Apple's Jony Ive and industrial designer Marc Newson go in-depth on (RED) auction pieces

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
In an in-depth interview with Charlie Rose, Apple's Ive and design superstar Newson riff on what makes good design so challenging, and why they chose the items up for bid in the pair's (RED) charity auction.

Red
Apple's Mac Pro in red as seen at Sotheby's upcoming (RED) auction.


The Charlie Rose Show interview, which airs tonight, digs deep into Apple SVP of Design Jony Ive and designer Marc Newson's thoughts about the upcoming charity auction. The full interview is now online.

As with a teaser made for the Sotheby's auction, Ive and Newson explained the beauty of simplicity. They both agree that great design melts away, making the designers of the best pieces difficult to distinguish.

The collection Ive and Newson curated are all things they would want to bid on, Ive said. Each item is a tool of some kind, not an end in itself, which to Ive is the highest form of design.



Earlier this week, AppleInsider was able to take a "hands-off" look at the collection.

While most of the 44 pieces are donated, Ive and Newson collaborated on a few of their own designs, including an aluminum desk, a Leica digital camera and Apple's new Mac Pro. Other items have been customized with flourishes of red, such as a Range Rover, a window from the Space Shuttle sitting in a bespoke stand, and an Hermes saddle, among others.

Bidding for "Jony and Marc's (RED) Auction" begins on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Sotheby's New York. Proceeds will go to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 48
    I've got a whole grand set aside to buy that Mac Pro... I've got that sucker sewed up!
  • Reply 2 of 48
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member

    That was a great interview, watched it twice. The interviewer started off trying to put trite words in to their mouths, to create a story he knew the audience would love, but when they started really talking, offering their real opinions, he had the experience/expertise to back off and just let them talk.

     

    I really like the culture of quality they were talking about, about taking care in your work. It's something you notice when you go to poor foreign countries, namely, everything is junk. The objects are junk. And it's easy to just dismiss it, and say things are junk because the people are poor, and that's all they can afford. But maybe it's not poverty causing junk, maybe it's poverty and junk both being caused by something earlier, a culture of lack of care and attention to detail.

  • Reply 3 of 48
    Quote:





     a window from the Space Shuttle sitting in a bespoke stand

     

     

    I know Macrumors is a UK site, but I didn't realize that about AI.  

     

    I would bet that 99.9% of Americans have no idea what bespoke means in this situation.  I've been living in Europe (but not the UK) for 10 years and never heard the term until a few months ago (from a Brit).    "Custom made" can be understood by anyone who speaks English...why not use that?

  • Reply 4 of 48
    I know Macrumors is a UK site, but I didn't realize that about AI.  

    I would bet that 99.9% of Americans have no idea what bespoke means in this situation.  I've been living in Europe (but not the UK) for 10 years and never heard the term until a few months ago (from a Brit).    "Custom made" can be understood by anyone who speaks English...why not use that?

    "Bespoke" can be understood by anyone, too, by simply using a dictionary. Expanding one's vocabulary is a worthwhile practice. Condescending one's fellows is not.
  • Reply 5 of 48
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,309moderator
    I don't find Charlie Rose to be a particularly good interviewer. His questions never seem to start a discussion and aren't inviting conversation. They are more harassing for definitive answers to each bullet point. The conversation just seems to stop dead after each one is done.

    I also feel like I'm watching the same interview with Ive over and over in different settings. There are usually at least some small unique elements though. The part that stood out for me was his explanation of obsessing over the objects, which some people don't like and might suggest is materialistic. It starts around 16:50 (the timer might default to show time left so click to see time watched):

    'You can argue that someone will never see how something is finished on the inside but I think that part of the human condition is that we sense care. Sometimes it's easier to realise you sense carelessness and so much of our manufactured environment testifies to a complete lack of care. That's not about your attitude towards an object, it's about your attitude to each other.'

