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Jony Ive & Marc Newson discuss the design, usability, & materials of Apple Watch (Video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afYnwnCp_D8

As the Apple Watch arrives in the hands of customers, Vogue has shared a video interview with Jony Ive and Marc Newson, in which the two discuss the design process of the device. Ive and designer Newson both discuss the reasons that customers may purchase the Apple Watch, as well as their own opinions on the design and the choices that went into the design process. The interview, conducted by Suzy Menkes, was held at the Condé Nast International Luxury Conference in Florence, Italy.

Marc Newson, when asked about the reason for Apple making a watch, said that the wrist seemed like the obvious next step for Apple and its future. “The wrist has always been, for hundreds of years, one of the best places on the body to put an object,” Newson said. “It’s not a new discovery.”

Jony Ive explained that his decision to design the Apple Watch with gold was based almost entirely on his love for the material. Price and the appeal of creating a luxury product did not play into the decision at all, he claimed.

The use of gold wasn’t driven by some predetermined price point. That absolutely wasn’t the reason we chose the material. We chose the material because we loved it. And we didn’t just buy it off the shelf, we designed our own gold and we loved its attributes and how it felt and its color and that it’s much harder than traditional goal. It really is our love of material that drives what we do.
Ive was then asked about his motivation to design beautiful products. The designer used the opportunity to point out that much of what he sees around him is carelessly designed with a predetermined price point and timetable.
Sadly, so much of our manufactured environment testifies to carelessness. It describes something that was built for a price point and on a timetable. We see that the objects we develop describe the people who made them and what they believe in.
Finally, Ive discussed how hard Apple worked to make the Apple Watch usable for everyone. Ive avoided the primary question of whether he thought the Watch was aimed at a younger crowd and instead said that if the device is seen as difficult to use by anyone, then Apple had failed.

I think that we’re on a path that is the same as the one that Apple was on in the seventies, which is trying make technology more approachable and personal. If people are saying they felt ostracized by and struggled to use the technology, then we failed.

What I know is our intent has remained the same and is consistent, which is to try to take what is remarkable tech in terms of its capability and utility and make it more and more personal. The consequences of that path I’m not aware of, other than that I hope people will like the Watch and find it personal and beautiful.

You can read our previous coverage of Jony Ive and Marc Newson’s interview with Vogue here.

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Comments

  1. I guess now we know we know why Jony never appears live at the Apple keynotes, only in videos at them. He seemed quite nervous in front of the crowd and tripped over his words a lot.

    • robertsm76 - 9 years ago

      Also makes one wonder how long Newson has been involved with the Apple Watch and how much of it is/was his idea.

  2. khakimzhan - 9 years ago

    Jony said one interesting thought – that most of the reviewers on tech sites forget. That regular watches (Swiss made) need maintenance – and quite an expensive upkeep, they don’t simply work form tens of years

    • ML (@MR_CoolFreak) - 9 years ago

      what you are forgetting is that tech devices don’t last even 10 years. Apple Watch edition will be outdated in few years and won’t be supported by Apple so you won’t be able to have the latest software on it.

      • Woody Pwx - 9 years ago

        There were always some iPhones covered in real gold and even diamonds and some very rich people with no taste were buying them. They were just not created by Apple itself. I doubt they were bought as an investment.

  3. ladypendragon - 9 years ago

    Reblogged this on s/v Lady Pendragon.

  4. Interactive Arts - 9 years ago

    Pretty unimpressing from the two. Ives was much less precise than usual and by his standards not as inspired as he usually is on a product launch. Maybe hes just tired!

  5. charismatron - 9 years ago

    This was really difficult to watch.

    At first I felt her line of questioning was as a defender of the luxury status quo, and challenged Ives on Apple’s bid to gain entrance into those hallowed grounds. After second viewing, her line of questioning is fair and genuine, and it was Ives weak and constant stammering which made her seem like she was coming on strong..

