1. Jony is Dyslexic
Even so, he got three straight As at A-Level, good enough to get him into Oxford or Cambridge. Instead he went to Newcastle Polytechnic, one of the best places to study industrial design in the world. Later, he’d team up with another famous dyslexic: Steve Jobs.
2. His first car was an orange fiat 500
He drove it to school in the early 1980s. He had spiky gothic hair and would open the sun roof to stop it being flattened. His hair stuck out the top. He’s had a life-long passion for cars. He and his dad restored a Austin-Healy “Frogeye” Sprite. Later, he indulged in Aston Martins, Bentleys and Land Rovers.
3. He had a near fatal car accident just as Apple was taking off
He wrecked his Aston Martin DB9, a $250,000 James Bond super car, just outside San Francisco. He was lucky to survive, according to colleagues. It made Apple sit up and worry what would happen if they lost him. He got a big pay jump and a lump of stock options.
4. He’s obsessed with making you touch things
It’s fitting that the man behind the iPhone and iPad started his design career by adding a “fiddle factor” to his products. All his early products were marked by little thoughtful touches that made owners want to fiddle with them. An early tablet for Apple, for example, had a telescoping pop-out pen that users loved to fiddle with. He even added handles to his computers to encourage users to touch them.
5. He heads a design team that hasn’t much changed since the mid 1990s
Apple’s design team was pretty much in place before Steve Jobs returned to the company, and is still in place today. It consists of about 20 designers who work in an ultra-secure studio on Apple’s campus in California. As well as being better paid than most designers, a lot of them are sitting on lots of stock that was granted when Apple stock was in the tank. In addition, the designers call the shots at Apple: they’re the brains behind Apple’s little innovation factory.
About the book:
Jony Ive's designs have not only made Apple the most valuable company in the world, they've overturned entire industries, from music and mobile phones to PCs and tablets. His impact is so great that he is increasingly cited as an influence in industries Apple doesn't compete in.
But for someone who has changed the world and the way we interact with it, little is known about Ive. Unlike his former boss and frequent collaborator, Steve Jobs, Ive shuns the spotlight. Naturally shy, he lets his work speak for itself and concerns himself only with the craft that catapulted him to success: designing.
This is the first book to detail Ive's design philosophy and methodology. Blending biography with design how-to, Leander Kahney offers a rigorous examination of one of history's most remarkable careers. He provides readers with a clear, practical understanding of the guiding principles underlying Ive's phenomenal success. With humor and insight, Kahney tells the story of how this one man designs killer products, attracts fanatically loyal customers, and has helped build the world's most powerful brand.
Having covered Apple as an editor and reporter for decades and interviewed Ive on numerous occasions, Kahney has become the acknowledged expert on Apple, with unprecedented access to Ive's world.
We're offering five lucky readers the opportunity to win a copy of Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple's Greatest Products.To stand a chance of winning, simply enter your details here.