Olivia: Alright Jackson, before we dive in, what's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the name 'Jony Ive'? Jackson: Oh, that's easy. White. Everything is white. And aluminum. And probably a secret room where he just whispers 'simplicity' to a single, perfectly polished sphere. Olivia: You know, you’re not that far off, especially about the secret room part. But the sphere is probably made of some exotic, single-crystal alloy that took five years to develop. Jackson: And it would have no buttons, of course. You'd just have to feel its purpose. Olivia: Exactly. That feeling, that sense of care, is at the heart of the book we’re discussing today: Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple's Greatest Products by Leander Kahney. Jackson: I'm intrigued. Who is this author, Kahney? Is he someone who actually got inside that secret, white, aluminum room? Olivia: Almost. And he’s the perfect person to write this. He's a long-time Apple journalist who runs the Cult of Mac blog, so he has this deep, almost anthropological understanding of the company's culture. It gives the book a real insider feel, even though Ive himself is famously private and didn't give extensive new interviews for it. Jackson: So it's like a biography by an expert Kremlinologist, but for Apple's design studio? He’s interpreting the signs from the outside. Olivia: That’s a great way to put it. And that's the perfect place to start, because to understand the genius, you have to go back to the workshop where he was forged, long before Apple ever came calling.

Jackson: Okay, so where does this story begin? I’m picturing a kid taking apart the family toaster, much to his parents' dismay. Olivia: You’re spot on. The book opens with a young Jony Ive completely fascinated with how things are made. He’s constantly dismantling radios and cassette recorders. But instead of being a source of dismay, it was a source of encouragement, thanks to his father, Mike Ive. Jackson: Ah, the supportive parent. That's always a key ingredient in these stories. Olivia: It’s more than just support, though. Mike Ive wasn't just any dad; he was a master silversmith and a highly respected design technology teacher. The book paints this incredible picture of him shaping his son's entire worldview. They wouldn't just walk down the street; they'd have these deep conversations about the design of street lamps. Mike would ask Jony, "Why do you think they designed it this way? How does the light fall? How would weather affect it?" Jackson: Wow, that’s not a normal father-son chat. My dad and I talked about baseball scores. They were deconstructing the world around them. Olivia: Precisely. Mike was teaching him to see that everything man-made has a story, a purpose, and a level of care—or carelessness—behind it. Jony says in the book, "I came to realize that what was really important was the care that was put into it. What I really despise is when I sense some carelessness in a product." Jackson: That sounds a lot like Steve Jobs saying something is "shit." Just, you know, with a polite British accent. Olivia: It's the exact same sentiment! Jobs was his "spiritual partner" at Apple, but Jony's philosophy was baked in decades earlier. This idea of 'care' came directly from his father's workshop. His Christmas gift to Jony wasn't a toy; it was a day of his time in his college workshop, helping Jony make whatever he dreamed up. Jackson: That’s an incredible gift. It’s not about the object, it’s about the process of creation. Olivia: And that process was everything. There's a great story from his high school years that perfectly captures this. For a design project, Jony decided to create a portable overhead projector. This is back when OHPs were these huge, clunky things in every classroom. Jackson: Oh, I remember those. Giant beige boxes with a huge, hot lamp. Olivia: Right. Jony saw a need. He designed a sleek, portable OHP that collapsed into a matte black briefcase. A friend of his father’s saw the prototype and was blown away, saying its hydraulics folded out "almost with a sigh." He could see the "incipient talent" right there. Jackson: So it was a huge success? A sign of things to come? Olivia: Well, almost. He submitted it to a prestigious Young Engineer of the Year competition. But right before the final presentation, while giving it one last polish, he accidentally inserted the main lens backward. Jackson: No. Olivia: Yes. The device was completely useless. It was rejected. Jackson: That’s amazing! It’s so human. So his first big project was a failure because of one tiny, simple mistake. What does that tell us about him? Olivia: It tells us that his genius wasn't some infallible magic. It was rooted in process, in iteration, and in an almost painful level of dedication. This is the same guy who, for a university project, created over one hundred different foam models of a single design. Jackson: A hundred? That's not dedication; that's a clinical obsession. Who does that? Most people would make two or three and call it a day. Olivia: His friend who saw the apartment filled with these models said, "I’d never seen anything like it: the sheer focus to get it perfect." It wasn't just about getting the design right; it was about exploring every possible way it could be right, and every way it could be wrong. Jackson: So the British education system gets the credit here? The book mentions it was different from the American system. Olivia: Kahney makes a really interesting point about that. He says the British design education at the time wasn't about teaching you to be a good employee. It was about encouraging you to pursue a passion, to take big chances. They were taught to ask "What if?" instead of "What does the client want?" This fostered a generation of designers, including Jony, who were more interested in pushing boundaries than fitting in. Jackson: That rebellious spirit seems like a direct line to Apple's "Think Different" ethos. It’s like he was being trained for a company that, at that point, he had no idea he'd one day redefine. Olivia: And that obsession with process and care is the thread that connects directly to his time at Apple. Because when he finally gets there, he finds a company that has completely lost its way, and he brings that same fanatical care to a place that had started valuing bureaucracy over beauty.

