What do you think?
Rate this book
جوني آيف: العبقري وراء أعظم منتجات أبل
� «المختلف والجديد سهل نسبيًّا، ولكن عمل شيء أفضل بحق فهو شديد الصعوبة» «جوني آيف»
� «يلقي ضوءًا جديدًا على فريق تصميم التكنولوجيا الأكثر متابعة. لمحات نادرة من ممارسات العمل في «أبل»» «الأوبزرفر»
� «قام «كيني» بعمل ممتاز. إنها متعة حقيقية» «جي كيو»
� «نظرة على فلسفة التصميم التي جعلت الملايين منا مدمنين. كتاب لكل مولع بالتصميم أو مدمن منتجات «أبل»» «هاربرز بازار»
� «سيرة طفل «أبل» المعجزة الأعسر الذي لا يزال عمله يُحدث ثورات في التكنولوجيا الحديثة» «كيركس ريفيوز»
نبذة
في عام 1997 اكتشف «ستيف جوبز» مصممًا بريطانيًّا أشعث يكدح في مقر «أبل» الرئيسي، تحيط به مئات الرسوم والنماذج الأولية. تعاوُن «جوني آيف» مع «جوبز» سيسفر عن بعض أشهر منتجات التكنولوجيا وأكثرها تميزًا في العالم، مثل «الآيماك» و«الآيبود» و«الآيباد» و«الآيفون». لقد ساعد عمل «آيف» في معالجة انهيار «أبل» الطويل، وقلب صناعات بكاملها رأسًا على عقب، وكوَّن عشرات الملايين من المعجبين. ومع ذلك، فالمعروف قليل عن هذا الشخص الخجول، رقيق الكلام، العبقري، الذي وصفه «جوبز» بأنه «شريكه الروحي».
يعرض «لياندر كيني» صورة مفصلة لطالب مدرسة الفنون الإنجليزي الذي عانى من عسر القراءة وأصبح مصمم التكنولوجيا الأشهر في جيله. واعتمادًا على المقابلات مع زملاء «آيف» السابقين والعالمين ببواطن الأمور في «أبل»، يأخذنا «كيني» إلى قلب عملية تصميم هذه المنتجات المبهرة وإنتاجها بنجاح.
عن المؤلف
«لينادر كيني» هو المؤلف الأكثر مبيعًا لكتابي «داخل مخ ستيف» و«كالت أوف ماك» (طائفة ماك) وقد غطى أخبار «أبل» طوال أكثر من اثني عشر عامًا. وغطى أخبار أجهزة الكمبيوتر والتكنولوجيا طوال عشرين عامًا تقريبًا. هو محرر الأخبار السابق في موقع «وايرد» وهو الآن محرر موقع «كالت أوف ماك» ويقيم في سان فرانسيسكو.
� «يلقي ضوءًا جديدًا على فريق تصميم التكنولوجيا الأكثر متابعة. لمحات نادرة من ممارسات العمل في «أبل»» «الأوبزرفر»
� «قام «كيني» بعمل ممتاز. إنها متعة حقيقية» «جي كيو»
� «نظرة على فلسفة التصميم التي جعلت الملايين منا مدمنين. كتاب لكل مولع بالتصميم أو مدمن منتجات «أبل»» «هاربرز بازار»
� «سيرة طفل «أبل» المعجزة الأعسر الذي لا يزال عمله يُحدث ثورات في التكنولوجيا الحديثة» «كيركس ريفيوز»
نبذة
في عام 1997 اكتشف «ستيف جوبز» مصممًا بريطانيًّا أشعث يكدح في مقر «أبل» الرئيسي، تحيط به مئات الرسوم والنماذج الأولية. تعاوُن «جوني آيف» مع «جوبز» سيسفر عن بعض أشهر منتجات التكنولوجيا وأكثرها تميزًا في العالم، مثل «الآيماك» و«الآيبود» و«الآيباد» و«الآيفون». لقد ساعد عمل «آيف» في معالجة انهيار «أبل» الطويل، وقلب صناعات بكاملها رأسًا على عقب، وكوَّن عشرات الملايين من المعجبين. ومع ذلك، فالمعروف قليل عن هذا الشخص الخجول، رقيق الكلام، العبقري، الذي وصفه «جوبز» بأنه «شريكه الروحي».
يعرض «لياندر كيني» صورة مفصلة لطالب مدرسة الفنون الإنجليزي الذي عانى من عسر القراءة وأصبح مصمم التكنولوجيا الأشهر في جيله. واعتمادًا على المقابلات مع زملاء «آيف» السابقين والعالمين ببواطن الأمور في «أبل»، يأخذنا «كيني» إلى قلب عملية تصميم هذه المنتجات المبهرة وإنتاجها بنجاح.
عن المؤلف
«لينادر كيني» هو المؤلف الأكثر مبيعًا لكتابي «داخل مخ ستيف» و«كالت أوف ماك» (طائفة ماك) وقد غطى أخبار «أبل» طوال أكثر من اثني عشر عامًا. وغطى أخبار أجهزة الكمبيوتر والتكنولوجيا طوال عشرين عامًا تقريبًا. هو محرر الأخبار السابق في موقع «وايرد» وهو الآن محرر موقع «كالت أوف ماك» ويقيم في سان فرانسيسكو.
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
606 people are currently reading
11.8k people want to read
About the author
Leander Kahney
22books132followersLeander Kahney is managing editor, formerly a senior reporter at Wired News, the online sister publication of Wired. He is the author of The Cult of Mac , Cult of iPod and Inside Steve's Brain. Kahney is best known for his popular blog, Cult of Mac (The Cult of Mac Blog). As a prominent writer on Apple- and Mac-related topics, Kahney was once theorized (incorrectly) to be the identity of Fake Steve Jobs.
Leander has worked for many other publications, including: MacWeek, as a senior reporter, Scientific American, The Observer and The Guardian in London. Working as a newspaper reporter in the UK, he covered amongst other things, the war in former Yugoslavia.
According to Gawker.com, Leander Kahney has been laid off from Wired.COM.
He is currently living in San Francisco, California and is a father of four.
Leander has worked for many other publications, including: MacWeek, as a senior reporter, Scientific American, The Observer and The Guardian in London. Working as a newspaper reporter in the UK, he covered amongst other things, the war in former Yugoslavia.
According to Gawker.com, Leander Kahney has been laid off from Wired.COM.
He is currently living in San Francisco, California and is a father of four.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 389 reviews
January 5, 2014
I have to declare my hand here as I have had a long association with Apple, from commercially programming the Apple IIe through 10 years working for the company, to the many friends I still have there. I approached this book with an open mind - could Leander Kahney have persuaded the famously private Jony Ive to speak? The answer is a resounding 'no'. This book admits its failure to open up many primary sources, except as far as the beginnings of Jony's career is concerned. The rest is mostly requiting and restating information already in the public domain and drawing conclusions that are frankly wrong.
I lived through many of the product and organisational issues that confronted Apple during the mid 90's through to Jobs' return and culminating in a personal meeting with Steve, Jon Rubenstein, Avi Tevannian and Phil Schiller on the 4th floor of Infinite Loop that led to my decision to leave the company. So I have some insight. I can tell you that Apple is more more secretive now than in 1990, that engineering teams are incredibly personally diverse in their thinking and interests and that they do indeed socialise outside of their immediate colleagues. The idea of Fortress Apple is dated and not a new phenomenon at all. It was always the case even before the Infinite Loop complex was constructed that employees could not move freely from one building to another 0 that the holding of a badge did not grant a person access.
My biggest disappointment here is that this book does;t deal much with Jony Ive and his personal philosophies but churns through Apple in general as a source of innovation and controversy. As a result, for anyone remotely interested in Apple, there is nothing new here. Jony Ive has famously given interviews in the past about design and his beliefs so why Kahney had so much difficulty with primary research is puzzling. Perhaps he want dot know more about Apple than Ive and that would always place sources on the defensive. The result is littered with minor errors and no insights of any worth - even the style of writing doesn't compensate for the lack of new insights. Perhaps the book would have been better titled Apple Design: Success and Failures or something similar. If you want to know more about Jony Ive this book will leave you disappointed.
