Design Legends. Jony Ive
The visual architect of thinking differently. (1967)
Through his work as Apple’s Chief Design Officer, he became known far beyond the professional design community. From 1996 to 2019, together with his team, Ive developed all of the company’s iconic products of that era—devices that continue to shape consumer tastes and dictate the rules of industrial design across many fields.
Ive’s success was largely defined by his unique tandem with Steve Jobs, who famously called him his “spiritual partner”. Together, they built a culture where form doesn’t just follow function, but becomes the product’s very reason for being. One of the designer’s primary achievements was the introduction of unibody technology—the process of milling a chassis from a single block of aluminum. This was not just an aesthetic choice, but an engineering revolution that allowed devices to be both stronger and thinner at the same time.
For Ive, simplicity was never about a mere lack of decoration. He believed that true simplicity comes from a deep understanding of an object’s structure—its very essence. In this pursuit, he often drew inspiration from the work of Dieter Rams, a tribute that the famous German designer admitted he found quite flattering.
Under Ive’s leadership, Apple transformed technological devices into stylish, functional objects. His design made technology “invisible”: gadgets don’t scream about their complexity while not in use, yet they instantly transform a space when they come into view. This is the ultimate expression of his perfectionism—creating things that feel so natural, it’s as if they’ve always existed.
