Jony Ive on how to change Apple and its design philosophy

When Steve Jobs became the head of Apple, he established the basic rule for designers and engineers: to remain fully focused on creating excellent products. This philosophy continues to exist in the company, even with the new leader, which the newspaper The New York Times I was able to talk with John Ayvom during training article about Tim Cook. Below you can get acquainted with the little interview.

Q: (B): As a culture of innovation looks under the leadership of Tim Cook? has it changed at all?

Answer (A): Innovation at Apple is always to create a team. People work together in small groups. industrial design team is very small, and its members, we have been working for 15 or 20 years. Everything here is pretty typical - a small creative team and a very close-knit. The main thing to be inquisitive and curious.

It is part of the legacy of Steve Jobs. The designer must feel and understand the product. Shape, material and the process of creation are closely intertwined and beautifully, allowing them to merge together. While we understand the specific material (metal, resin or plastic), do not understand how to turn it from the ore to the finished product, you will never be able to develop and define the appropriate form.

The designer must feel and understand the product

I well remember the time when we did the plastic laptops. Steve, Tim and I sat down and began to confer. We decided that we wanted to create an incredibly thin and light laptop. There are a number of problems associated with the fact that we did not know how to work with new material - titanium. This meant that we had to find new partners and establish a department to work on this project.

The last 15 or 20 years, I worked on the most complex and creative part of our work. I would like to talk about our new products - we are working on products that totally new materials are used. I have been studying them for several years now, and I promise that they will be fantastic.

IN: You have recently become responsible for software design. Something has changed in this area?

ABOUT: I set the direction of the user interface and work with talented young team. In this command, it happened some changes, but they are not as significant as you might think.

One of the things I learned from Steve - the importance of concentration. It is important to focus on the product. You come into the studio and start making the best product in the world, simply do not notice many ordinary things. So it is with software.

It is important to focus on the product

IN: What you work with Tim Cook? Can you tell us some examples or cases of life?

ABOUT: We meet an average of three times a week. Sometimes these meetings are held in his office, sometimes here in the design studio. Working with Tim over the past two decades, I have always admired how calmly and reasonably, he studies the models and forms an opinion about them. He spends a lot of time, which, as for me, shows his understanding of the importance of this process.

IN: Is it difficult to be patient at the time when the fans and investors require another revolution?

ABOUT: All of us it is difficult to be patient. It was difficult to Steve and Tim are also difficult. At any time, it is difficult to work on something, keeping the focus on the product. One of the features that separate us from our competitors is that we focus on a single project and bring it to the end.

Frankly, I do not think that something has changed. Now the same atmosphere that was at work on the first iPhone. My focus is on an incredibly narrow circle of problems. I can not talk about anything else, except for product design and development. When I look back on 20 years, I see that we have worked hard on some devices and did not know exactly whether they will be in demand. When you work on a daily basis over the same when you are immersed in problems and the product becomes your life, it is very easy to be impatient.