I lived through many of the product and organisational issues that confronted Apple during the mid 90's through to Jobs' return and culminating in a personal meeting with Steve, Jon Rubenstein, Avi Tevannian and Phil Schiller on the 4th floor of Infinite Loop that led to my decision to leave the company. So I have some insight. I can tell you that Apple is more more secretive now than in 1990, that engineering teams are incredibly personally diverse in their thinking and interests and that they do indeed socialise outside of their immediate colleagues. The idea of Fortress Apple is dated and not a new phenomenon at all. It was always the case even before the Infinite Loop complex was constructed that employees could not move freely from one building to another 0 that the holding of a badge did not grant a person access.
My biggest disappointment here is that this book does;t deal much with Jony Ive and his personal philosophies but churns through Apple in general as a source of innovation and controversy. As a result, for anyone remotely interested in Apple, there is nothing new here. Jony Ive has famously given interviews in the past about design and his beliefs so why Kahney had so much difficulty with primary research is puzzling. Perhaps he want dot know more about Apple than Ive and that would always place sources on the defensive. The result is littered with minor errors and no insights of any worth - even the style of writing doesn't compensate for the lack of new insights. Perhaps the book would have been better titled Apple Design: Success and Failures or something similar. If you want to know more about Jony Ive this book will leave you disappointed.
February 9, 2020
قراءة ثانية ونفس الرأي. كتاب جميل جدًا.
March 31, 2016
This book is positively chockablock with insights regarding Apple's unique Industrial Design and Product Development process, making it a worthwhile read for people in the industry trying to get a better sense of how Apple keeps managing to churn out hit after hit. What makes Apple unique and how did it come to place Industrial Design at the core of it all?
* Don't create a product just because you can be competitive. Build a product where you believe you will own the category.
* Focus. Kill products that do not meet that bar (frees you to focus on things that matter). Apple did this with Newton and printers.
* Don't expect customers to tell you what they want. You have to think about this harder than they do so that it fulfills a primal need when they experience it. Jony's team didn't ask customers what they wanted in a phone or in a music player.
* It's more important to be right than first.
* Double down on things that prove to be competitive advantage. When Apple launched unibody enclosures milled from aluminum, they literally bought every milling machine being produced until they could hit their scaling needs. Nobody else could copy it.
* Design is not just how something looks, it's how it works.
The reason this book only gets three stars from me, however, is that it's the biographical parts about Jony Ive that fail to resonate, given that they lack his own voice as a contributor. This is a great look at a company that is built from the ground up to do things differently, but I suspect this will not be definitive on Jony Ive or his legacy.
* Don't create a product just because you can be competitive. Build a product where you believe you will own the category.
* Focus. Kill products that do not meet that bar (frees you to focus on things that matter). Apple did this with Newton and printers.
* Don't expect customers to tell you what they want. You have to think about this harder than they do so that it fulfills a primal need when they experience it. Jony's team didn't ask customers what they wanted in a phone or in a music player.
* It's more important to be right than first.
* Double down on things that prove to be competitive advantage. When Apple launched unibody enclosures milled from aluminum, they literally bought every milling machine being produced until they could hit their scaling needs. Nobody else could copy it.
* Design is not just how something looks, it's how it works.
The reason this book only gets three stars from me, however, is that it's the biographical parts about Jony Ive that fail to resonate, given that they lack his own voice as a contributor. This is a great look at a company that is built from the ground up to do things differently, but I suspect this will not be definitive on Jony Ive or his legacy.
June 22, 2019
"Vždy som rozumel kráse vecí vytvorených ručne. Uvedomil som si, že to, na čom skutočne záleží, je starostlivosť, ktorú do toho vkladáte." Jony Ive
Po prečítaní knižky o Stevovi Jobsovi od Waltera Isaacsona som vedela, že si určite chcem prečítať aj knižku o dvornom dizajnérovi Applu Jonym Iveovi. Keď som ju dočítala, akoby sa mi doplnila skladačka, lebo Jony bol a vlastne stále je veľmi významnou súčasťou tejto spoločnosti. Jony mi bol počas celého čítania veľmi sympatický (na rozdiel od Steva :), knižka sa nesie predovšetkým v duchu jeho lásky k dizajnu, ktorá bola evidentná (a aj pekne rozvíjaná) už od detstva. Myslím, že práve toto vás po prečítaní knižky môže značne ovplyvniť, začnete vnímať citlivejšie tvary, farby a materiály okolo vás. Veľmi pekne je opísaná práca na jednotlivých produktoch, uvedomíte si, že veci, ktoré napríklad beriete úplne automaticky, sú spravidla vytvorené s veľkým úsilím a množstvom času a tvorivej práce. Za mňa 100 %-né odporúčanie :)
Po prečítaní knižky o Stevovi Jobsovi od Waltera Isaacsona som vedela, že si určite chcem prečítať aj knižku o dvornom dizajnérovi Applu Jonym Iveovi. Keď som ju dočítala, akoby sa mi doplnila skladačka, lebo Jony bol a vlastne stále je veľmi významnou súčasťou tejto spoločnosti. Jony mi bol počas celého čítania veľmi sympatický (na rozdiel od Steva :), knižka sa nesie predovšetkým v duchu jeho lásky k dizajnu, ktorá bola evidentná (a aj pekne rozvíjaná) už od detstva. Myslím, že práve toto vás po prečítaní knižky môže značne ovplyvniť, začnete vnímať citlivejšie tvary, farby a materiály okolo vás. Veľmi pekne je opísaná práca na jednotlivých produktoch, uvedomíte si, že veci, ktoré napríklad beriete úplne automaticky, sú spravidla vytvorené s veľkým úsilím a množstvom času a tvorivej práce. Za mňa 100 %-né odporúčanie :)
March 22, 2025
ENG � БЕЛ
This is an interesting book about Jony's approach to design. For me, the early years were the most fascinating, particularly the importance of his father and his education, as well as his early student projects and work at Tangerine.
As the book shifts to Apple, it becomes more about the company than about Jony, which is not necessarily a bad thing. It gives respect to iPod designer Tony Fadell and emphasizes that not all great ideas came from Jony's head, as the Industrial Design group was a team effort. Designing as a team was one of Jony's biggest successes.
The book also provides a lot of insight into Steve Jobs, and yes, he wasn't a nice guy.
I found it particularly interesting that the Industrial Design group and the User Interface group worked separately to maintain secrecy. It seems strange to design a user interface without knowing how the product will look, and vice versa, but it worked.
The book covers Jony's maniacal ideas of simplification, perfectionism, and the form-over-function approach in his designs. It also addresses critiques from those who criticize the low iFixit ratings of Apple products, prioritizing aesthetics over ergonomics, and so on.
I miss the big names in design; most modern design feels anonymous. I hope to see a new Jony soon; otherwise, the niche will degrade.
Як бы гэта не было дзіўна, але гэта кніга пра бацькоўства, бо бацька адыграў адну з галоўных роляў у жыцці Джоні. З кнігі можна зрабіць высновы а важнасці каманды, і аб тым, што нельга дазваляць удзячнасці трымаць тваю кар’еру на месцы. Трэба ісці наперад, нават калі гэта кагосьці пакрыўдзіць.
Дызайнеру кніга будзе карыснай, каб зразумець, што дызайн-прынцыпы можна і нават трэба ажыццяўляць у прадуктах, няхай гэта і патрабуе перарабіць усю лінію вытворчасці, але інакш рабіць вялікія прадукты складана.
Што прыемна, кніга не забывае крытыкаваць Эпл і Джоні. Іх дрэнную прыгоднасць да самастойнага рамонту, скандалы на фабрыцы Фокскон, мудачую зваротную сувязь Джобса ў стылі «гэта гаўно», ды іншае.
Напісана прыемнай брытанскай ангельскай, што добра дапаўняе кнігу, бо Джоні са ЗлучанагаКаралеўства, і сум па радзіме таксама апісаны ў кнізе.
This is an interesting book about Jony's approach to design. For me, the early years were the most fascinating, particularly the importance of his father and his education, as well as his early student projects and work at Tangerine.
As the book shifts to Apple, it becomes more about the company than about Jony, which is not necessarily a bad thing. It gives respect to iPod designer Tony Fadell and emphasizes that not all great ideas came from Jony's head, as the Industrial Design group was a team effort. Designing as a team was one of Jony's biggest successes.
