Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple’s Greatest Products
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- Create Date：2021-08-27 06:54:40
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Leander Kahney
- ISBN：0670923249
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Summary
An intimate look at the legendary British designer behind Apple's most iconic products - including the Apple Watch
With the death of Steve Jobs in 2011， JONY IVE has become the most important person at Apple。 Some would argue he always was。
Steve Jobs discovered Ive in 1997， when he found the scruffy British designer toiling away in a studio surrounded by hundreds of sketches and prototypes。 Jobs instantly realised he had found a talent who could reverse Apple's decline， and become his 'spiritual partner'。
Their collaboration produced iconic products including the iMac， iPod， iPad and iPhone。 Designs that overturned entire industries and created the world's most powerful brand。
Little has been known about this shy， softly-spoken designer。 Until now。 Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple's Greatest Products tells the riveting story of a creative genius， from his early interest in industrial design to his meteoric rise， as well as the principles and practices that led Ive to become the designer of his generation。
'Sheds new light on technology's most-watched design team' Observer
'A real pleasure' GQ
Leander Kahney has covered Apple for more than a dozen years and has written three popular books about Apple and the culture of its followers， including Inside Steve's Brain and Cult of Mac。 The former news editor for Wired。com， he is currently the editor and publisher of CultofMac。com。 He lives in San Francisco。
With the death of Steve Jobs in 2011， JONY IVE has become the most important person at Apple。 Some would argue he always was。
Steve Jobs discovered Ive in 1997， when he found the scruffy British designer toiling away in a studio surrounded by hundreds of sketches and prototypes。 Jobs instantly realised he had found a talent who could reverse Apple's decline， and become his 'spiritual partner'。
Their collaboration produced iconic products including the iMac， iPod， iPad and iPhone。 Designs that overturned entire industries and created the world's most powerful brand。
Little has been known about this shy， softly-spoken designer。 Until now。 Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple's Greatest Products tells the riveting story of a creative genius， from his early interest in industrial design to his meteoric rise， as well as the principles and practices that led Ive to become the designer of his generation。
'Sheds new light on technology's most-watched design team' Observer
'A real pleasure' GQ
Leander Kahney has covered Apple for more than a dozen years and has written three popular books about Apple and the culture of its followers， including Inside Steve's Brain and Cult of Mac。 The former news editor for Wired。com， he is currently the editor and publisher of CultofMac。com。 He lives in San Francisco。
Reviews
Ethan Swan
，
It's a perfectly fine book。 Some parts are a bit slow （the beginning， about Ive's childhood） and others are interesting （the second half of the book， focusing on Apple's products in the 2000s）。 The writing is easy to read though not especially engaging。The best aspect of the book is also where it deviates most significantly from its biographical nature: its coverage of Apple itself and the product creation process。 Unfortunately， perhaps in order to connect things in Ive's life， that part of the It's a perfectly fine book。 Some parts are a bit slow （the beginning， about Ive's childhood） and others are interesting （the second half of the book， focusing on Apple's products in the 2000s）。 The writing is easy to read though not especially engaging。The best aspect of the book is also where it deviates most significantly from its biographical nature: its coverage of Apple itself and the product creation process。 Unfortunately， perhaps in order to connect things in Ive's life， that part of the story is occasionally a bit out-of-order， and it can be hard to follow the timeline。 But if you're interested in the history of Apple， this does provide some novel material。Unfortunately， the book isn't ever particular critical of Ive and the author comes off as a bit of an apologist both for him and for Apple。 。。。more
Rui Chamberlain
，
Hits different every time
Shashank Kamdar
，
