:3, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      I've gotta post this anonymously. My friend had his iPod and I was working on my car. He had a look at something and handed the iPod to me. I had to look under the car as well so I set the iPod next to the hood latch. 30 seconds later I try to close the hood, it won't latch. So I try harder, 2 more times...arg stupid hood....oh holy crap, what have I done I thought to myself. So I grab his iPod (which was only protected by that little bag apple gives you) and give it a quick run through- everything wa
    • yeah, I've dropped my ipod in a parking lot from the height of about my chest--maybe 5 feet. landed with a plunk and a hop, had a small dent on the steel corner but otherwise, was perfectly fine.

  • Uhg... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Cyno01 ( 573917 ) <Cyno01@hotmail.com> on Monday June 02, 2003 @11:09PM (#6102621) Homepage
    Remeber folks, this is the man who is responsible for the aisles and aisles of "blueberry" and "lime" and other fruit colored office suplies in the past few years.

    • Re:Uhg... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 02, 2003 @11:21PM (#6102692)
      "Remeber folks, this is the man who is responsible for the aisles and aisles of "blueberry" and "lime" and other fruit colored office suplies in the past few years."

      Uh, no. That would be the copycats. The mongolian hordes of uninnovative, noncreative garbage who make products for the unimaginative idiot masses.
    • I personally prefer a little color to soul-killing, sterile office greys. I for one would love it if they went Fisher-Price (Windows themes excepted).
    • Remeber folks, this is the man who is responsible for the aisles and aisles of "blueberry" and "lime" and other fruit colored office suplies in the past few years.

      No, he was responsible for the iMac which countless office supply companies imitated, often badly. Blaming Ives for their existence is like blaming England's King George for G.W. Bush.

  • Does he deserve it? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by GR1NCH ( 671035 )
    I have to admit the iPod design is pretty slick, but I remember a reading a story several months ago with a very convincing accusation that this guy stole the new iMac design from a European Mac enthusiest. Apparently a Mac webpage asked for people to submit designs and some guy posted pictures almost identical to the new iMac, long before the new iMac was released. Anyone know what ever happened to that story?
    • there is an ocean of difference between an idea and an implementation of complex electronic or mechanical devices. all sorts of ideas are introduced, but actually getting people to invest in them, collaborate on them, and finally getting them out the door to a receptive audience is an effort just shy of miraculous. now add the requirement of utterly high standards. how many car companies pull this off?

    • Re:Does he deserve it? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by questamor ( 653018 ) on Monday June 02, 2003 @11:39PM (#6102779)
      The look is one part of the industrial design. Actually creating something -functional- while keeping that look is a whole lot harder.

      I think most of us could create the look of a possible next Apple machine with a 3D renderer or photoshop, but then having the knowhow of materials design to implement it, while also having the guts of a computer fit, is far more a talent. It's probably the nittygritty 90% perspiration part of industrial design, and Ive is involved in the whole process.

      As for whether it was ripped off someone elses sketch, I doubt anyone will ever know. Only thing for sure is Ive and his team did a great job of bringing it to reality.
    • I always assumed the iMac design was derived from an earlier Apple prototype which was featured on the cover of Macworld magazine in May 1995.

      The base of the computer was a flat black "pizza" box with a sloped top and a CD drive lid (no tray). Extending vertically was a pivot where there was affixed metal boom. One end of the boom held a counterweight and on the other end was an LCD panel. It looked about as adjustable as the present-day iMac, though probably more fragile.
    • Nah, he just copied the translucent colours from the Braun Ladyshave.

  • well deserved (Score:3, Insightful)

    by dirvish ( 574948 ) <(dirvish) (at) (foundnews.com)> on Monday June 02, 2003 @11:59PM (#6102863) Homepage Journal
    I very rarely use Apple products for reasons I don't feel like debating right, now but I think this guy does deserve an award. Apple compensates for some of its downfalls with excellent design and the iMac and the iPod are prime examples of this great design. If a sleek design is your primary concern when purchasing electronics then Apple is your company. I wish I got the BBC, I would definately check it out.
  • appled recently released the information that they bought out the Designer Meuseum in London.
  • I find it interesting that a computer designer could draw so much attention. It is not often that people will wonder "what's next"... This guy manages to generate the kind of design that makes people dream of what could be next... more like a car company around autoshow time, and less like a traditional computer maker.

    For me this raises two important questions. Firstly, why doesn't Apple push the design edge further? Maybe not production models, but "concept" designs. I remember like 10 years ago Macwo
    • why are the traditional "beige box" makers so reluctant to follow?

      The key word in that question is 'box'. For most manufacturers, since they use more off-the-shelf components than Apple as an example, ID choices are limited by the least common denominator 'container'...the box that will house all those standardized components they buy from different suppliers.