The book also provides a lot of insight into Steve Jobs, and yes, he wasn't a nice guy.
I found it particularly interesting that the Industrial Design group and the User Interface group worked separately to maintain secrecy. It seems strange to design a user interface without knowing how the product will look, and vice versa, but it worked.
The book covers Jony's maniacal ideas of simplification, perfectionism, and the form-over-function approach in his designs. It also addresses critiques from those who criticize the low iFixit ratings of Apple products, prioritizing aesthetics over ergonomics, and so on.
I miss the big names in design; most modern design feels anonymous. I hope to see a new Jony soon; otherwise, the niche will degrade.
Як бы гэта не было дзіўна, але гэта кніга пра бацькоўства, бо бацька адыграў адну з галоўных роляў у жыцці Джоні. З кнігі можна зрабіць высновы а важнасці каманды, і аб тым, што нельга дазваляць удзячнасці трымаць тваю кар’еру на месцы. Трэба ісці наперад, нават калі гэта кагосьці пакрыўдзіць.
Дызайнеру кніга будзе карыснай, каб зразумець, што дызайн-прынцыпы можна і нават трэба ажыццяўляць у прадуктах, няхай гэта і патрабуе перарабіць усю лінію вытворчасці, але інакш рабіць вялікія прадукты складана.
Што прыемна, кніга не забывае крытыкаваць Эпл і Джоні. Іх дрэнную прыгоднасць да самастойнага рамонту, скандалы на фабрыцы Фокскон, мудачую зваротную сувязь Джобса ў стылі «гэта гаўно», ды іншае.
Напісана прыемнай брытанскай ангельскай, што добра дапаўняе кнігу, бо Джоні са ЗлучанагаКаралеўства, і сум па радзіме таксама апісаны ў кнізе.
March 24, 2014
Save yourself the time, money, and headache and read something else. I am hard pressed to think of anyone whom I would recommend read this book over any number of freely available articles and interviews online.
That's your "TL;DR". There's a lot that really disappointed me in this work; here are the three most salient issues.
1.) The title is "Jony Ive," which would lead you to believe that this book is a biography about Sir Jony Ive's life thus far. (This is, of course, what I was interested in reading about...to get inspired, to better understand the man behind brilliant design, etc). However, only about half of this book is a biography; the other half fixates on Apple, irrespective of the title individual.
Yes, Apple is a very important part of Ive's life; however, there are already plenty of books and publications that discuss Apple, with Ive as an interesting part of the larger picture. This is supposed to be the book that flips that formula and focuses on Ive, with Apple as an interesting part of the larger picture. For example, around the 2/3s mark, the reader discovers that Jony Ive has a number of friends who are also professional designers, such as Marc Newson. This dynamic and relationship could be an interesting avenue to explore - how it got started, how these designers may influence one another, etc. This is similarly true of Ive's nuclear family - what are they like, what are his interactions with them like, and how are they influencing one another throughout their lives? What are their tales and how do these intersect with the title individual? However, for whatever reason, these stories are absent yet the people are still mentioned as meaningful parts of Ive's life.
2.) This book is just badly written, from a mechanical and language standpoint. I've additionally never had to report so many content and typo errors on a book before. The author flip-flops on historical facts. (Did Jobs quit Apple or was he forced out? This book asserts one as truth in one chapter, and then the other in a subsequent chapter.) There seems to be a gross assumption that the audience knows exactly what Kahney is talking about in multiple situations. (For example, "the Android" - the relevance of this needs to be explained if it is used, and it is not relevant, then it should have been omitted. Additionally, even among people who are aware of what's being discussed, Android is never referred to as "the Android".)
Frustratingly, there are nearly entire pages that are simply direct quotations. Paragraphs and paragraphs of verbatim transcriptions of "S/he said..." make for a very uninteresting read, particularly when not presented in the format of the original interview transcript. The author's job is to craft a story, not simply act as a telegraph operator between the audience and his research sources. The language in the book tends to be extremely colloquial as well; you may like this, but I expected a tone beyond a web blog here.
On top of that, the author frequently bounces back and forth between future and past events; this is most grating in the first half of the book, where it feels like Kahney wants to quickly express what happens in Ive's early life so that he can finally talk all about Apple. (For instance, learning about Jony's philosophy towards design in his early years is great; being reminded, constantly, of how he applies this at Apple in another 100 pages is obnoxious, particularly as it is done frequently. This persists later in the book as well.)
Plus, for a book about a designer (and which then becomes about design itself later on), it seems like a terrible decision to not include images inline with the text as they're being discussed. I read this book on a Kindle Paperwhite, but I've seen numerous instances in other publications for Kindle where this has been done. If the book could show me what's being described, as it is described, I would have a much better understanding and appreciation of these creations. (To be fair, there is a photography appendix, but flipping to and from the text to the appendix significantly disrupts the narrative flow.)
3.) Perhaps most egregiously, it feels as though there is very little unique and new content in this book. Yes, there appear to be new interviews with Jony's co-workers, and this is good. And yes, Apple is extremely secretive, and the design team is certainly no exception. But when lines are repeatedly being used from very public and well known source, it feels like filler to extend the page count. On more than one occasion, content comes directly from promotional materials for Apple products or from Apple product keynotes - as a result, instead of reading like a well-balanced biography, Kahney's book comes off as a promotional pamphlet for Apple. And while Kahney certainly acknowledges the benefit provided by others who have written about Apple, it still feels like he should minimally cite this recycled content, particularly given that an audience interested in Apple may likely have already read some of those works (such as the Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson.)
A good biography should humanize the subject, showing both their strengths and weaknesses as well as their successes and shortcomings. By the end of the book, the reader should come away feeling as if they better understand and appreciation the star of the book. This book paints Sir Jony Ive in a gushingly favorable light, and I do not think this is, objectively, unfair. By all accounts and appearances, Jony Ive seems like a genuinely kind and brilliant person with a passion for design and the pursuit of excellence.
But reading this book was, for the most part, an exercise in frustration and exasperation, and left me with very little more than what I started with. The book goes off-track at a very early point, preferring to revel in Ive's time at Apple instead of exploring Ive as a human being. It pulls extensively from existing, well-known content, and seems to make no effort to try and integrate this into a cohesive narrative or analysis of the person. It lacks attention to the right kinds of detail - and in a biography about a detail-oriented person like Jony Ive, I would expect a much sharper and well-designed reading experience.
That's your "TL;DR". There's a lot that really disappointed me in this work; here are the three most salient issues.
1.) The title is "Jony Ive," which would lead you to believe that this book is a biography about Sir Jony Ive's life thus far. (This is, of course, what I was interested in reading about...to get inspired, to better understand the man behind brilliant design, etc). However, only about half of this book is a biography; the other half fixates on Apple, irrespective of the title individual.
Yes, Apple is a very important part of Ive's life; however, there are already plenty of books and publications that discuss Apple, with Ive as an interesting part of the larger picture. This is supposed to be the book that flips that formula and focuses on Ive, with Apple as an interesting part of the larger picture. For example, around the 2/3s mark, the reader discovers that Jony Ive has a number of friends who are also professional designers, such as Marc Newson. This dynamic and relationship could be an interesting avenue to explore - how it got started, how these designers may influence one another, etc. This is similarly true of Ive's nuclear family - what are they like, what are his interactions with them like, and how are they influencing one another throughout their lives? What are their tales and how do these intersect with the title individual? However, for whatever reason, these stories are absent yet the people are still mentioned as meaningful parts of Ive's life.
2.) This book is just badly written, from a mechanical and language standpoint. I've additionally never had to report so many content and typo errors on a book before. The author flip-flops on historical facts. (Did Jobs quit Apple or was he forced out? This book asserts one as truth in one chapter, and then the other in a subsequent chapter.) There seems to be a gross assumption that the audience knows exactly what Kahney is talking about in multiple situations. (For example, "the Android" - the relevance of this needs to be explained if it is used, and it is not relevant, then it should have been omitted. Additionally, even among people who are aware of what's being discussed, Android is never referred to as "the Android".)
