From Computerphobe to iMac Designer: The Career of Jonathan Ive

At art college in the UK, applied arts and design student Jonathan Ive was never keen on computers. Now he heads the Apple Computers design team that dreamed-up the iMac.

by Jane Smallman
jane.smallman@collegesearchengine.com
College Search Engine Columnist

As an applied arts and design student, Jonathan Ive never got along with computers—not until someone at his college introduced him to an Apple Mac. Today he heads Apple’s design team, and is the inspiration behind such iconic products as the iMac and iPod.

Learning the Basics with an Applied Arts and Design Degree

Ive was always interested in the ways objects were made, and by the time he was a teenager he knew he wanted to be a designer. It wasn’t until he started studying applied arts and design at art college, however, that he began to get a clearer idea of what he wanted to work on long term.

The applied arts program helped him learn, as he puts it “some basic stuff” about design: the influence of form and color in defining perceptions, the importance of manufacturing methods, and the relevance of historical and cultural context.

It was also while at college that his incompatibility with computers was both revealed and overcome He thought he was just “technically inept” until he found an Apple Mac, and was immediately impressed by how much easier it was to use than other computers. Struck by the care that had been taken over its design, the idea of working for a company such as Apple began to take root in his mind.

Developing Design Skills

After college Ive joined design consultancy Tangerine, where he worked on a wide range of products “from hair combs … to power tools” and got the chance to hone the skills he had learned during his applied arts and design degree. Fortunately for him, Apple was a Tangerine client, and in 1992 he was invited to join their design team.

Today Ive is Apple’s Senior Vice President of Design, and there is no doubt that he has enormous natural ability for the job. But he might never have found it without the applied arts and design degree that helped him develop his talents, and first made him aware of the innovative computer company with which he would later make design history.

Sources

Design Museum
BBC News

About the Author

Jane Smallman combines freelance writing with running a mountain-guiding business with her husband. She has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in the Social Sciences.

Posted on January 19, 2007 at 1:04 PM

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