Jonathan Ive

Surround yourself with people who care more about doing great work than making money. Purpose attracts excellence.

Ive was initially drawn to Apple because he sensed that the company stood for something beyond profit. When Jobs returned, he made it explicit: our goal is not just to make money, but to make great products. Ive and Jobs bonded immediately because they shared the belief that the decisions you make based on caring about products are fundamentally different from those made purely for profit.

“Apple stood for something and had a reason for being that wasn't just about making money.”

Start with the user's everyday life, not technical specifications. Products should relate to how people actually use them, not just measure well on a spreadsheet.

When designing the Newton MessagePad, Ive began by asking what the design story should be rather than focusing on processor speed or memory. He recognized that the computer industry had become obsessed with measurable attributes while ignoring the human, emotional aspects of products. This human-centered approach separated Apple from competitors.

“The computer industry has an obsession about product attributes that you can measure empirically. But that's inhuman and very cold.”

Observe people's actual behavior, not what they say they do. Details that seem insignificant reveal how products are truly used.

As a child, Ive's father would point out different street lamps and ask why they were designed differently, teaching him to observe made objects critically. This observation extended to how people interact with products. Ive noticed people fidget with pens, so his TX2 design invited that behavior. He understood that computers scared people, so handles and friendly forms made them approachable.

Design only what you love, and don't dilute your focus with administrative work. Separate people's responsibilities so A players concentrate on what they do best.

Ive discovered at Tangerine that he hated the business and sales aspects of running a design firm. He realized he was spending 90 percent of his time selling services and only 10 percent designing. This misalignment drove him to Apple, where he could focus exclusively on design while others handled business operations. Jobs later applied this principle company-wide by building a company of A players each focused on their strength.

“I worked out what I was good at and what I was bad at. I was really only interested in design. I was neither interested nor good at building a business.”

Compensation must reflect talent level. Underpaying exceptional talent relative to their contribution is a critical mistake that leads to losing your best people.

Early in his career at RWG, Ive asked for a substantial raise after just a few weeks. His manager explained that they had to balance compensation across the team, but this decision to underpay exceptional talent led Ive to leave for Tangerine. The long-term cost of losing a world-class designer far exceeded what better compensation would have cost.

Recognize that being different is easy, being better is difficult. Most companies add features to seem innovative, but true innovation requires disciplined focus on what actually matters.

Ive understood that the computer industry had become conservative in design, competing on measurable attributes rather than human experience. Creating differentiation is straightforward, but creating genuinely superior products demands intense scrutiny of every detail and unwillingness to compromise.

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

Learn from inspiring examples in other industries. Take ideas from aerospace, automotive, and animation to solve design problems in technology.

Ive studied designers like Dieter Rams from Braun and Eline Gray. Jobs brought in 3D design software from aerospace and automotive industries to accelerate Apple's design process. They used techniques from Pixar's animation workflow to develop computer hardware designs faster. Cross-industry learning prevents narrow, conventional thinking.

Take big chances instead of incremental improvements. If you design by focus group logic, your bold ideas won't survive.

As a design student, Ive took risks that would have failed any focus group test. His designs were surprising but made complete sense once seen. Later, the iMac broke every rule consumers thought they wanted: no floppy drive, unusual shape, higher price. Yet it became the fastest-selling computer in history. True innovation requires betting on what customers don't know they want.

Guard your design vision fiercely but communicate reasons clearly. Protect the team from constant interference while explaining the philosophy behind decisions.

Ive was protective of his design team, shielding them from external noise and dilution of vision. Jobs gave him autonomy while maintaining tight alignment on values. Together they created an environment where the design group could remain small and focused, constantly collaborating, rather than being pulled in multiple directions by competing agendas.

Nurture curiosity and questioning from a young age. Teach children to observe how things work and to ask why they're designed the way they are.

Ive's father encouraged his curiosity by discussing design constantly, asking why street lamps were different, and engaging in conversations about made objects. This wasn't forced learning but natural dialogue about the world. This early training in observing and questioning became the foundation of Ive's design approach and ability to see what others missed.

Care and craftsmanship are visible to users. When someone senses carelessness in a product, it undermines everything else about it.

Ive learned from his father about the importance of handmade quality and the care that goes into making objects. He despised products that showed evidence of careless work, believing that customers could sense the effort and attention behind a well-made product. This respect for craft influenced every detail of Apple's designs.

“What I really despise is when I sense some carelessness in a product.”

Humanize technology by inviting physical interaction. Make products approachable and friendly through design choices like handles, rounded corners, and bright colors.

Ive observed that people were scared of computers in the early 1990s. He designed machines with handles and welcoming forms to make technology feel less industrial and more like something you would put in your home. His TX2 pen encouraged fidgeting and play, recognizing that humans interact with objects in multiple ways beyond their primary function.

“If you make it in bright colors and rounded corners, it becomes much more friendly. People are more receptive to it.”

Design is something you do, not something you talk about. Build hundreds of physical prototypes and models to understand a product before manufacturing.

Ive's design process relied heavily on creating physical mockups and models. While a typical design student might build six models, Ive built over a hundred for a single project. This hands-on approach of making and testing was learned from his father and became his trademark at Apple. He consolidated the model shop into the design studio so designers and makers worked side by side.

“The sheer focus to get it perfect. Building scores of models and prototypes became another trademark in his career at Apple.”

Don't use focus groups to design products. The role of the designer is to understand what the customer doesn't yet know they need.

Ive rejected focus groups, explaining that it's unfair to ask people without knowledge of future opportunities to design tomorrow's products. Apple's design process relied on the taste and vision of a small collaborative team constantly making demos and communicating, not on testing with consumers who think in terms of today's context.

“It's unfair to ask people who don't have a sense of the opportunity of tomorrow from the context of today to design.”

The obsessive attention to overlooked details is the decisive factor. Care about what others ignore and treat the small things with the same rigor as the large.

Ive spent enormous time on details like how a lid opens or how a product invites touch. Most designers ignore these moments, but Ive understood that these overlooked details are where products gain their character and meaning. The first thing you see is the first thing you interact with, so he made that moment special.

“The decisive factor is fanatical care beyond the obvious stuff. The obsessive attention to details that are often overlooked.”

Risk comes from not innovating, not from innovating boldly. The real danger is playing it safe when your market is changing.

While critics attacked the iMac as too radical, no floppy drive, too expensive, and incompatible with Windows, consumers bought 300,000 units in six weeks and 800,000 by year-end. Ive understood that in an industry born to innovate, the true risk is thinking it's safe to play it safe. Stagnation is riskier than bold design.

“In a company that was born to innovate, the risk is not in innovating. The real risk is to think it's safe to play it safe.”

Reduce and simplify relentlessly. Design by asking what is absolutely essential and removing everything else, making products easier to build and use.

Ive's foundational design philosophy was to keep going back to the beginning, repeatedly asking if each part was truly necessary. He would exercise reduction over and over until reaching the essence of a product. This approach was radical in an industry that typically added features rather than removing them.

“We wanted to get rid of anything other than what was absolutely essential.”