Frustratingly, there are nearly entire pages that are simply direct quotations. Paragraphs and paragraphs of verbatim transcriptions of "S/he said..." make for a very uninteresting read, particularly when not presented in the format of the original interview transcript. The author's job is to craft a story, not simply act as a telegraph operator between the audience and his research sources. The language in the book tends to be extremely colloquial as well; you may like this, but I expected a tone beyond a web blog here.
On top of that, the author frequently bounces back and forth between future and past events; this is most grating in the first half of the book, where it feels like Kahney wants to quickly express what happens in Ive's early life so that he can finally talk all about Apple. (For instance, learning about Jony's philosophy towards design in his early years is great; being reminded, constantly, of how he applies this at Apple in another 100 pages is obnoxious, particularly as it is done frequently. This persists later in the book as well.)
Plus, for a book about a designer (and which then becomes about design itself later on), it seems like a terrible decision to not include images inline with the text as they're being discussed. I read this book on a Kindle Paperwhite, but I've seen numerous instances in other publications for Kindle where this has been done. If the book could show me what's being described, as it is described, I would have a much better understanding and appreciation of these creations. (To be fair, there is a photography appendix, but flipping to and from the text to the appendix significantly disrupts the narrative flow.)
3.) Perhaps most egregiously, it feels as though there is very little unique and new content in this book. Yes, there appear to be new interviews with Jony's co-workers, and this is good. And yes, Apple is extremely secretive, and the design team is certainly no exception. But when lines are repeatedly being used from very public and well known source, it feels like filler to extend the page count. On more than one occasion, content comes directly from promotional materials for Apple products or from Apple product keynotes - as a result, instead of reading like a well-balanced biography, Kahney's book comes off as a promotional pamphlet for Apple. And while Kahney certainly acknowledges the benefit provided by others who have written about Apple, it still feels like he should minimally cite this recycled content, particularly given that an audience interested in Apple may likely have already read some of those works (such as the Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson.)
A good biography should humanize the subject, showing both their strengths and weaknesses as well as their successes and shortcomings. By the end of the book, the reader should come away feeling as if they better understand and appreciation the star of the book. This book paints Sir Jony Ive in a gushingly favorable light, and I do not think this is, objectively, unfair. By all accounts and appearances, Jony Ive seems like a genuinely kind and brilliant person with a passion for design and the pursuit of excellence.
But reading this book was, for the most part, an exercise in frustration and exasperation, and left me with very little more than what I started with. The book goes off-track at a very early point, preferring to revel in Ive's time at Apple instead of exploring Ive as a human being. It pulls extensively from existing, well-known content, and seems to make no effort to try and integrate this into a cohesive narrative or analysis of the person. It lacks attention to the right kinds of detail - and in a biography about a detail-oriented person like Jony Ive, I would expect a much sharper and well-designed reading experience.
December 22, 2014
Steve Jobs has always been a great admirer of creativity and innovations. Steve Jobs found a man who has good passion for creativity and design just like him. Jony Ive, An English man who proved his masterpiece in almost every apple product. Jony Ive, turned out to be the favourite of Steve. Steve will have a design in his mind and Jony will build it for Steve. Jony was very much into design as a passion rather than a job. After the success of apple 2, Jobs wanted to do something different. Steve wanted Jon Ivy to take the mp3 player design to a next level. Jony had his intentions clear and neat. He will always tell his team to not worry about the cost as that is not their Job. If Jony had pocket full of cash, he will allow you to pull as much cash as you can just to get the expected output. A good enough design is always not a good enough for apple, that made Jony to go miles ahead with the iPhone.Jony has always been in the good books of Steve just because of his dedications. This book tells us how Jony joined apple and what it took Jony to be the Jony that apple see’s.This book also defines Opportunity and Legacy Jony had. On the whole anyone who like apple will enjoy this book as much as the apple they have!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 25, 2013
Nice read by a long-time Apple reporter. It's a challenge because in part, Ive's life story is sorta dull compared to Steve Jobs. No crazy fruititarian diets. No LSD trips. And in the telling, Ive never seems to experience setback. So the drama factor is low. Still, the book does a good job of explaining the messy and complex details of product design, which are laborious and tedious and rarely feature the simple narratives that later become myth.
September 13, 2022
3.5
I've never read a biography that manages to mentions the subject SO LITTLE. Decent book about Apple and its history, someone should've reminded this guy he was writing about JONY IVE. NOT STEVE JOBS.
I've never read a biography that manages to mentions the subject SO LITTLE. Decent book about Apple and its history, someone should've reminded this guy he was writing about JONY IVE. NOT STEVE JOBS.
October 9, 2022
Great insights in how Apple products were designed by Sir Jony Ive and how designing is/was done at Apple.
July 31, 2024
The book was captivating.
It was one of the easiest to read biographies.
I would have liked more spotlight on the man itself than Apple at the end.
The research put in the book should be really appreciated, consideringApplesecrecy.
It was one of the easiest to read biographies.
I would have liked more spotlight on the man itself than Apple at the end.
The research put in the book should be really appreciated, consideringApplesecrecy.
March 23, 2019
في البداية، ولأكون منصفًا، من الصعب كتابة تقييم منصف لهذا الكتاب، على الأقل بالنسبة للإصدار العربي منه.
لا يمكنني تجاهل كوني أقرأ إصدارًا مختلفًا عن الإصدار أو النسخة الأصلية، ولكن أيضًا لا أستطيع تجاهل أني أكتب مراجعة عن الإصدار العربي.
سأبدأ بالترجمة:
إن كان ثمة كتاب سيفسد لغتك، ويشتتك في الألفاظ والمفردات من بين كل الكتب، فهو هذا الكتاب.
هناك الكثير من الكلمات التي تمت كتابتها وتعريبها بشكل خاطئ، فقد تم استخدام كلمة [التلفون] بدلًا من الهاتف، وكلمة [التابليت] بدلًا من الجهاز اللوحي في بعض الأحيان.
كذلك الأرقام، تم استخدام كلمات مثل آيفون فور إس أو آيفون فايف أو آيفون سفن.
تمت أيضًا إضافة الكلمات العامية من لهجة المترجم:
مثل "يا خبر أبيض" وغيرها.
ليست المشكلة في عدم فهمي لهذه الكلمات، لكن أن تكتب كتابًا فيه هذه المفردات، مع وجود مفردات مناسبة لها في اللغة التي تترجم لها أراه أسوأ وأفظع من أي شيء آخر.
فالقارئ سيتأثر، شاء أم أبى، بكل ما يقرأ ولو بدرجة بسيطة.
عندما تمر عليه هذه المصطلحات بشكل اعتيادي ومتكرر لا بد أن يستخدمها عندما يكتب حتى في الأمور الرسمية كالمقالات أو المراجعات أو التقارير.
أشياء بسيطة ومتكررة كهذه تميت اللغة أكثر مما هي عليه الآن، وربما تصل للمرحلة التي تصبح فيها هذه المصطلحات غريبة وغير مألوفة لدى معظم الناس.
نأتي للجزء الأهم في المراجعة، وهو الكتاب نفسه:
لاحظت أن الكتاب، في كثير من جوانبه، يركز على شركة آبل أكثر من جوني إيف.
بالتأكيد شخص مثل جوني، لا بد أن تكون له علاقة مباشرة بكل ما يحدث في شركة آبل؛ لذلك لا مشكلة في كل ما ذُكِر.
المشكلة أن ما ذُكِر عن الشركة، أكثر مما ذُكِر عن صاحب الكتاب نفسه.
الشيء الذي أضعف كتاب ليندر هذا هو أنه لا يريد أن يخسر لا جوني ولا أي شخص آخر، وهذا ما لاحظته عندما قرأت كتاب ستيف أيضًا.
إن ليندر يبدو عاطفيًا لدرجة ملحوظة، وهذا ما أضعف كتبه، فأن تكون حياديًا يعني أن تتجاهل الكثير من الأمور الصحيحة والواقعية عن الشخص إن كانت سيئة.
بطبيعة الحال، ليس كل شخص كاملًا، وعندما كتب ليندر هذا الكتاب فإنه كتبه لأنه معجب بجوني، ومع ذلك فهو ربما لم يفعل سوى تجميع المقالات والتقارير والمعلومات الموجودة حقًا في كتب أخرى والحصول على بضع المعلومات الإضافية لتكوين هذا الكتاب.