      With HP and Dell, the outside is dictated by more of the inside than with Apple. That, and the almighty bottom-line.
      • Incorrect, sir. Apple uses just as many "Off the shelf" components. The video card, hard drives, power supply, and disc media drives are all standard components. The video cards often have special cinema display connectors, but that is a small difference that isn't really important to case design.

        The only "non-stock" part is the motherboard, and that is roughly the size and shape of a smallish PC motherboard. There is nothing, other than an utter lack of a hardware design department, keeping Dell or any o
        • Beg to differ, Sir.

          Drives, RAM and cables...of course not. Motherboard...as we agree. The power supply in a new dual processor G4 is BTO from Samsung, and no other manufacturer uses it. The video cards are not PC compatible, nor do they have identical feature sets or ROMs. Lesser commonality means more cost. An aluminum laptop... Who else? Titanium...no one.

          No other manufacturer will spend the money for proprietary connectors, switches, tooling, fasteners. most expensive cartons and low yield assembly
          • I'm not saying that there isn't proprietary stuff in there, it's just that there is not a thing in that case that would keep PC manufacturers from copying it.

            Your original post implied that the limiting factor was finding a standard "box" in which to put a handful of "standard" components.

            "With HP and Dell, the outside is dictated by more of the inside than with Apple".

            I stand by my refutation: There is nothing in an Apple case that is measurably different, in size and design, than in a Dell, at least n
            • The implications are yours, not mine. Read them any way you wish.
              Nice try to use your lack of position to debate me with, but I'm not biting. Thanks for taking a run at me...try again when you've got a point.
              • I don't think you get a much more clear implication than "With HP and Dell, the outside is dictated by more of the inside than with Apple".

                "Thanks for taking a run at me...try again when you've got a point."

                Pardon, but my point is, as I've stated: there is nothing, from a physical standpoint (i.e. the components "inside the box"), that keeps Dell from making a Mac-like machine.
    • Firstly, why doesn't Apple push the design edge further?

      Ive never actually was a "bleeding edge" designer. He was always a conservatist - iMacs, G3 and G4, were revolutionary but at the same moment they were oddly familiar - like if you saw something like this before and always wanted to have one.

      The one most likely to be "pushing an edge" was Hartmut Esslinger from the frogdesign company, responsible for the earliest Macs (Classic, SE etc.). This period of Apple design ended up in a disaster of the

    • Secondly, why are the traditional "beige box" makers so reluctant to follow?

      I think it's for the same reason that most of the cars produced in the last 15 years look so similar. Distinctive design tends to polarise people - those who like it like it a lot, while those who don't, hate it. Large manufacturers have tended to take the conservative approach with lower risk, even when a higher-risk approach might have brought higher rewards.

      That said, there are certainly a number of companies producing funct

    • The cube. 'nuff said. One of the coolest looking little computers ever, off the market about a year later.
  • Say it with me: friends don't let friends use flash.

  • Headline for dyslexic people? (Score:3, Funny)

    by FryGuy1013 ( 664126 ) on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @01:11AM (#6103200) Homepage
    Did anyone else read the headline as "Ive named Jonathan Designer of the year," then immediately went to look for comments on not putting an apostrophe in Ive, then realize what the headline actually said? I know I did.

  • Name? (Score:4, Funny)

    by lostchicken ( 226656 ) on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @01:29AM (#6103259)
    In keeping with Apple naming, shouldn't his name be Jonathan iVe?

  • I nominate... (Score:3, Funny)

    by dafoomie ( 521507 ) <dafoomie@hotmail ... m minus language> on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @01:39AM (#6103297) Homepage
    I'd like to nominate this [lupo.co.jp]
    for design of the year. It really makes everything around it look so much better.

  • What about the engineers? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Drakonian ( 518722 ) on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @02:01AM (#6103384) Homepage
    First off, I really like his designs. I love my iPod and I very much want an iMac. I don't wanna sound like a whiny brat, BUTT.....

    Why don't the engineers who fit the stuff into these designs get any credit? Sure he comes up with a neat good looking idea, but it takes a hell of a lot more than a good idea to make a sucessful product. Someone actually needs to implement it and make it possible. I really doubt it was easy to fit a full computer inside the iMac base w/o a fan. Kudos to the 'geers.

  • Johhny Ive.. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by sbryant ( 93075 ) on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @03:05AM (#6103585)

    ..is British (from Stafford), and not a bad drummer. Don't know if he still plays. My then drummer had bought his kit off him. Apple nabbed him in the very early nineties (or possibly the late eighties even), and dragged him off to the US. Prior to Apple, he was working for a design studio, in London I think.

    -- Steve

  • "Even where it doesn't show physically, you can sense a missing ingredient - elegance."

    Tell that to the guy who did the Lara Croft case mod!

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