This is a great profile of Apple's most important yet not equally well-known head of IDg: Jony Ive。 The book builds up from his education， early work， switch of career between the fruits （Tangerine to Apple） to his success at Apple。 At apple， he not only introduced his unique design philosophy of simplifying to the extent that design disappears， but he also reset the culture and idealogy from engineering-driven manufacturing to a design-driven company。 The book is also a trove of useful business This is a great profile of Apple's most important yet not equally well-known head of IDg: Jony Ive。 The book builds up from his education， early work， switch of career between the fruits （Tangerine to Apple） to his success at Apple。 At apple， he not only introduced his unique design philosophy of simplifying to the extent that design disappears， but he also reset the culture and idealogy from engineering-driven manufacturing to a design-driven company。 The book is also a trove of useful business/design practices。 Quotes I loved:If there is not some sort of friction in a move forward， your step is not as consequential as you'd like to believe it is。Ideas are fragile， so you have to be tender when they are in development。 。。。more
Gaurav Mathur
，
3。5/5Yes， the writing is not great， as many reviewers have noted。And yes， the parts about Steve Jobs and some particular Apple products are better covered in some other books。And yes， I would have liked more about Jony， less about Apple。But this book still enlightened me by showing what design excellence really means。 As I sit in the Netherlands， which has a great design and art history， and even when the Bondi Blue iMac is now more than 20 years old， and Apple is a trillion dollar company with 3。5/5Yes， the writing is not great， as many reviewers have noted。And yes， the parts about Steve Jobs and some particular Apple products are better covered in some other books。And yes， I would have liked more about Jony， less about Apple。But this book still enlightened me by showing what design excellence really means。 As I sit in the Netherlands， which has a great design and art history， and even when the Bondi Blue iMac is now more than 20 years old， and Apple is a trillion dollar company with so many hit products，people *still* do not understand the value great design can bring to a technology company。 It is still seen as an afterthought。But that's also the opportunity for someone who gets that great design has the power to move the world。（Indeed， the book makes it seem that Jony Ive is more responsible for Apple's newfound success than Steve Jobs himself） 。。。more
Manch
，
I read this after the Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson so I was underwhelmed。 Although I am a bigger fan of Ives than Jobs himself， the book just didn't keep me hooked quite as much。 Either I found the writing to be too monotonous or maybe his life just didn't have enough of the adventures that make a biography enticing to me。 Personally， I'd think a book that tackles his life but focuses more on his philosophy and approach to design would be a bigger hit for a wider audience。 Despite all I read this after the Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson so I was underwhelmed。 Although I am a bigger fan of Ives than Jobs himself， the book just didn't keep me hooked quite as much。 Either I found the writing to be too monotonous or maybe his life just didn't have enough of the adventures that make a biography enticing to me。 Personally， I'd think a book that tackles his life but focuses more on his philosophy and approach to design would be a bigger hit for a wider audience。 Despite all this， it was a treat for me to learn more about one of the greatest industrial designers in the world （especially since he is a particularly private individual）。 。。。more
عبدالإله العمار
，
تجوال حميل عبر حياك الله جوني آيف في عوالم أبلتعلمت من هذا الكتاب الصبر الدأب للوصول للأهداف وعدم الانهزام بسبب الفشلرغم الميزات التي يمنحها العمل فإن آيف لم يغتر بل استمر في مستوى عال من المثابرة حتى وصل إلى أهدافهجميل للمهتمين
Martynas Birskys
，
Ši knyga - žvilgsnis į Apple iš dizainerio pozicijos。 Skaičiau anksčiau apie Steve Jobs， todėl čia tikėjausi šiek tiek daugiau apie Jony Ive， o ne produktus。。 visgi istorija yra įkvepianti， verčianti susimastyti ką galima pasiekti laikantis vizijos， būnant atkakliam。 Ir genialiam。“One of the reasons Apple’s design team has remained so effective is that it retains Brunner’s original structure。 It’s a small， tight， cohesive group of extremely talented designers who all work on design challenges to Ši knyga - žvilgsnis į Apple iš dizainerio pozicijos。 Skaičiau anksčiau apie Steve Jobs， todėl čia tikėjausi šiek tiek daugiau apie Jony Ive， o ne produktus。。 visgi istorija yra įkvepianti， verčianti susimastyti ką galima pasiekti laikantis vizijos， būnant atkakliam。 Ir genialiam。“One of the reasons Apple’s design team has remained so effective is that it retains Brunner’s original structure。 It’s a small， tight， cohesive group of extremely talented designers who all work on design challenges together。 Just like the designers had done at Lunar， Tangerine and other small agencies。 The model worked。” - dar kartą patvirtina kad dizainerių komandos dydis nėra kritiškai svarbus stipriam rezultatui。Tai yra pirma knyga， kurią perskaičiau Kindle。 Popierinė knyga - tikrai romantiškiau， tačiau e。skaityklė visgi yra taaaip patogu！！ Kokie jūsų įspūdžiai？ 。。。more
Ravi Patil
，