أعتقد أن جوني ربما لا يزال أمامه الكثير لكي يكتب أحدهم سيرته الذاتية، خصوصًا أن إنجازاته لم تنتهي وأنه في طور العمل لدى آبل.
مع ذلك، لا يمنع هذا من كتابة كتاب عنه، ولكن في رأيي، والذي ليس صحيحًا دائمًا، أنك عندما تكتب لنا كتابًا يجب أن نقرأه عن شخص نحبه ونحترم إنجازاته، يجب أن تجمع عنه الكثير من الأشياء التي تثير أو لا تثير الاهتمام.
كل ما عرفته عن جوني في هذا الكتاب أنه مهووس بالتصميم لدرجة أنه يتشاجر مع رئيس قسم المعدات دائمًا، أنه خجول للغاية، أنه لا يحب الصعود على المسرح لتسلم جوائزه، أنه يحب السيارات، وأنه عبقري خلف أعظم منتجات آبل.
الكتاب جيد، ولا أريد إيصال فكرة أنه الأسوأ، لكنه أقل من أن يكون سيرة ذاتية لرجل عظيم مثل السير جونثان إيف.
أنصح بالنسخة الإنجليزية من هذا الكتاب لمحبي جوني إيف والذين يحبون شركة آبل ويودون معرفة أبسط الأشياء عنها، لكني لا أنصح بهذه النسخة العربية حتى لو لم يكن لديك أي شيء غيرها لتقرأه.
لا يمكنني تجاهل كوني أقرأ إصدارًا مختلفًا عن الإصدار أو النسخة الأصلية، ولكن أيضًا لا أستطيع تجاهل أني أكتب مراجعة عن الإصدار العربي.
سأبدأ بالترجمة:
إن كان ثمة كتاب سيفسد لغتك، ويشتتك في الألفاظ والمفردات من بين كل الكتب، فهو هذا الكتاب.
هناك الكثير من الكلمات التي تمت كتابتها وتعريبها بشكل خاطئ، فقد تم استخدام كلمة [التلفون] بدلًا من الهاتف، وكلمة [التابليت] بدلًا من الجهاز اللوحي في بعض الأحيان.
كذلك الأرقام، تم استخدام كلمات مثل آيفون فور إس أو آيفون فايف أو آيفون سفن.
تمت أيضًا إضافة الكلمات العامية من لهجة المترجم:
مثل "يا خبر أبيض" وغيرها.
ليست المشكلة في عدم فهمي لهذه الكلمات، لكن أن تكتب كتابًا فيه هذه المفردات، مع وجود مفردات مناسبة لها في اللغة التي تترجم لها أراه أسوأ وأفظع من أي شيء آخر.
فالقارئ سيتأثر، شاء أم أبى، بكل ما يقرأ ولو بدرجة بسيطة.
عندما تمر عليه هذه المصطلحات بشكل اعتيادي ومتكرر لا بد أن يستخدمها عندما يكتب حتى في الأمور الرسمية كالمقالات أو المراجعات أو التقارير.
أشياء بسيطة ومتكررة كهذه تميت اللغة أكثر مما هي عليه الآن، وربما تصل للمرحلة التي تصبح فيها هذه المصطلحات غريبة وغير مألوفة لدى معظم الناس.
نأتي للجزء الأهم في المراجعة، وهو الكتاب نفسه:
لاحظت أن الكتاب، في كثير من جوانبه، يركز على شركة آبل أكثر من جوني إيف.
بالتأكيد شخص مثل جوني، لا بد أن تكون له علاقة مباشرة بكل ما يحدث في شركة آبل؛ لذلك لا مشكلة في كل ما ذُكِر.
المشكلة أن ما ذُكِر عن الشركة، أكثر مما ذُكِر عن صاحب الكتاب نفسه.
الشيء الذي أضعف كتاب ليندر هذا هو أنه لا يريد أن يخسر لا جوني ولا أي شخص آخر، وهذا ما لاحظته عندما قرأت كتاب ستيف أيضًا.
إن ليندر يبدو عاطفيًا لدرجة ملحوظة، وهذا ما أضعف كتبه، فأن تكون حياديًا يعني أن تتجاهل الكثير من الأمور الصحيحة والواقعية عن الشخص إن كانت سيئة.
بطبيعة الحال، ليس كل شخص كاملًا، وعندما كتب ليندر هذا الكتاب فإنه كتبه لأنه معجب بجوني، ومع ذلك فهو ربما لم يفعل سوى تجميع المقالات والتقارير والمعلومات الموجودة حقًا في كتب أخرى والحصول على بضع المعلومات الإضافية لتكوين هذا الكتاب.
أعتقد أن جوني ربما لا يزال أمامه الكثير لكي يكتب أحدهم سيرته الذاتية، خصوصًا أن إنجازاته لم تنتهي وأنه في طور العمل لدى آبل.
مع ذلك، لا يمنع هذا من كتابة كتاب عنه، ولكن في رأيي، والذي ليس صحيحًا دائمًا، أنك عندما تكتب لنا كتابًا يجب أن نقرأه عن شخص نحبه ونحترم إنجازاته، يجب أن تجمع عنه الكثير من الأشياء التي تثير أو لا تثير الاهتمام.
كل ما عرفته عن جوني في هذا الكتاب أنه مهووس بالتصميم لدرجة أنه يتشاجر مع رئيس قسم المعدات دائمًا، أنه خجول للغاية، أنه لا يحب الصعود على المسرح لتسلم جوائزه، أنه يحب السيارات، وأنه عبقري خلف أعظم منتجات آبل.
الكتاب جيد، ولا أريد إيصال فكرة أنه الأسوأ، لكنه أقل من أن يكون سيرة ذاتية لرجل عظيم مثل السير جونثان إيف.
أنصح بالنسخة الإنجليزية من هذا الكتاب لمحبي جوني إيف والذين يحبون شركة آبل ويودون معرفة أبسط الأشياء عنها، لكني لا أنصح بهذه النسخة العربية حتى لو لم يكن لديك أي شيء غيرها لتقرأه.
September 8, 2019
ممتع و دسم جداً و ممتلئ بالدروس لكيفية صنع الأشياء من الألف إلى الياء بالطريقة التي ينبغي عليها/لها لصنع المنتجات ودروس في البيزنس والتسويق وإدارة الفريق والشركات يفيد اكثر المهتمين بالتصميم والفن
يحكي المجهود الجبار المبذول _من فريق التصميم بالاخص وليس جوني فقط_ والاهتمام بكل تفصيلة و الاخذ في الاعتبار خبرة المستخدم النهائي
واسرار أخرى مهمه جدا التي جعلت آبل هي آبل
الكتاب ليس فقط عن جوني ايف بل عن الشركة كلها من البدايه حتى صدور الكتاب وجوني ايف جزء مهم منها
الترجمه ليست جيده يُفضل قراءته بلغته الأصلية
يحكي المجهود الجبار المبذول _من فريق التصميم بالاخص وليس جوني فقط_ والاهتمام بكل تفصيلة و الاخذ في الاعتبار خبرة المستخدم النهائي
واسرار أخرى مهمه جدا التي جعلت آبل هي آبل
الكتاب ليس فقط عن جوني ايف بل عن الشركة كلها من البدايه حتى صدور الكتاب وجوني ايف جزء مهم منها
الترجمه ليست جيده يُفضل قراءته بلغته الأصلية
February 24, 2022
Although I was expecting more of Jony’s life, this book only churning through Apple in general and it is a big disappointment. The content mostly restating the information which already known publicly. It is repetitive, and badly designed.
April 12, 2020
The only reason I finished this book was because I am a designer and I thought I might learn something. And I have, props to the book for doing that. The content is at points very inspiring. At other points, however, it is very repetitive, with a lot of 'this person said' and 'that person said', as well as a lot of details and anecdotes that are actually not that exciting.
But what annoyed me the most was how badly designed this book had been. While not 'a design book', this book is about design, and yet there are no design sketches in it. Not a single one. There is, right in the middle of the book, a brief collection of small and grainy black-and-white photos, a mixture of portraits, candid shots, product imagery and photos of prototypes, to which the book makes occasional references, but that was it. Not useful.