    I found that with mobile phones years ago. There were so many manufacturers fighting for their place in the market but the products were all horrible to use. Not one phone design gave the instant satisfaction you got from using an iPhone and it was clear they didn't feel it was important enough to obsess over the user experience to provide a great service to people. Phone companies are some of the worst for this. While the obsession is over objects, they are tools in the service of people.
    ascii wrote:
    I really like the culture of quality they were talking about, about taking care in your work. It's something you notice when you go to poor foreign countries, namely, everything is junk. The objects are junk. And it's easy to just dismiss it, and say things are junk because the people are poor, and that's all they can afford. But maybe it's not poverty causing junk, maybe it's poverty and junk both being caused by something earlier, a culture of lack of care and attention to detail.

    Poor foreign countries like China where Apple products are made? There are poor quality manufacturing outfits in every country, not just 'foreign' ones. Taking care takes time and when the priority is survival, there will be compromises.

    Look at HTC for example. They have clearly put in a lot more effort to design nice products than Samsung and yet Samsung makes 35x their revenue. So it doesn't always pay to put in the effort unfortunately. Lower earning companies can go bankrupt if their efforts aren't rewarded.
  • Reply 6 of 48
    danielsw wrote: »
    "Bespoke" can be understood by anyone, too, by simply using a dictionary. Expanding one's vocabulary is a worthwhile practice. Condescending one's fellows is not.

    Please use said dictionary to look up condescending. Nothing in my post matches that definition. I'm merely asking why a US based site would choose to use a word that is unique to a different country when it isn't needed. A British English dictionary shouldn't be required to read the post.
  • Reply 7 of 48
    If the caravan trailer is the one shown in the video, then it looks like shit. It was dented in a couple of places, and the inside was just ugly.
  • Reply 8 of 48
    enzosenzos Posts: 344member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by GregInPrague View Post

     

     

    I know Macrumors is a UK site, but I didn't realize that about AI.  

     

    I would bet that 99.9% of Americans have no idea what bespoke means in this situation.  I've been living in Europe (but not the UK) for 10 years and never heard the term until a few months ago (from a Brit).    "Custom made" can be understood by anyone who speaks English...why not use that?


    That's a good question. They are equally suited to the meaning and one is in ordinary use while the other is rare even outside the USA (I just spotlighted my (literature and technical) book collection and bespoke isn't used once in the sense of custom-made). 

  • Reply 9 of 48
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    Ive looks like he should be a bouncer in a nightclub or some celebrities body guard. But then you hear him speak and he sounds very shy and self conscious.

    I stumbled across a designer who works for Ive on Instagram and boy do they have the life. Last year Apple was given an award in London and the whole design team came to collect it. Well from the pics this guy posted it seems they were there for a whole week - eating at expensive restaurants, attending Burberry fashion show, getting a private tour of Buckingham Palace along with a "royal dinner". No idea how much, if any, of this was on Apple's dime but it did make me think that Ive's allows to do pretty much whatever he wants at Apple. :lol:
  • Reply 10 of 48
    evilutionevilution Posts: 1,399member
    Oh dear, have you learned a new word, better have a moan up about it. We all speak the English language, try stretching yourself :rolleyes:
  • Reply 11 of 48
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by GregInPrague View Post





    Please use said dictionary to look up condescending. Nothing in my post matches that definition. I'm merely asking why a US based site would choose to use a word that is unique to a different country when it isn't needed. A British English dictionary shouldn't be required to read the post.

    Oooo, such a high crime has been committed so as to require one to look up an unfamiliar word!

  • Reply 12 of 48

    There are beaucoup Americans whose interest in life and work, creativity extends beyond national boundaries.  There's a skill called "reading" that aids the endeavor.

  • Reply 13 of 48
    Originally Posted by DanielSW View Post

    "Bespoke" can be understood by anyone, too, by simply using a dictionary. Expanding one's vocabulary is a worthwhile practice. Condescending one's fellows is not.

