Jony Ive's Unseen Contribution to Apple

One thing that struck me out of this week's reading is the fact that Jony Ive has been of monumental importance to Apple's product design, yet I've never heard of him before. I found it a pleasure to read about Ive (except for the fact that I continually misread his name as the contraction I've), and I think the very fact that I've never heard of him says something about Steve Jobs.

Ive and Jobs worked together to design the aesthetics of Apple products. And what I mean by that is: Ive designed thousands of prototypes for Apple products, and Jobs gave the thumbs up or thumbs down, while taking most (or all) of the credit. Frequently Jobs would state Ive's ideas as his own, according to the biography.

I understand the role Jobs played as figurehead at Apple, but I feel as though he overstepped his bounds by undermining the credit given to Ive. In fact, this chapter left be wondering what exactly it was that Jobs did at Apple, besides improve morale and rally the work force. In the past I found myself wondering what would become of Apple now that Steve Jobs is dead. I could imagine any number of market flop products because Apple's guiding light has ceased to shine. But now I feel as though as long as Ives is alive and at Apple, they haven't lost too much footing since Jobs' demise.

Ive designing an iMac

Ive listening to Jobs take credit for his design