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Sent to you by Bill Boulware via Google Reader: Jony Ive on iPhone 4
design: 'The only way to understand a material is by making things with
it' via 9 to 5 Mac - Apple Intelligence by Jonny Evans on 6/29/10



Moving away from all the reported snags and SNAFU's afflicting iPhone
4's otherwise triumphant entrance into the global smartphone market I
thought there'd be some out there who'd benefit from a quick read
through this otherwise overlooked interview with Apple's chief
designer, Jony Ive.

He has a lot to say about just how he and his team work with new
materials with a view to implementing them within products: "A big part
of the experience of a physical object has to do with the materials,"
he told Core77.

"We experiment with and explore materials, processing them, learning
about the inherent properties of the material -- and the process of
transforming it from raw material to finished product; for example,
understanding exactly how the processes of machining it or grinding it
affect it. That understanding, that preoccupation with the materials
and processes, is [very] essential to the way we work."

On the band of metal -- the antenna -- (which is causing so much
consternation), Ive explains: "Those three black splits are co-molded
in, and then the band goes through more processes."

Despite the teething problems as the product hits market, most seeing
the iPhone 4 for the first time are blown away by its build quality.

"To achieve this kind of build quality is extraordinarily hard work and
requires care across so many teams. It demands incredibly close
collaboration with experts in certain areas, material sciences and so
on," Ive explains.

There's some areas in which Ive may face some criticism, not least the
glass screens and antenna, when he says that hands-on experience of
design materials is essential. "The only way you truly understand a
material is by making things with it," he explains.

"For a designer to continually learn about materials is not
extracurricular," Ive points out, "it's absolutely essential."

You can read the whole thing here. Do. It's interesting.





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