Steve used to say to me， and he used to say this a lot， "Jony， is it a dopey idea？" And sometimes they were， really dopey。 Sometimes they were truly dreadful。 But sometimes they took the air from the room， and they left us both completely silent。 Bold， crazy， magnificent ideas， or quiet simple ones， which in their subtlety， their detail， they were utterly profound。 And just as Steve loved ideas， and loved making stuff， he treated the process of creativity with a rare and a wonderful reverence。 Y Steve used to say to me， and he used to say this a lot， "Jony， is it a dopey idea？" And sometimes they were， really dopey。 Sometimes they were truly dreadful。 But sometimes they took the air from the room， and they left us both completely silent。 Bold， crazy， magnificent ideas， or quiet simple ones， which in their subtlety， their detail， they were utterly profound。 And just as Steve loved ideas， and loved making stuff， he treated the process of creativity with a rare and a wonderful reverence。 You see I think he better than anyone understood that while ideas ultimately can be so powerful， they begin as fragile， barely formed thoughts， so easily missed， so easily compromised， so easily just squished。 。。。more
Ian Kloester
，
I loved it。 I found it difficult to stop reading it。 I know there’s more to know than is in this book but it was a great stroll through time and what it takes to make things that are groundbreaking。 It’s also a reminder that it takes grit for the oyster to make a pearl。
Antonio Toledo
，
Livro interessante。 Na primeira parte descreve a vida de Jony Ive， sua formação e sua carreira inicial， antes da Apple。 Na segunda parte， descreve muito mais a história da equipe de design industrial da Apple， do que a própria história de Jony Ive， apesar dessa diferenciação ser aparentemente difícil de ser feita。 O livro fornece boa perspectiva do desenvolvimento baseada na experiência do usuário e não nas especificações técnicas do produto。 Complementa a biografia da Tim Cook e da Steve Jobs n Livro interessante。 Na primeira parte descreve a vida de Jony Ive， sua formação e sua carreira inicial， antes da Apple。 Na segunda parte， descreve muito mais a história da equipe de design industrial da Apple， do que a própria história de Jony Ive， apesar dessa diferenciação ser aparentemente difícil de ser feita。 O livro fornece boa perspectiva do desenvolvimento baseada na experiência do usuário e não nas especificações técnicas do produto。 Complementa a biografia da Tim Cook e da Steve Jobs na visão e compreensão da Apple após o retorno de Steve Jobs。 。。。more
Jacob Mirabella
，
Picked this one up for $2 at library book sale。 While there was some interesting sections， ultimately it was challenging to finish。 My feel is that it was not a real page turner mostly due to the writing， but maybe also partly due to Jony being such a mellow guy。 Also bought “Jobs” by Walter Isaacson for $2 at the same sale and that one was fantastic！
Kevin Banruque
，
That's a good read for people who like apple and design That's a good read for people who like apple and design 。。。more
Jorge Maroto
，
Después de haber leído la bio de Steve Jobs， esperaba algo similar， pero no me acabó de enganchar， así que lo termine abandonando （lo tengo en papel por casa， así que no descarto darle otra oportunidad en un tiempo）
Jason Braatz
，
Firstly， do not compare this to Isaacson's Steve Jobs ; it's written for an entirely different audience。 If you are someone who is intrigued by the Apple story insofar as it's David and Goliath story， this book is a necessary part of your library。 This is a very well written and researched biography of perhaps the most important person to Apple beyond Steve Jobs: the industrial engineer who provided Apple with its look and feel， which is studied but hardly criticized。 In other words， a human's i Firstly， do not compare this to Isaacson's Steve Jobs ; it's written for an entirely different audience。 If you are someone who is intrigued by the Apple story insofar as it's David and Goliath story， this book is a necessary part of your library。 This is a very well written and researched biography of perhaps the most important person to Apple beyond Steve Jobs: the industrial engineer who provided Apple with its look and feel， which is studied but hardly criticized。 In other words， a human's interaction with an Apple product right now: those are still Jony Ive designs， even though he left the company last year （2019）。Jony Ive and his team not only set the look and feel of the products and the visual cues for Apple's modern products， but he also went so far as pioneering new ways to machine parts in a subtractive manufacturing environment thousands of miles away （in China） while keeping a very low profile publicly on one of the most studied companies of our century。 Jobs doesn't deserve the enormous amount of credit he's often attributed with， as without Ive， there would not been a comeback for Jobs。 This must have been known， for Jony （it's written in this book） was one of the few people of Apple at Jobs's first funeral。Very well written and a must-read for anyone developing a consumer product or those who are in the business of doing so。 Mr。 Ive will be regarded by history as being another James Dyson; a rags-to-riches Englishman who literally spent hours and days with everyday objects and working on ways people can use them better than they had in the past。 Bravo！Very fun read as well。 Mr。 Ive is one of the unsung heroes of tech revolution。 Hopefully as more gets written about him long term， we'll see his position rightfully given to him as the real creator of the iPod， iPad， iPhone and the later MacBook computers。 While the "guts" were upgraded throughout the years by Apple's engineering staff， it's clear that Jony set it all up for success by focusing on design， build quality and manufacturing standards unaccomplished prior to his arrival in the computer and consumer electronics arenas。 。。。more