Instead, I would have LOVED to see a progression of sketches and prototypes of each of the products that the text describes in detail, iteration by iteration. And the reader has to either imagine it all, recall from experience or - as I did - just freaking Google it. I found some articles on the internet that - for free - shed a much a clearer light on the products that Jony Ive and his team designed, so the content is out there for people to find and look at. Why it has not been included in the book escapes me.
But what annoyed me the most was how badly designed this book had been. While not 'a design book', this book is about design, and yet there are no design sketches in it. Not a single one. There is, right in the middle of the book, a brief collection of small and grainy black-and-white photos, a mixture of portraits, candid shots, product imagery and photos of prototypes, to which the book makes occasional references, but that was it. Not useful.
Instead, I would have LOVED to see a progression of sketches and prototypes of each of the products that the text describes in detail, iteration by iteration. And the reader has to either imagine it all, recall from experience or - as I did - just freaking Google it. I found some articles on the internet that - for free - shed a much a clearer light on the products that Jony Ive and his team designed, so the content is out there for people to find and look at. Why it has not been included in the book escapes me.
March 24, 2016
I would say the book deserves a rating of 4.5 stars which can be rounded off to 4 stars. It is rounded off to 4 stars and not 5 because of Walter Isaacson and his biography on Steve Jobs (titled Steve Jobs). I did a grave mistake of reading the book 'Steve Jobs' before this one. And so, my definition of a biography was set at soaring heights by Isaacson. The amount of research and number of pages on the guy on whom the book is based on defined the book 'Jobs' and which in turn defined what a biography should be. And quite naturally that was what I was expecting with this one too. Even though adequate research was done on Jony Ive, the number of pages was cut into half of what Isaacson offered in his book (perfectly adhering to the mantra of Apple "get rid of the crappy stuff").
If 'Jobs' was a classic among biographies, then 'Jony Ive' is a cool one. Its like Christopher Nolan's Batman vs Zack Snyder's Batman. One thing that pisses me off in biographies is the shit people say such as "I saw the potential in him the first time I met..." or "the moment I saw him I knew he was going to scale heights". I mean, what the shit. This is similar to shit I hear when eminent personalities or celebrities pass away such as "he was a great soul" or "he was like a brother to me". In reality, they two wouldn't have seen each other eye to eye, but after his death, that guy suddenly becomes his all in all. The book 'Steve Jobs' was filled with such crap (mostly from Sculley and other people with whom Jobs had a fall out). But Leander Kahney has put a lid on such shit in 'Jony Ive'. That is one reason why I loved this book more than 'Steve Jobs'. And another major factor is that, there's a limit to which one can go on reading about the same guy. Yeah, I know its a biography and that the book should be based on him, but it gets boring after a time. Kahney made sure that he talked about people around Jony Ive too. He even included some light moments and occasional humor.
In the minds of general public, who doesn't know much about Apple Inc in detail, they have a misconception that it is Jobs who revived the company. Well, technically it is correct. But Kahney has pointed out that it was Robert Brunner who started the revolution in Apple to shift the control from Engineering team to Design team which in turn laid the foundation for the upcoming years of prosperity. In fact, it was Brunner who unearthed the talent in Jony by giving him free reigns. All Jobs had to do was spot this gem who was already sparkling in the Design Team. Kahney didn't suck up to Jobs and his followers, instead he had the guts to reveal the true reformer who was not out there to be seen in the public. The amount of information included in the book regarding Apple and its product development process surprised me considering how much of a secretive organization Apple is.
One other reason why I loved the read was because I have never read another in which the pages were so soothing to the eyes. The spacing between the words and lines were perfect. Unlike 'Steve Jobs' I never felt I was straining too much while going through a page.
In spite of all these positives, I took away one star because as I said in the beginning, 'Steve Jobs' set the definition for what a biography should be. Even though I enjoyed this much more than the former, I had to do this *sobbing.
If 'Jobs' was a classic among biographies, then 'Jony Ive' is a cool one. Its like Christopher Nolan's Batman vs Zack Snyder's Batman. One thing that pisses me off in biographies is the shit people say such as "I saw the potential in him the first time I met..." or "the moment I saw him I knew he was going to scale heights". I mean, what the shit. This is similar to shit I hear when eminent personalities or celebrities pass away such as "he was a great soul" or "he was like a brother to me". In reality, they two wouldn't have seen each other eye to eye, but after his death, that guy suddenly becomes his all in all. The book 'Steve Jobs' was filled with such crap (mostly from Sculley and other people with whom Jobs had a fall out). But Leander Kahney has put a lid on such shit in 'Jony Ive'. That is one reason why I loved this book more than 'Steve Jobs'. And another major factor is that, there's a limit to which one can go on reading about the same guy. Yeah, I know its a biography and that the book should be based on him, but it gets boring after a time. Kahney made sure that he talked about people around Jony Ive too. He even included some light moments and occasional humor.
In the minds of general public, who doesn't know much about Apple Inc in detail, they have a misconception that it is Jobs who revived the company. Well, technically it is correct. But Kahney has pointed out that it was Robert Brunner who started the revolution in Apple to shift the control from Engineering team to Design team which in turn laid the foundation for the upcoming years of prosperity. In fact, it was Brunner who unearthed the talent in Jony by giving him free reigns. All Jobs had to do was spot this gem who was already sparkling in the Design Team. Kahney didn't suck up to Jobs and his followers, instead he had the guts to reveal the true reformer who was not out there to be seen in the public. The amount of information included in the book regarding Apple and its product development process surprised me considering how much of a secretive organization Apple is.
One other reason why I loved the read was because I have never read another in which the pages were so soothing to the eyes. The spacing between the words and lines were perfect. Unlike 'Steve Jobs' I never felt I was straining too much while going through a page.
In spite of all these positives, I took away one star because as I said in the beginning, 'Steve Jobs' set the definition for what a biography should be. Even though I enjoyed this much more than the former, I had to do this *sobbing.
January 17, 2015
A great book but probably many would find dry and over detailed, I however found it had the right amount of detail. The author gives us an in depth look at the Apple Industrial Design Group (IDg). Having been a long time Apple user (since 1980) it was great to see some of the underlying thought processes involved in the design of Apple products. This book goes beyond just design and shows us how Jony Ive has pioneered many new manufacturing processes, he has extended the way many things are built today. For anyone interested in industrial design this is an essential book.
December 14, 2017
Dlaczego nie mamy w Polsce swojego Ive'a? To bardzo proste: nad Wisłą Jony zostałby zatłuczony siekierami jak Miciński, albo musiał się otruć jak Witkiewicz na wieść o nadchodzącym ze wschodu "Done Manifesto". Zaszpachlować, podeprzeć patykiem, a wieczorem uczcić życie przy wódeczce to objawy kultury, która nieprędko wykształci własnych geniuszy. Jeśli w ogóle, bo przy tym, co my tutaj robimy, bardziej prawdopodobne jest, że zastąpią nas roboty.
June 21, 2014
Interesting read, reveals some alternate views on the apple history not from Steve Jobs perspective. Jony Ive is an amazing designer and very interesting to read about. Book was a little slow to get going but worth seeing it through.
April 6, 2015
Good Profile of Jony Ive. I wish it was more detailed.
Favorite Quotes from the book:
-----
(Referring to one of Jony's teachers in design school)
“And he had these fantastic big brushes in his pocket. When he came round, he wouldn’t just stop and talk to us; he would make us brush off what we were working on and clear a little space. Even if it was terrible, and in our minds didn’t deserve any clearing of space, there was something about respecting the work; the idea that actually it was important � and if you didn’t take the time to do it, why should anybody else?�
-----
(Talking about Brunner's management at Apple)
"Attempting to keep the spirit of innovation alive, Brunner had started conducting offline projects � what he called ‘parallel design investigations�.
‘The idea was to develop new form factors, new levels of expression and strategies for handling new technology without the pressure of a deadline,� he explained. Critically, Brunner wanted to keep this type of investigation ‘off-line� because it allowed his team to make mistakes, to feel separate enough from the grind of production that the creative juices could percolate. ‘Because the ideas generated off-line are often our best ideas, parallel design investigations can be extremely valuable,� he said. ‘This information not only enriches our language, it gives you something to point to and say, “This is what we can move towards�."
