The former chief design officer of Apple, Jony Ive, who is still Partners with Apple On Products, he revealed 12 design tools necessary to make, mark, measure, and carry with him every day.
The list appears in a special issue of financial times“”How do you spend it“A (unpaid) magazine, for which Ive serves as guest editor, and the designer is using this opportunity to focus on his obsession with ‘manufacturing’.
- torque wrench – snap on Adjustable torque wrench, £455
- Tonearm Linn titanium Ekos SE Tonearm, $5645, basilaudio.com
- hex keys – wiha L-Key color-coded set, from $3.69
- paper folder – paper folder, hwebber.co.uk
- tape measure – Hermes In The Pocket Leather Measuring Tape, $530
- Magnifying Glass – Leitz Wetzlar Antique Brass Folding Magnifying Glass, From Ive Personal Collection
- Fountain Pen – Vintage Pen Brand Montegrappafrom Eve’s personal collection
- Eraser – Platinum-coated Graf Von Faber-Castell eraser, £100, jacksonsart.com
- Pencil Case – Classic Leather Bag Brand Visvimfrom Eve’s personal collection
- protractor – Mitotoyo 6-inch universal bevel protractor, £264
- Depth Gauge – Starrett 440Z-3RL Micrometer Depth, $355
weather station – vimbe Navigator II ship’s watch and weather station, $160
Ive provides no explanation for what makes the menu or the specific products they helped him design, but in a file separate piece As Eve and fellow designer Love Mark Newson talked about the equipment in their Cotswolds workshop, he said:
“There is beauty and joy in machines and tools. They are no longer just a means to an end. I believe there is elegance inherent in a functional tool that usually results in a curious beauty.”
Later in the conversation, I remembered how Newson helped him overcome challenges while working on the Apple Watch, and how he “really struggled” with the physical design.
I think our work on the Apple Watch together speaks to a fun and effective collaboration at a very difficult time. I felt very strongly that there was an important opportunity to create a very personal and useful product that could be worn on the wrist. I spent a lot of time wrestling with the big foundational ideas and core issues of the interface, but somehow I assumed that working on the actual object would be fairly straightforward.
When the basic architecture for the idea was outlined, I really struggled with the physical design. I asked you for help from this place of struggle. While it was fun for me, I think we came up with the final design quickly together. We are proud of the business. I always hope to achieve that sense of inevitability, that simplicity where there really doesn’t seem to be a logical alternative.
Eve co-founded LoveFrom with Newson in 2019 afterwards Leave his position at Apple. At the time, the tech giant said it would remain a core customer of Ive, but the Apple products it has helped design since then are unknown. Apple said it was involved in design 24 inch color iMac It was released in April, but it is not clear if this action occurred after I left the company.
It’s still unclear how many employees LoveFrom has, but Ive recruits No fewer than four former Apple colleagues to work with at the company, including Wan Si, Chris Wilson, Patch Kessler, and Jeff Tiller.
“Lifelong beer expert. General travel enthusiast. Social media buff. Zombie maven. Communicator.”