Jony Ive and Marc Newson Discuss Design, Obsession With Perfection in New Interview

Apple's senior vice president of design Jonathan Ive and industrial designer Marc Newson have collaborated on more than 40 objects, such as the one-of-a-kind Leica Rangefinder camera and the solid gold Apple EarPods, that will be auctioned at Sotheby’s in New York later this year to benefit Product (RED), Bono's charity that has a long running partnership with Apple.

The duo interviewed with Vanity Fair to talk about the collaborative design process and the exceptional amount of work that went into many of the products that will be up for auction.

leica5
Despite differences in aesthetic taste, Ive and Newson work well together due to an uncompromising obsession with detail and a shared belief that design involves more than surface appearance, a point that Jony Ive has spoken about in prior interviews.

"We are both fanatical in terms of care and attention to things people don't see immediately," Ive said. "It's like finishing the back of a drawer. Nobody's going to see it, but you do it anyway. Products are a form of communication—they demonstrate your value system, what you care about."

"You discover that very few people have the level of perfection we do. It is actually very sick," Newson said. "It is neurotic."

Later, waving his hand around the Claridge's suite, Ive said, “All of us in this room see the same things, the same objects, but Marc and I see what's behind them."

Coming up with a theme and deciding what to produce took the two men more than a year and a half, with months spent contemplating what to include, tracking down rare objects, and contacting manufacturers and factories. An extensive amount of time went into each object, especially the two handmade items – a desk and the Leica camera.

"I found it a very odd and unusual thing to put this amount of love and energy into one thing, where you are only going to make one,” Ive said. “But isn't it beautiful?" The camera's dollar worth is hard to estimate, since it is an art piece as much as a functioning object, but the value of the time Ive, Newson, and Leica's own engineers put into it probably totals well into six figures, and possibly seven.

The camera that Ive designed involved 947 prototype parts and 561 models. 55 Apple engineers assisted in the process, spending a collective 2,149 hours. Final assembly of the finished camera took 50 hours and more than six days.

During the interview, Ive also had a few words to say about the care and the precision involved in designing the iPhone, a set of qualities that distinguish Apple and its products from other smartphone manufacturers.

"The most important thing is that you actually care, that you do something to the very best of your ability," Ive told me. "We can't explain it in a fiscal sense, but the care that goes into the iPhone is equivalent to what goes into watches and other things that are significantly more expensive. I love the idea that the phone will be so broadly accessible."

The full Vanity Fair article, which includes further tidbits on the design histories of both Ive and Newson along with detailed information on several other products that will be up for auction, is well worth a read. The Sotheby's auction for Product (RED) will take place on November 23.

Top Rated Comments

macUser2007 Avatar
136 months ago
"All of us in this room see the same things, the same objects, but Marc and I see what's behind them."

Wow!

Methinks that Ive is starting to believe the legend of Ive, which is never a good thing.

He is obviously a good designer, but really...?
Score: 48 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Woyzeck Avatar
136 months ago
Thank you for that. This case makes it obvious that he's prefering form over function.

Ive's M9 has removed the unique and tangible camera controls from the camara's top that are important for the photographer and replaced them with uniform buttons (all images (c) by Leica):



While you could easily find and control the original M9's shutter speed without looking at the camera Ive's improvement removed the haptic feedback with flat wheels.

Then he removed the flash hotshoe, presumably because it destroyed the slick looks. And heck, who needs an external flash when taking pictures (remember the DVD drive in the iMac) ?

The situation on the back is similiar:



Leica's design has a four-wheel control with elevated buttons that provide haptic feedback, while Ive's version has a less-usable flat wheel. Furthermore the more important menu button is well-placed on the top-right corner of the display. Ive hides this button somewhere within 5 other buttons (again, they're flat). So in order to open the menu you will have to look at the camera's back.
Furthermore he removed the ocular's hood that reduces sun reflexions. But ok, it's more flat now.

Then he removed the zoom wheel from the bottom right place (where you usually have your thumb when taking a picture because the trigger finger is - well at the trigger) and replaced them with two flat buttons (again, no haptic feedback). It's clear that controlling the zoom with a wheel is much better than by pressing two buttons (faster, more precise, easier to find, more convenient).