-----
“As industrial designers we no longer design objects,� Jony said. “We design the user’s perceptions of what those objects are, as well as the meaning that accrues from their physical existence, their function and the sense of possibility they offer.�
“They discussed topics like “objects that dispense positive emotions�; one of the designers suggested a transparent gumball dispenser as an example of this,� Leander Kahney writes.
“The Industrial Design team also discussed how other businesses, like the fashion industry, might approach the problem,� Kahney explains.
“We talked about companies like Swatch—companies that broke the rules—that viewed technology as a way to the consumer, not the consumer as the path to the technology,� Jony said.
Later, Jony explained his thinking this way. The computer industry “is an industry that has become incredibly conservative from a design perspective,� he said. “It is an industry where there is an obsession about product attributes that you can measure empirically. How fast is it? How big is the hard drive? How fast is the CD? That is a very comfortable space to compete in because you can say eight is better than six.�
But Jony offered a key insight: “It’s also very inhuman and very cold. Because of the industry’s obsession with absolutes, there has been a tendency to ignore product attributes that are difficult to measure or talk about. In that sense, the industry has missed out on the more emotive, less tangible product attributes. But to me, that is why I bought an Apple computer in the first place. That is why I came to work for Apple. It’s because I’ve always sensed that Apple had a desire to do more than the bare minimum. It wasn’t just going to do what was functionally and empirically necessary. In the early stuff, I got a sense that care was taken even on details, hard and soft, that people may never discover.�
� Page 117
-----
“In the months after the iMac launch, the A team also perfected a new methodology for developing products. Called the Apple new product process, or ANPP, it would emerge as one of the keys to Apple’s success.
Not surprisingly, in the world according to Steve Jobs, the ANPP would rapidly evolve into a well-defined process for bringing new products to market by laying out in extreme detail every stage of product development.
Embodied in a program that runs on the company’s internal network, the ANPP resembled a giant checklist. It detailed exactly what everyone was to do at every stage for every product, with instructions for every department ranging from hardware to software, and on to operations, finance, marketing, even the support teams that troubleshoot and repair the product after it goes to market. “It’s everything from the supply chain to the stores,� said one former executive. “It’s hooked into all the suppliers and the suppliers� suppliers. Hundreds of companies. Everything from the paint and the screws to the chips.�
The ANPP involves every department from the outset, including functions like marketing, whose work will only be seen after the product is launched. “It’s very important at Apple that the needs of the customer and needs to compete in the marketplace are considered when we create a product right from the beginning,� said Apple’s head of marketing Phil Schiller. “[M]arketing is an equal member of the team creating our products, along with the engineering and operations team.�
“The system applied to Jony’s department, too, as the designers now had to tick off all of the steps, from investigation and concept to design and production. Sally Grisedale, former manager of Apple’s advanced technology group (which worked closely with the design group), said it was the systematic documentation that set Apple’s ANPP apart.
“It’s all written down. It has to be. There are so many moving parts,� she said. “Even when I was there, all the processes were worked out. That’s why [Apple] was such a perfect company to work for, because they had booklets on how they do it, and they helped you, when building the software or the hardware. It had to be really systematic. So it was a very rude awakening for me to go a different company like Excite or Yahoo because they had none of that! Nothing written down. Like, Process? Are you kidding? Just “ship it and get it out there!�
Another inspiration for the ANPP was the modern engineering management system known as “concurrent engineering,� which permits different departments to work in parallel (unlike the old model, under which projects get passed from one team to another in serial).�
“At the old Apple, the engineers would work on a product before passing it to the designers to skin it. This wouldn’t work for Jobs’s new Apple, with the increased primacy of the ID studio.�
-----
"Former Apple design leader Bob Brunner told Kahney, "Apple designers spend ten percent of their time doing traditional industrial design: coming up with ideas, drawing, making models, brainstorming. They spend ninety percent of their time working with manufacturing, figuring out how to implement their ideas."
-----
"This is a defining moment, where hardware fulfills it promise and simply gets out of the way. A shape of glass existing solely to contain an experience. The user interface will be how we remember a device, fondly or not. The way it looks and reacts. It will live in our cars and living rooms, become part of the architecture, cover our landscapes. It will affect the media we consume, the way we look at the world, and how we learn and communicate. Here’s to the age of the user interface."
-----
“Our goal isn’t to make money. Our goal absolutely at Apple is not to make money. This may sound a little flippant, but it’s the truth. “Our goal and what gets us excited is to try to make great products. We trust that if we are successful, people will like them, and if we are operationally competent we will make revenue, but we are very clear about our goal." —Jony Ive
Favorite Quotes from the book:
-----
(Referring to one of Jony's teachers in design school)
“And he had these fantastic big brushes in his pocket. When he came round, he wouldn’t just stop and talk to us; he would make us brush off what we were working on and clear a little space. Even if it was terrible, and in our minds didn’t deserve any clearing of space, there was something about respecting the work; the idea that actually it was important � and if you didn’t take the time to do it, why should anybody else?�
-----
(Talking about Brunner's management at Apple)
"Attempting to keep the spirit of innovation alive, Brunner had started conducting offline projects � what he called ‘parallel design investigations�.
‘The idea was to develop new form factors, new levels of expression and strategies for handling new technology without the pressure of a deadline,� he explained. Critically, Brunner wanted to keep this type of investigation ‘off-line� because it allowed his team to make mistakes, to feel separate enough from the grind of production that the creative juices could percolate. ‘Because the ideas generated off-line are often our best ideas, parallel design investigations can be extremely valuable,� he said. ‘This information not only enriches our language, it gives you something to point to and say, “This is what we can move towards�."
-----
“As industrial designers we no longer design objects,� Jony said. “We design the user’s perceptions of what those objects are, as well as the meaning that accrues from their physical existence, their function and the sense of possibility they offer.�
“They discussed topics like “objects that dispense positive emotions�; one of the designers suggested a transparent gumball dispenser as an example of this,� Leander Kahney writes.
“The Industrial Design team also discussed how other businesses, like the fashion industry, might approach the problem,� Kahney explains.
“We talked about companies like Swatch—companies that broke the rules—that viewed technology as a way to the consumer, not the consumer as the path to the technology,� Jony said.
Later, Jony explained his thinking this way. The computer industry “is an industry that has become incredibly conservative from a design perspective,� he said. “It is an industry where there is an obsession about product attributes that you can measure empirically. How fast is it? How big is the hard drive? How fast is the CD? That is a very comfortable space to compete in because you can say eight is better than six.�
But Jony offered a key insight: “It’s also very inhuman and very cold. Because of the industry’s obsession with absolutes, there has been a tendency to ignore product attributes that are difficult to measure or talk about. In that sense, the industry has missed out on the more emotive, less tangible product attributes. But to me, that is why I bought an Apple computer in the first place. That is why I came to work for Apple. It’s because I’ve always sensed that Apple had a desire to do more than the bare minimum. It wasn’t just going to do what was functionally and empirically necessary. In the early stuff, I got a sense that care was taken even on details, hard and soft, that people may never discover.�
� Page 117
-----
“In the months after the iMac launch, the A team also perfected a new methodology for developing products. Called the Apple new product process, or ANPP, it would emerge as one of the keys to Apple’s success.
Not surprisingly, in the world according to Steve Jobs, the ANPP would rapidly evolve into a well-defined process for bringing new products to market by laying out in extreme detail every stage of product development.
Embodied in a program that runs on the company’s internal network, the ANPP resembled a giant checklist. It detailed exactly what everyone was to do at every stage for every product, with instructions for every department ranging from hardware to software, and on to operations, finance, marketing, even the support teams that troubleshoot and repair the product after it goes to market. “It’s everything from the supply chain to the stores,� said one former executive. “It’s hooked into all the suppliers and the suppliers� suppliers. Hundreds of companies. Everything from the paint and the screws to the chips.�
The ANPP involves every department from the outset, including functions like marketing, whose work will only be seen after the product is launched. “It’s very important at Apple that the needs of the customer and needs to compete in the marketplace are considered when we create a product right from the beginning,� said Apple’s head of marketing Phil Schiller. “[M]arketing is an equal member of the team creating our products, along with the engineering and operations team.�
“The system applied to Jony’s department, too, as the designers now had to tick off all of the steps, from investigation and concept to design and production. Sally Grisedale, former manager of Apple’s advanced technology group (which worked closely with the design group), said it was the systematic documentation that set Apple’s ANPP apart.