     

    Yeah, see, Boot, lift, flat, jammy dodger, nappy, butty, ladybird, rocket, rooty-tooty point-and-shooty… 

     

    It’s not a difference, it’s just wrong. :p 

     

    “This from the guy who says ‘come off it’ and ‘haven’t the foggiest’?”



    Yes, well.

  • Reply 14 of 48
    malaxmalax Posts: 1,598member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by GregInPrague View Post

     

     

    I know Macrumors is a UK site, but I didn't realize that about AI.  

     

    I would bet that 99.9% of Americans have no idea what bespoke means in this situation.  I've been living in Europe (but not the UK) for 10 years and never heard the term until a few months ago (from a Brit).    "Custom made" can be understood by anyone who speaks English...why not use that?


    Moreover, the word means "made to order" which this item specifically is not.  It can't be since the purchaser isn't even known yet.  I would have used "one of a kind" instead.  Also, when someone uses a an interesting or unusual word, it should be used sparingly.  Every article here about this space shuttle piece uses "bespoke" to describe it.  Mix it up a little.

  • Reply 15 of 48
    rogifan wrote: »
    Ive looks like he should be a bouncer in a nightclub or some celebrities body guard. But then you hear him speak and he sounds very shy and self conscious.

    I stumbled across a designer who works for Ive on Instagram and boy do they have the life. Last year Apple was given an award in London and the whole design team came to collect it. Well from the pics this guy posted it seems they were there for a whole week - eating at expensive restaurants, attending Burberry fashion show, getting a private tour of Buckingham Palace along with a "royal dinner". No idea how much, if any, of this was on Apple's dime but it did make me think that Ive's allows to do pretty much whatever he wants at Apple. :lol:
    Considering all the products he's responsible for, I think he's pretty much earned that right
  • Reply 16 of 48
    Originally Posted by malax View Post

    Moreover, the word means "made to order" which this item specifically is not.  It can't be since the purchaser isn't even known yet.  I would have used "one of a kind" instead.

     

    Exactly. Bespoke is the past participle of bespeak, which comes from the Old English besprecan. That itself is from be- and sprecan in Old High German, meaning “to speak about”. In the modern context, you’d add a “beforehand” to that phrase, in the sense that you’re discussing something to be made. 

  • Reply 17 of 48
    badmonkbadmonk Posts: 1,285member
    once Jony paints the world red, he needs to put yellow back in my Notes app.
  • Reply 18 of 48
    hill60hill60 Posts: 6,992member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by malax View Post

     

    Moreover, the word means "made to order" which this item specifically is not.  It can't be since the purchaser isn't even known yet.  I would have used "one of a kind" instead.  Also, when someone uses a an interesting or unusual word, it should be used sparingly.  Every article here about this space shuttle piece uses "bespoke" to describe it.  Mix it up a little.


     

    Made to order for Product Red specifically for this auction.

  • Reply 19 of 48
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    malax wrote: »
    Moreover, the word means "made to order" which this item specifically is not.  It can't be since the purchaser isn't even known yet.  I would have used "one of a kind" instead.  Also, when someone uses a an interesting or unusual word, it should be used sparingly.  Every article here about this space shuttle piece uses "bespoke" to describe it.  Mix it up a little.

    I would have gone with sui generis in this particular case. Surely it's less well know than 'unique' but being Latin helps evoke an understanding of being rare, unique, and extraordinary if used in the right context.

    hill60 wrote: »
    Made to order for Product Red specifically for this auction.

    I agree that it's not incorrect but I also don't think it's the most correct word choice.
  • Reply 20 of 48
    Boring interview. These guys just regurgitated what everyone says about good design..."beauty of simplicity"...."form following function"..."attention to detail"...."caring"...etc., etc. The fact is no one can describe it. It just is. Either you have the eye for it or you don't. Like pornography, you know it when you see it.
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