So what we have here is the iMac of photography. It's less usable but slick.
(I'd like to see if he changed the menus and the other UI components to plain text as well ;-))
Score: 39 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pickaxe Avatar
136 months ago
The person who delegated the iOS 7 icons to the print and web design department talks about perfectionism :rolleyes:
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jon the Heretic Avatar
136 months ago
iOS 7

I lost a lot of respect for Jony after he took over and released iOS7. There are lots of types of designers and users, and iOS7 was designed for and by visual designers infatuated with the latest design fad. As an interaction designer, I find it much less usable (new features aside) than what it replaced. As a user, I simply hate the look.

I know people will get sick of hearing this, but the more I use iOS7, the more convinced I am of its truth: this would have never gotten past Steve Jobs. He had taste.

Go back to designing cases and boxes, Jony--that's something you are really good at.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Pyrrhic Victory Avatar
136 months ago
This is the ugliest camera I've ever seen since the digital age. Ive really needs to go. It's 100% his fault that Apple kicked out Forstall and Ive's pathetic attempt at a new OS design was an unmitigated disaster. He couldn't be more wrong about skeuomorphism if he tried. Apple really needs to bring back Forstall to clean up Ive's mess or good.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
musika Avatar
136 months ago
I still don't think it looks too great, especially compared to other Leicas. But hey, that could just be me.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 16 Camera Lozenge 2 Perspective Gray

Five Key Upgrades Coming to iPhone 16

Friday March 15, 2024 1:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone is Apple's top-selling product, and it gets an update every year. In 2024, we're expecting the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro lineup, with an arguably more interesting feature set than we got with the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Capture Button All four iPhone 16 models are set to get a whole new button, which will be...
iphone se 4 modified flag edges

iPhone SE 4 Expected to Depreciate Heavily

Tuesday March 12, 2024 9:04 am PDT by
Resale value trends suggest the iPhone SE 4 may not hold its value as well as Apple's flagship models, according to SellCell. According to the report, Apple's iPhone SE models have historically depreciated much more rapidly than the company's more premium offerings. The third-generation iPhone SE, which launched in March 2022, experienced a significant drop in resale value, losing 42.6%...
apple wallet drivers license feature

Apple Said iPhone Driver's Licenses Would Expand to These 8 U.S. States… Two Years Ago

Thursday March 14, 2024 7:33 am PDT by
In just four U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or ID to the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports, businesses, and venues. Adoption of the feature has been slow since Apple first announced it in September 2021, with IDs in the Wallet app only available in Arizona,...
airpods 3 orange

Two New AirPods 4 Models Expected to Launch in September or October

Sunday March 17, 2024 7:56 am PDT by
Apple suppliers will begin production of two new fourth-generation AirPods models in May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Based on this production timeframe, he expects the headphones to be released in September or October. Gurman expects both fourth-generation AirPods models to feature a new design with better fit, improved sound quality, and an updated charging case with a USB-C...
OLED iPad Air

iPad Air Next on Apple's OLED Tablet Roadmap Following iPad Pro

Friday March 15, 2024 3:30 am PDT by
The iPad Air will be the next Apple tablet to adopt OLED display panel technology following its upcoming OLED iPad Pro models, according to an updated forecast from research firm Omdia (via The Elec). "In 2028, we expect the iPad Air to go OLED as well, with the iPad Air using single-stack and the iPad Pro using two-stack tandem OLEDs," said Omdia researcher Kang Min-soo, speaking on...
When To Expect New iPads Feature 1

Apple to Announce New iPads on March 26, Rumors Claim

Monday March 18, 2024 4:02 am PDT by
Apple is widely expected to release new iPad Air and OLED iPad Pro models in the next few weeks. According to new rumors coming out of Asia, the company will announce its new iPads on Tuesday, March 26. Chinese leaker Instant Digital on Weibo this morning 日发布%23">claimed that the date will see some sort of announcement from Apple related to new iPads, but stopped short of calling it an...
Walmart MacBook Air M1

Walmart Begins Selling MacBook Air With M1 Chip for $699 in U.S.

Friday March 15, 2024 6:57 am PDT by
Walmart today announced that it has started selling the MacBook Air with the M1 chip in the U.S., with pricing set at a very reasonable $699. The laptop can be ordered now on Walmart.com, and it will be available soon at select Walmart stores. This is the first time that customers can purchase a Mac that is sold directly by Walmart, the company said in a press release. Some other retailers...