“It’s all written down. It has to be. There are so many moving parts,� she said. “Even when I was there, all the processes were worked out. That’s why [Apple] was such a perfect company to work for, because they had booklets on how they do it, and they helped you, when building the software or the hardware. It had to be really systematic. So it was a very rude awakening for me to go a different company like Excite or Yahoo because they had none of that! Nothing written down. Like, Process? Are you kidding? Just “ship it and get it out there!�
Another inspiration for the ANPP was the modern engineering management system known as “concurrent engineering,� which permits different departments to work in parallel (unlike the old model, under which projects get passed from one team to another in serial).�
“At the old Apple, the engineers would work on a product before passing it to the designers to skin it. This wouldn’t work for Jobs’s new Apple, with the increased primacy of the ID studio.�
-----
"Former Apple design leader Bob Brunner told Kahney, "Apple designers spend ten percent of their time doing traditional industrial design: coming up with ideas, drawing, making models, brainstorming. They spend ninety percent of their time working with manufacturing, figuring out how to implement their ideas."
-----
"This is a defining moment, where hardware fulfills it promise and simply gets out of the way. A shape of glass existing solely to contain an experience. The user interface will be how we remember a device, fondly or not. The way it looks and reacts. It will live in our cars and living rooms, become part of the architecture, cover our landscapes. It will affect the media we consume, the way we look at the world, and how we learn and communicate. Here’s to the age of the user interface."
-----
“Our goal isn’t to make money. Our goal absolutely at Apple is not to make money. This may sound a little flippant, but it’s the truth. “Our goal and what gets us excited is to try to make great products. We trust that if we are successful, people will like them, and if we are operationally competent we will make revenue, but we are very clear about our goal." —Jony Ive
October 21, 2018
This is not a book about Jonathan Ive only. If you’ve read ‘Theory of Expertise�, you will immediately see the parallels of a design-obsessed father nudging his kid into a world of design. And, what a nudge it was. From North of England to London to Cupertino, Jonathan Ive has influenced Product Design across categories right from his school days - winning competitions, accolades, special requests to ‘only� have Jonathan Ive on the project and finally becoming the confidante of Steve Jobs (he was the only other person Steve Jobs asked for apart from his wife after his first operation). The parts of Jonathan Ive’s life outside Apple are very well documented. Given that many people think that Ive’s departure from Apple will be more damaging for the company than Jobs himself, the part of Jony Ive’s life inside Apple could have been explored more richly. The power tussles, the long road to innovation and chance discovery of products is explored surface level only. Despite that some of the stories are well explored - the use of ONLY polished aluminium screws on a casing, the culturally inclusive design process, the many prototypes of the iPhone home button, the relationship of the Helvetica Nueu font with retina display and the move away from skeumorphism in iOs7. However, the parts where Steve Jobs comes on the scene, sparkle. Unlike the other books, this one presents Jobs as a loyal, sensitive and attentive professional, and friend. The book recommendations alone are a gold mine. I enjoyed it but it is a long read and not only about Apple - so you may want to pick it only if you want to read a whole biography - which in many cases is dry and over-detailed.
January 4, 2022
I got this book after I read the biography of Steve Jobs. I'm a massive fan of the Apple philosophy when it comes to creating products.
Jony Ive shares a design philosophy with me. He says that a good product design is invisible, it makes the interaction so intuitive it is thoughtless. I enjoyed learning more about his path to Apple and the highlights of his career.
I can't praise too much the quality of the biography though. A lot of the information feels like hearsay. Some of the timelines are a bit messed up, i.e. the author is talking about an event at the end of 2007 and then a few paragraphs down jumps back 6-7 months in a non-sequitur tale of something that happened before that.
5 stars for the topic, 1 star for execution :)
Jony Ive shares a design philosophy with me. He says that a good product design is invisible, it makes the interaction so intuitive it is thoughtless. I enjoyed learning more about his path to Apple and the highlights of his career.
I can't praise too much the quality of the biography though. A lot of the information feels like hearsay. Some of the timelines are a bit messed up, i.e. the author is talking about an event at the end of 2007 and then a few paragraphs down jumps back 6-7 months in a non-sequitur tale of something that happened before that.
5 stars for the topic, 1 star for execution :)
July 2, 2019
A fascinating insight into the secret beast that is Apple. Very interesting on Steve Jobs' influence on Apple and the way they have ascended to be the company they are today.
Ive is no doubt a huge part of this, and an insight into his role at Apple and the development of products in no short of genius. By reading this, you understand that every detail of their products are heavily influenced by Ive and today we use devices and software that he has poured his life into.
Ive is no doubt a huge part of this, and an insight into his role at Apple and the development of products in no short of genius. By reading this, you understand that every detail of their products are heavily influenced by Ive and today we use devices and software that he has poured his life into.
June 28, 2019
I started this book expecting a glimpse into Jony Ive's mind and life. By the time I finished, what I got was very little of that but a whole lot about his way of working, his career trajectory, defining moments of his growth as a design leader and even insights into the nuts and bolts of the iconic products that he helped create. If you are a designer, you will cherish this book as a turning point in how you see yourself and your craft. This book is inspiring and captivating for a designer.
I've just finished reading this book and I'm already experiencing some withdrawals. I wish it went on for longer.
If you're not a designer, be ready for some nerd talk on product design. Odds are that they will grow on you.
I've just finished reading this book and I'm already experiencing some withdrawals. I wish it went on for longer.
If you're not a designer, be ready for some nerd talk on product design. Odds are that they will grow on you.
February 14, 2021
تجوال حميل عبر حياك الله جوني آيف في عوالم أبل
تعلمت من هذا الكتاب الصبر الدأب للوصول للأهداف وعدم الانهزام بسبب الفشل
رغم الميزات التي يمنحها العمل فإن آيف لم يغتر بل استمر في مستوى عال من المثابرة حتى وصل إلى أهدافه
جميل للمهتمين
تعلمت من هذا الكتاب الصبر الدأب للوصول للأهداف وعدم الانهزام بسبب الفشل
رغم الميزات التي يمنحها العمل فإن آيف لم يغتر بل استمر في مستوى عال من المثابرة حتى وصل إلى أهدافه
جميل للمهتمين
September 11, 2019
I will be honest, with all secrecy around Apple processes and teams, the content is interesting
I just loved to understand the parallelism between Apple evolution with impact of Jony in the process.
I just loved to understand the parallelism between Apple evolution with impact of Jony in the process.
October 3, 2024
Phenomenally researched and detailed. Had to read for class but I’d recommend it anyone to is interested in product design, marketing, fashion, or anything creative.
March 13, 2025
More about Apple, they history and products, than Jonny. But still interesting.
July 4, 2018
Отличная книга о человеке, который, возможно, важнее даже для Эпла, чем был Джобс. Много сказано про дизайн, производство, подход к работе. При этом читать легко и многие фразы хочется сохранить в памяти, уж очень они хороши.
April 20, 2015
An interesting book covering the life of Jony Ive and the design issues at Apple during Ive's employment. I have not kept up on Apple design over the years but have read a number of articles along the way, so I found that most of the topics and discussion in this book about Apple products were familiar. There were also quite a few new things I learned about the products, the design process, and in particular about Jony Ive. Two things bothered me though. First, Ive apparently didn't participate in the creation of this book. Instead, it is based on a lot of secondary sources and interviews of others. This left the feeling like there were lots of different voices of Ive throughout the book - the direct quotes were not for the book but for other publications, like magazine articles. Second, the book appears to repeat in multiple places. I say appears in some cases because I wonder if it was an issue with the audio version I borrowed from my library. In other cases, it's just an editing choice that I felt wasted the reader's time. Some repeating is also due to organization of the book on themes, or maybe projects would be a better term. It felt casual, which is good, but the repetition irked.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 389 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.