    I’ve never seen an Apple speaker, let alone it’s most famous personality, appear so weak, unprepared, and completely disarmed. If Tim’s keynote presentation was milquetoast, this was a complete disaster: Ives couldn’t find a way to make a single, solidly structured sentence to make using the watch sound useful, or even desirable. Needless to say, as a huge Ives and Apple fan, I’m pretty surprised.

    If Ives is going to put himself in the limelight and generate luxury brand recognition, he’s going to have to change up his vocabulary and learn to speak “luxury” while boning up on making a stronger case for owning an Apple Watch. As it is, her questions were basically, “Convince us why we should be in love with this new entry into the luxury market”, and Ives wasn’t anywhere prepared to do it. Like, at all.

    Totally embarrassing.

    • rogifan - 9 years ago

      Except that I don’t think Apple is going luxury. They made the gold watch because Ive & Co. like working with different materials and wants to work with gold. If anything the gold watch is Apple barely dipping it’s toe into the luxury water. Also I think it’s quite obvious that public speaking is not Ive’s forte and why we never see him on stage at Apple events.

      • charismatron - 9 years ago

        Rogifan, it’s true public speaking isn’t his strong suit.

        As this is the case he shouldn’t do it because he’s not good at it. Like, he’s really not good at it. Secondly, the argument against Apple not going luxury is their recent hires and the fact he didn’t say “we’re not going luxury” when asked a direct question about it.

        He talks about materials because he s a designer. The Edition is marketed for the luxury markets. In my opinion, if he was just being asked questions about design he would have been awesome. But even asked a straightforward question about how people would use the watch, he couldn’t answer in an enticing way.

        I dont so much think this is a fault of Ives (although he should have been much better prepared to answer that), but it’s the fact that from Tims keynote to this example right here, smart watches aren’t “killer products” with something definitely desirable about them. Neither has Apple emphasized how there’s is so much better than the competitions, as Steve Jobs gleefully loved to demonstrate.

        I’m not wistful for Steve, what I’m saying is Ives should have been better prepared, or not asked to speak.

        Cheers!

  6. wvb22 - 9 years ago

    When you listen closely to Jony it’s not so much that he stumbles on the things he wants to say but rather that his mind is three steps ahead of what his mouth can say. Obviously Ive is lying a bit on how we should look at the watch. Ive wants us to believe that the gold watch was developed out of love for the material gold. Not because they wanted to enter the luxury market. Maybe there is some truth in it but it’s crystal clear that once they decided to use gold that they would go all out on the luxurious feel and experience of the premium jewelry brands. Ive tries to convince us otherwise but their recent hires like Ahrendts shows this was a premade plan long ago. The watch is interesting and I’m definitely buying one but looks like an it still has a long way to go before it will be perfect.

    • charismatron - 9 years ago

      Totally agree with everything you’ve said except the “three steps ahead” thing.

      Someone three steps ahead takes control of the discussion and guides it to that third step. His stammering doesn’t sound like a man enthusiastically leading his listeners and taking them on a journey. Everyone wants to hear what Ives has to say, but in this example he wasn’t prepared to answer direct non-softball questions.

      • wvb22 - 9 years ago

        Well you can’t blame Jony for 100%. After all he’s a designer and not a politician. I’m sure that in a meeting with his design team he is well spoken and can make absolutely clear what he likes and what he hates. But a non-technical crowd where he needs to give political correct answers is not the area where Ive shines. In that way you can see what an amazing job Tim Cook actually does. You almost can’t find any occasion where he isn’t in control of a situation. I liked Steve better as he was way more entertaining than Cook will ever be but there has never been a CEO at Apple who was both good to the tech fans as to his shareholders. He is probably a better CEO for Apple than Jobs ever was. But hell, I do miss the crazy “I’m always right” attitude of Jobs.

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Avatar for Chance Miller Chance Miller

Chance is an editor for the entire 9to5 network and covers the latest Apple news for 9to5Mac.

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