Daniel Hruska Apple's chief design officer Jonathan Ive gave a very interesting speech at the Creative Summit. According to him, Apple's main goal is not to make money. This statement quite contrasts with the current situation, because Apple is currently worth around 570 billion US dollars as the most valuable company in the world. For your interest, you can look at the link Apple is more valuable than… (English required).
"We are pleased with our revenue, but our priority is not earnings. It may sound unconvincing, but it is true. Our goal is to make great products, which excites us. If we do this well, people will like them and we'll make money." Ive claims.
He goes on to explain that when Apple was on the brink of bankruptcy in the 1997s, that's when he learned what a profitable company should look like. In his return to management in XNUMX, Steve Jobs did not focus on making money. "In his opinion, the products of the time were not good enough. So he decided to create better products.” This approach to saving the company was completely different from those of the past, which were all about cutting costs and generating profit.
“I absolutely deny that good design plays an important role. Design is absolutely necessary. Designing and innovating is really hard work,” he says and explains how it is possible to be a craftsman and a mass producer at the same time. “We have to say no to a lot of things we would like to work on, but we have to take a bite. Only then can we devote maximum care to our products."
At the summit, Ive talked about Auguste Pugin, who strongly opposed mass production during the Industrial Revolution. “Pugin felt the impiety of mass production. He was completely wrong. You can only craft a single chair at will, which will be completely worthless. Or you can design one phone that eventually goes into mass production and spend a few years with a lot of effort and a lot of people on the team to get the best out of that phone.”
"Really great design is not easy to create. Good is the enemy of great. Making a proven design is not a science. But once you try to create something new, you face challenges on many fronts." describes Ive.
Ive added that he can't describe his excitement to be a part of the creative process. "For me, at least I think so, the most amazing moment is on a Tuesday afternoon when you have no idea and a little later you get it in an instant. There is always a fleeting, barely graspable idea that you then consult with several people.”
Apple then creates a prototype that embodies that idea, which is the most amazing transition process to the final product. "You gradually go from something fleeting to something tangible. Then you put something on the table in front of a handful of people, they begin to examine and understand your creation. Subsequently, space is created for further improvements."
Ive ended his speech by reiterating the fact that Apple does not rely on market research. "If you follow them, you'll end up average." Ive says that a designer is responsible for understanding the potential possibilities of a new product. He should also be very thoroughly familiar with the technologies that will enable him to produce a product corresponding to these possibilities.
I hope you meant $570 BILLION.
Of course. As any teacher would answer, I was just testing your attention ;-)
Isn't Apple worth $570 billion by any chance?
It's billions, not millions, the value of the brand!
If earning is not a priority, then try to reduce the price of warm clothes..
zero here, zero there :-D
maybe I would believe that it is not primarily about profit, but certainly also a lot about the collection of users' personal data. After all, the news in Mountain Lion indicates this more than enough..
As much as I like Apple, I think they are lying. For example, why do they sell Mountain Lion for 20 usd, when Lion is one big failure and cost 30 usd. I think it should be free for those who bought Liona. Mountain Lion primarily fixes Lion bugs.
Or why they still sell mac mini with 2GB RAM when 4GB RAM costs a few dollars. Similarly, they recently sold an MBA with 2GB of RAM, and you can't even update it there. 2GB RAM makes Macs barely usable.
I have nothing against the company maximizing profit, but at least let them not say that their goal is not money.
My tip: The next Mac mini will be basic with 4 GB of RAM. There is no other way, 2 GB is woefully insufficient.
Agreement. All these personalities have learned very well what and how to say. And Ive confirmed it. Half get excited about it, half recognize it as PR talk
Money is one thing, but I'm sure that this bunch of creatives definitely comes second. A consumptive person can hardly understand it. Dwell on the word creativity.
Mind you, this came from Jony Ive's mouth, he's no ordinary businessman. He is an artist.
I have nothing against Ive, on the contrary, I admire him and consider him to be the hidden power of Apple at the moment. As has already been said, this is learned PR. In the case of Ive, I don't think that he is so disingenuous in mentioning that money is not the main thing (for her, not for Apple). These people are behind the water in their own way and once you have enough money, rebuilding your apartment is important to you and it is absolutely necessary to find another driving force, why do you even go to work. But he is insincere in the sentences where he describes the "great team". Unfortunately, these people are talking about a terrible collective in the wrong way... and in half a year I won't be working there. I hope Ive stays at Apple as long as possible.