By Melissa Daniels | Mon Mar 12, 2012 1:40 pm
At Apple, being new isn't good enough, according to design leader Jonathan Ive -- it's only improvement that gives way to innovation and builds the company's successful brand philosophy.Ive opened up about the company's design process in a rare interview with the Evening Standard, boiling it down to "designing and prototyping and making." Those three steps are essential to advancing development, Ive said, shedding light on how Apple consistently produces top products.
The noted designer's comments suggest why the Cupertino, Calif.-based company's competitors may have failed to win over Macs, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad, all of which Ives oversaw. By offering devices that, in Ives words, fit with the mission "to create simple objects, objects that you can't imagine any other way," Apple manages to edge out competitors trying to beat it with something "new" that may not necessarily improve the overall product.
Forging new ground is where Apple succeeds, or as Ives says, "if we can't make something better, we won't do it."
As the senior vice president of industrial design for Apple, Ive is widely acclaimed as one of the world's most influential designers both within the design world and beyond. Ive was knighted by the Queen in his home country of England, was also named Designer of the Year by the Design Museum London, and received the title of Royal Designer for Industry by The Royal Society of Arts.
With such recognition, the designer rarely opens up about what goes on in Apple's creative team. But his recent interview shed light on how Apple stays focused on its mission -- and suggests how competitors can wander from the path during the race to the next big thing.
"Most of our competitors are interested in doing something different, or want to appear new -- I think those are completely the wrong goals," he told the Evening Standard. "A product has to be genuinely better. This requires real discipline, and that's what drives us -- a sincere, genuine appetite to do something that is better."
That appetite is readily filled in the market, with Apple breaking iPhone sales records at the end of 2011 with 37 million worldwide sales. Sales jump while other manufacturers see decline in a shaky economy, and that demand for Apple products is intrinsically related to the "something that is better" manifesto.
Apple's success in the future is assured by some analysts who say its customer loyalty and return rate project long-term stability. When Apple does release a new product or feature, it's a problem-solving tactic, like Siri voice recognition, which offers multiple services to users without installing technology for technology's sake.
Design is different at Apple, Ive says, because designing, prototyping and making are all part of the same process. Separating those, he says, makes it suffer. Ive acknowledged it is difficult to describe the design process, but there is much to glean of his insights into high standards and razor-sharp focus.
As rival companies attempt to take away sales from Apple, Ives and Apple engineers are staying focused on what they have to offer, honing in on their own philosophy. As the public learns more about what goes on inside one of the most powerful technology companies in the world, the philosophy behind Apple's success is sure to inspire the next wave of innovators, designers and those who dare to think differently.
Tue Mar 13, 2012 4:04 pm | By AT&T is expanding its LTE service, and Tim Cook sold off more of his stock in Apple. Meanwhile, Verizon had some sporadic outages, Apple denies Proview's claims on its iPad name and Twitter snapped up Posterous, a blogging platform.
Tue Mar 13, 2012 2:46 pm | By Apple's is reducing the price of the iPad 2 with the release of the new iPad, boosting the company's educational initiatives by making tablets more affordable for schools.
Tue Mar 13, 2012 1:39 pm | By IPads drastically help doctors boost their productivity, according to a study, highlighting how mobile technology is revolutionizing healthcare.
Tue Mar 13, 2012 10:58 am | By Chinese factory workers say Apple overlooked safety hazards after an explosion last December, as the company struggles to maintain its reputation amid mounting public concern.
Mon Mar 12, 2012 4:15 pm | By The Apple-Samsung battle heats up, RIM's BlackBerry loses a key sector of customers and other stories from today's news.
Editorials & Opinion By Kat Asharya
The Justice Department approved the $4.5 billion purchase of over 4,000 Nortel patents to major Android rivals like Apple and RIM, guaranteeing no end in sight to the legal battles entangling the mobile industry. 
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