Designers have social duties beyond a product's launch, says Apple's Jony Ive
A designer's obligations to the world don't end after a product ships, said Apple chief design officer Jony Ive in an interview published this week.
"There's a whole range of responsibilities. But they start with your motivation and your reason for doing things. Your values precede anything. Then I think there won't be issues, because ultimately the work we do stands testament to who we are and what we care about," Ive told the Document Journal.
"I think there's certain responsibilities that are easier to measure and easier to understand -- like, for example, the environmental responsibilities, and implications of our work. That's something that we've had a really tremendous motivation [toward], for many years, but I think we lacked the understanding and expertise," he continued. The designer cited the arrival of former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency head Lisa Jackson as a turning point in Apple's green efforts.
"The much more complex responsibilities are in the realm of the social and the cultural because, by definition, if you're innovating and doing something new, there will be consequences you can't foresee. One of the most important things is where you say your responsibility is, chronologically. I don't think it ends when you ship a product. If you make something new, and there are unforeseen consequences, you have a responsibility to respond to those."
Apple has sometimes been criticized for enabling modern smartphone culture, in which people can be so glued to their screens that ignore other people or text while they drive. The company has tried to soften these concerns with features like Screen Time and Do Not Disturb While Driving, and products like the Apple Watch, but its business naturally depends on high iPhone demand.
Similarly the company's environmental efforts have been challenged as only lessening its impact on Earth. By definition the company has to use more and more natural resources to keep growing, though it may be able to slow that rate if it achieves a promised "closed" recycling loop.
"There's a whole range of responsibilities. But they start with your motivation and your reason for doing things. Your values precede anything. Then I think there won't be issues, because ultimately the work we do stands testament to who we are and what we care about," Ive told the Document Journal.
"I think there's certain responsibilities that are easier to measure and easier to understand -- like, for example, the environmental responsibilities, and implications of our work. That's something that we've had a really tremendous motivation [toward], for many years, but I think we lacked the understanding and expertise," he continued. The designer cited the arrival of former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency head Lisa Jackson as a turning point in Apple's green efforts.
"The much more complex responsibilities are in the realm of the social and the cultural because, by definition, if you're innovating and doing something new, there will be consequences you can't foresee. One of the most important things is where you say your responsibility is, chronologically. I don't think it ends when you ship a product. If you make something new, and there are unforeseen consequences, you have a responsibility to respond to those."
Apple has sometimes been criticized for enabling modern smartphone culture, in which people can be so glued to their screens that ignore other people or text while they drive. The company has tried to soften these concerns with features like Screen Time and Do Not Disturb While Driving, and products like the Apple Watch, but its business naturally depends on high iPhone demand.
Similarly the company's environmental efforts have been challenged as only lessening its impact on Earth. By definition the company has to use more and more natural resources to keep growing, though it may be able to slow that rate if it achieves a promised "closed" recycling loop.
Comments
This is Jony stating the obvious but sugarcoating it to the point of being sickly.
Utterly worthless because his work has to sell.
I have never had a laptop that didn't see the battery need replacing in its lifetime.
It should be a simple change - from a design perspective and a user perspective but he is backing a machine that requires you to affect both the keyboard and the top case to do something simple (and probably necessary if you want to squeeze a great life out of the machine).
Ah yes, the keyboard. Now there's a subject I'd like to hear him philosophise on.
To paraphrase a different top man:
"Social Duties, my ass!" LOL
As for the double post, you can edit it down to 'double post' if you want. It is happening more than usual lately to many people.
No, you wouldn't be reducing anything -- to call, text, email, and surf the web, you need a smartphone with a big screen, capable rendering engines, processing to power it, etc etc.. You're back to a smartphone. Producing a normal one and also producing a less-powerful one (SoC) any more reduced than the older models Apple already sells would just be a big waste of resources and frustration.
The design wasn't based on aesthetics, it was based on parallel processing in a configuration that didnt work. The "thermal corner" they discussed at great length. It was engineering.
Sort of like all of your astroturfing for Chinese knockoffs, huh?