Jackson: Okay, so before he gets to Apple, he's working at a design consultancy called Tangerine. And it sounds like he had some rough experiences there. Olivia: He really did. This is a crucial turning point. He lands a big project with a company called Ideal Standard. He's tasked with redesigning their bathroom fixtures—toilets, sinks, the works. Jackson: From high-tech projectors to toilets. The glamour of design. Olivia: He pours himself into it. He's researching marine biology for inspiration, fascinated by water flow. He designs these beautiful, elegant pieces. But when he presents the handmade foam models to the CEO, they're rejected outright. The CEO says they're too expensive to produce and complains that the sink's pillar might fall over and hurt a child. Jackson: Ouch. That’s a brutal rejection. Olivia: Jony was devastated. A colleague said he was "dejected and depressed. He had poured himself into working for people who really didn’t care." The client wanted to "productionize it," which, in Jony's view, meant they "tore out its heart and soul." Jackson: So that frustration becomes a catalyst. He realizes he can't work for people who don't share his values. Olivia: Exactly. And it's right around this time he first encounters Apple. He gets his hands on a Mac and is just floored. He said it was the first time he felt the "humanity of a product." He could sense the people who made it, that they cared. He saw this "cheeky, almost rebellious company" that stood for something more than just making money. Jackson: And that's the feeling he was missing with the toilet client. He wanted to be one of those people behind the product, the ones who cared. Olivia: Precisely. So when Apple, through their design chief Bob Brunner, comes calling and offers him a job, he eventually says yes. But the Apple he joins is a mess. It's pre-Steve Jobs's return. It's a company drowning in bureaucracy. It took them four years to release one product. Jackson: Four years? The iPod was developed in less than one. That’s insane. Olivia: It was product development by committee. They had marketing requirement documents, engineering requirement documents, user experience documents... all reviewed by more committees. Brunner called it "a race to the middle of the road." Jony was on the verge of quitting. He said, "All they wanted from us designers was a model of what something was supposed to look like on the outside, and then engineers would make it as cheap as possible." Jackson: And then Steve Jobs walks back in the door. Olivia: And everything changes. Jobs comes in and famously says, "The products suck! There’s no sex in them anymore." Jony, who was in the audience that day, said he suddenly understood. Jobs wasn't focused on cutting costs to save the company; he was focused on making great products again. Jackson: This is where the legendary partnership begins. How did that dynamic actually work? The book touches on the idea that Jobs often got the public credit for Ive's designs. Olivia: It was a true partnership, but Jobs was the ultimate editor and driver. Jony's team would generate hundreds of ideas and models. Jobs would come into the studio, and with his legendary focus, he would point to one and say, "That one." He provided the clarity and the relentless push for perfection. There's a story about the first iMac. The engineers gave Jobs 38 reasons why they couldn't make Jony's translucent, colorful design. Jackson: And what did Jobs say? Olivia: He just said, "No, we're doing this." They asked why. He replied, "Because I'm the CEO and I think it can be done." And they did it. He protected Jony's vision from the compromises of engineering and marketing. He gave the design team the power to lead. Jackson: So it wasn't Jobs stealing ideas, but amplifying the best one and clearing the path for it. He was the executive producer to Jony's director. Olivia: A perfect analogy. Jony's core philosophy was about humanizing technology. He hated the ugly, black, tacky electronics of the 90s. He wanted to make them friendly, approachable. That's why the first iMac had a handle. Not because it needed one, but because a handle is an invitation to touch, to interact. It says, "I'm not a scary machine; I'm a tool you can move and use." Jackson: It turns an intimidating object into something personal. That's a brilliant psychological trick. Olivia: And that principle of 'fanatical care' extended to everything. Take the first iPod. The team spent an incredible amount of time on the packaging. They designed a separate retail box that cradled the iPod like a piece of jewelry. Jackson: I remember that! The unboxing experience was an event in itself. Olivia: Right! Because, as one designer said, "Packaging, it’s just as important as everything else." It's the first physical interaction the customer has with the product. It communicates that same level of care Jony's father taught him all those years ago. It’s the idea that even the parts you'll never see, or the box you'll throw away, matter. Because they all contribute to that feeling—that sense of humanity in the machine.

Jackson: It’s amazing how all these threads—the silversmith father, the backward projector lens, the hated toilet project—all weave together into this single, powerful philosophy. Olivia: It really does. It all comes back to that one word: 'care.' His father taught him to care about craftsmanship. His education taught him to care about his passion. And at Apple, he and Jobs built a multi-trillion-dollar company on the principle of caring about details most people will never see, but will absolutely feel. Jackson: That's the core of it, isn't it? The feeling. We think of Apple products as minimalist, but the book argues it's not about minimalism for its own sake. It's about removing every single distraction so that the only thing left is the user's connection to what's on the screen. Olivia: Exactly. Jony called it creating an "infinity-pool illusion." The hardware should disappear. That's why he fought to use glass instead of plastic for the first iPhone screen, even when his team said it was impossible. A plastic screen felt cheap; it created a barrier. A glass screen felt like you were touching the software itself. Jackson: And that single decision, born from that obsession with 'feeling,' changed the entire industry. It's a powerful lesson. Olivia: It is. The book quotes Jony saying, "It’s very easy to be different, but very difficult to be better." And that's what his entire career has been about. Not just making things look different, but making them fundamentally better by caring more than anyone else thought was necessary. Jackson: It makes you wonder, in a world obsessed with moving fast and breaking things, what are we losing by not having that fanatical, almost spiritual, level of care in the things we make and use every day? Olivia: That's a perfect question for our listeners. What's a product in your life where you can just feel the care that went into it? It doesn't have to be tech. It could be a chair, a pen, anything. Let us know on our socials. We'd love to hear your examples. Jackson: A great place to end. This was fascinating. Olivia: This is Aibrary, signing off.