Mike Madden
，
Good good good
Eugene
，
Обзорная книга по созданию продуктов эпла。 Очень верхнеуровнево описан процесс работы команды дизайна。
Sławomir
，
I never heard of Jony Ive before。 For a first time encounter it was good enough to shine some lights about his marvelous job at Apple。 But that book could be better。 There were really boring parts， describing not so important things。 Overall it gives some light at Apple design team and I liked it。
Euwyn
，
Not the most well compiled read， but worth reading for Jony Ive's life and work alone。 Although it gets a bit messy at times， the book brilliantly describes Jony and Steve's （and basically Apple's） driving philosophies which turned its fortunes around when it was facing bankruptcy in the late '90s。 Highly recommended read for anyone interested in product and industrial design。 Not the most well compiled read， but worth reading for Jony Ive's life and work alone。 Although it gets a bit messy at times， the book brilliantly describes Jony and Steve's （and basically Apple's） driving philosophies which turned its fortunes around when it was facing bankruptcy in the late '90s。 Highly recommended read for anyone interested in product and industrial design。 。。。more
Jerry Marthin
，
The book is good， the only let down to rate this as 4 stars is the book tells more about apple more than Jony him self
Luigi Benetton
，
Not bad as a narrative of Jony Ive’s life and work， though it would have been better if the author could have enjoyed Isaacson-level access to Apple staff and facilities。。。
Akvile
，
At the begging I really hated it。 I was hoping to get into the brains of Jony， however， the book only gave me a timeline of what led Jony to end up in Apple。 It doesn't go deeper into the details of Ive's way of designs further in the book either， but I grew to appreciate the processes that went into building Apple's notorious products。 Therefore， don't get your hopes on to learn a lot about the design guru in depth。 But you might find it interesting to know how and why ID is the core of Apple's At the begging I really hated it。 I was hoping to get into the brains of Jony， however， the book only gave me a timeline of what led Jony to end up in Apple。 It doesn't go deeper into the details of Ive's way of designs further in the book either， but I grew to appreciate the processes that went into building Apple's notorious products。 Therefore， don't get your hopes on to learn a lot about the design guru in depth。 But you might find it interesting to know how and why ID is the core of Apple's success。 I will never look at my devices from Apple the way I did。 So that's nice。 。。。more
Scott
，
Reading this book has increased my appreciation for Apple significantly。。。 or maybe it's my appreciation for Jony Ive。Ive and the Apple teams approach to design challenges， their push for innovative industrial practices and their ability to lead with design， highlights why they are in the position as the top company in the world today。Ive seemed like such a strong driving force that it can't help but make you wonder for the future of Apple without him。 If you're a designer of any kind， theres a Reading this book has increased my appreciation for Apple significantly。。。 or maybe it's my appreciation for Jony Ive。Ive and the Apple teams approach to design challenges， their push for innovative industrial practices and their ability to lead with design， highlights why they are in the position as the top company in the world today。Ive seemed like such a strong driving force that it can't help but make you wonder for the future of Apple without him。 If you're a designer of any kind， theres a few nuggets and philosophies in here that will help you approach problems in a new way。 。。。more
Joshua
，
Amazing to think how much this one brilliant man （bolstered by Steve Jobs） has influenced everything about the design world around us through his work at Apple。 Worrying to think of the future at Apple without him。
Joe
，
Equal parts about Jony and Apple。 Interesting insight on company dynamics， but could have included more nuances of Jony， like how Steve was written about。 I didn’t know too much more about his personality after reading。
Irene
，
