Apple's Sir Jony Ive gets top CBBC accolade, gives a peek into Apple's design facilities

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Head Apple designer Sir Jony Ive has received yet another award, with a presenter from Children's BBC show Blue Peter stopping by to hand him the show's highest honor. In the process, the show gave viewers a rare peek behind the scenes of Apple's design and fabrication process.



Interviewed by presenter Barney Harwood, Ive ? a lifelong Blue Peter fan ? recalled fond memories of the show, including how it demonstrated ways to breathe new life into objects that would otherwise be thrown away. Harwood went on to show Ive hand-drawn designs from assorted children, as well as thank-you videos from kids on iPad minis.

When Harwood handed him the show's gold Blue Peter badge, a visibly affected Ive said the honor was "absolutely incredible."

Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television program, on the air for 55 years and more than 4,700 episodes. The show introduced the Blue Peter badge in 1963, and since then has given out about 1,000 of them. Sir Jonathan joins other noted badge recipients including David Beckham, JK Rowling, Tom Daley, Damian Hirst, and The Queen.

Ive then took Harwood to receive his own surprise: a reproduction of the Blue Peter badge, carved from a single piece of aluminum. At the time, a CNC machine was in the process of carving out the design, which Ive said would take about 10 hours to finish. In the tradition of the show, though, Ive presented Harwood with a version they had crafted previously.

As Apple's Senior Vice President of Industrial Design, Ive has been the lead designer behind the MacBook Pro, iMac, MacBook Air, iPod, iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad, and iPad mini. Ive has received multiple awards and honors over the course of his career, being featured in exhibitions, receiving knighthood from the British crown, and getting virtual carte blanche in his dealings at Apple. He is currently said to be working to refine the interfaces of both iOS and OS X.

The Blue Peter gadget special featuring Sir Jonathan Ive will air on CBBC, Saturday February 16 at 10am.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 52


    BBC icon on Apple TV - yes please

  • Reply 2 of 52
    I'm pretty sure its a CNC Machine and not "CMC machine" :)

    And yes a BBC Icon would be awesome!!
  • Reply 3 of 52


    Is that a smile I see on Jony?

  • Reply 4 of 52


     A wrist Navigator... Jony goes quiet


     


     


  • Reply 5 of 52

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Dickprinter View Post


    Is that a smile I see on Jony?



    Not just a smile. Did you notice how he kept bowing and was generally bent over in humility (and shyness?)? 


     


    Love it.

  • Reply 6 of 52
    geekdadgeekdad Posts: 1,131member


    I would love to watch his creative genius in progress. Watch him come up with ideas on redesigns of existing products or designs for new ones. I wonder how many of his ideas/designs are so far ahead of modern day thinking that he has to put them away and wait for everyone else to catch up....

  • Reply 7 of 52


    Great stuff. Hopefully this will get more kids interested in careers in engineering and design.

  • Reply 8 of 52


    Gotta love Sir Jony.

  • Reply 9 of 52


    Aluminium. Now, that's the way to pronounce it.... ;-)


     


    What a GREAT video. The guy's all class. (The kid's impressive too, as are the little designers).

  • Reply 10 of 52


    Yes indeed, the UK needs to get back to making things, our productivity in the service sector is shocking, even though its supposedly our strength!

  • Reply 11 of 52
    Just excellent! Warmed my heart to hear the kids talking. And yes, I did notice how touched Sir Jony was! Very gracious! :)

  • Reply 12 of 52

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by buckalec View Post


     A wrist Navigator... Jony goes quiet



    Funny! :)

  • Reply 13 of 52
    Man Jony, you let yourself go. :P

    Not that I'm complaining, he looks happier than he did in his muscle-building days. And dare I say more jolly?
  • Reply 14 of 52
    evilutionevilution Posts: 1,399member


    And there's the answer to the question "what do you buy a man with everything".


    As small and silly as the badge is, he is genuinely choked to get it and loses the English stiff upper lip.


    Good man.

  • Reply 15 of 52
    pokepoke Posts: 506member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by stelligent View Post


    Not just a smile. Did you notice how he kept bowing and was generally bent over in humility (and shyness?)? 


     


    Love it.



     


    I think this is the most candid I've ever seen him. It gives a strong insight into why he isn't (and probably never will be) CEO and doesn't participate in live presentations. Just very earnest and shy. You can see why him and Forstall didn't get along at all. Very different personalities.

  • Reply 16 of 52
    His greatest legacy is making the auto correct turn ' I've ' in to ' Ive ' if even slightly fumbled...!
  • Reply 17 of 52
    nhtnht Posts: 4,522member


    That was very sweet.

  • Reply 18 of 52
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,727member
    Wonderful to see. Gosh, what memories the words 'Blue Peter' bring back. I always loved learning the generic names for everything in a world dominated by trade names. 'Sticky Tape' instead of Sellotape™ and so on and when you are five or six this is pretty amazing. Gotta love the BBC. :)
  • Reply 19 of 52
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Evilution View Post


    And there's the answer to the question "what do you buy a man with everything".


    As small and silly as the badge is, he is genuinely choked to get it and loses the English stiff upper lip.


    Good man.



    Agreed.  He seems like someone it would be hard NOT to get along with.  Almost like a loveable teddy bear. image

  • Reply 20 of 52

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Evilution View Post


    And there's the answer to the question "what do you buy a man with everything".


    As small and silly as the badge is, he is genuinely choked to get it and loses the English stiff upper lip.


    Good man.



     


    Having grown up with Blue Peter, I can relate to his reaction.  There's nothing small and silly about the Blue Peter badge - for those of us from the UK, and of a certain age, it would be quite the honor to get one.

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