The only reason I finished this book was because I am a designer and I thought I might learn something。 And I have， props to the book for doing that。 The content is at points very inspiring。 At other points， however， it is very repetitive， with a lot of 'this person said' and 'that person said'， as well as a lot of details and anecdotes that are actually not that exciting。But what annoyed me the most was how badly designed this book had been。 While not 'a design book'， this book is about design， The only reason I finished this book was because I am a designer and I thought I might learn something。 And I have， props to the book for doing that。 The content is at points very inspiring。 At other points， however， it is very repetitive， with a lot of 'this person said' and 'that person said'， as well as a lot of details and anecdotes that are actually not that exciting。But what annoyed me the most was how badly designed this book had been。 While not 'a design book'， this book is about design， and yet there are no design sketches in it。 Not a single one。 There is， right in the middle of the book， a brief collection of small and grainy black-and-white photos， a mixture of portraits， candid shots， product imagery and photos of prototypes， to which the book makes occasional references， but that was it。 Not useful。 Instead， I would have LOVED to see a progression of sketches and prototypes of each of the products that the text describes in detail， iteration by iteration。 And the reader has to either imagine it all， recall from experience or - as I did - just freaking Google it。 I found some articles on the internet that - for free - shed a much a clearer light on the products that Jony Ive and his team designed， so the content is out there for people to find and look at。 Why it has not been included in the book escapes me。 。。。more
Giedrius Šlikas
，
I think it is the best book about Apple itself。 Every aspect is specified in extremely detailed fashion。 I have enjoyed ever singe page of it。 What a legend Johny is。。。
Lloyd Melnick
，
I started reading to learn more about design but the book proved so much greater than that。 First， it was a real page turner。 Rather than fighting through it， as I often do on business books， I wanted to see what would happen next。 The Mac， the iPod， iPhone， iPad， it was actually exciting。 Second， it did teach me a lot about design and what Apple did right to be the largest company in the world。 I have a much better understanding how design can be a competitive advantage。 The only downside is Iv I started reading to learn more about design but the book proved so much greater than that。 First， it was a real page turner。 Rather than fighting through it， as I often do on business books， I wanted to see what would happen next。 The Mac， the iPod， iPhone， iPad， it was actually exciting。 Second， it did teach me a lot about design and what Apple did right to be the largest company in the world。 I have a much better understanding how design can be a competitive advantage。 The only downside is Ive clearly did not participate in the book so everything came from former colleagues （most ex-Apple， since Apple did not seem to participate in the book）。 Maybe it led to a more objective work but it did lack the personal touch。 。。。more
Greg De La Cruz
，
Great read， but if I were to compare this with Isaacson's Jobs bio， this book reads only on the surface。 But the ID stuff is great， and the facts about how Jony isn't really the only great designer at Apple are great info to digest。 Great read， but if I were to compare this with Isaacson's Jobs bio， this book reads only on the surface。 But the ID stuff is great， and the facts about how Jony isn't really the only great designer at Apple are great info to digest。 。。。more
Martti
，
A supposedly flawless man goes to work for the flawless secret closed company as a sculptor of it's things that some zealots adore like a cult。 We discover that Steve Jobs steals the limelight on many achievements of the titular hero and that Apple really is a company driven primarily by industrial design as every other department usually hates those frustrating artists。The book is called by the name of the man， but discusses him rather in passing。 A bizarre choice in naming。 Most of the ink is A supposedly flawless man goes to work for the flawless secret closed company as a sculptor of it's things that some zealots adore like a cult。 We discover that Steve Jobs steals the limelight on many achievements of the titular hero and that Apple really is a company driven primarily by industrial design as every other department usually hates those frustrating artists。The book is called by the name of the man， but discusses him rather in passing。 A bizarre choice in naming。 Most of the ink is about the company， which is flawless。 It might be the closest to an inside view one can have through books about Apple， which still isn't saying much， because the book also ends on the topic of ultimate secrecy that is the prerequisite to get inside， along with three drops of blood， no doubt。Another book I'm thankful of not having bought， but lent via the library available by my employer。 。。。more
Jules Verlaan
，