Jonathan Ive: Designing a Model for New Graduates. Prepared for. Professor Colleen Potocki. Oakland University. Prepared by

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1 Jonathan Ive: Designing a Model for New Graduates Prepared for Professor Colleen Potocki Oakland University Prepared by The Oakland University Commencement Committee Darrell Pacania Oakland University November 18, 2012

2 JONATHON IVE: DESIGNING A MODEL FOR NEW GRADUATES INTRODUCTION Oakland University s spring 2013 commencement ceremony will celebrate collegiate tradition and academic reflection. A commencement speech should compliment the occasion by encouraging the graduating class to continue their pursuit of knowledge. A speaker should be selected on the criteria of career accomplishments and how their work experience can apply to the student s own profession. The selection of a speaker should be based on recognition in their field of work, and how they provide perspective for the audience. The speaker should serve as a model for students, anxious to enter the workforce. The OU Commencement Committee recommends Jonathan Ive, Senior Vice President of Industrial Design at Apple Incorporated, to speak at the spring 2013 commencement ceremony. Ive is well known in the field of consumer electronics as a figurehead of industrial design, and represents a leading technology corporation. Ive s storied career with Apple before the company s return to profitability, his work ethic, and recognition in the industry instills the key components valued in a commencement speaker. CAREER RESILIENCY Based on his biography page on London s Design Museum website, Ive s career with Apple began in 1992 as a consultant to the chief of industrial design. Four years later, Ive was promoted to Senior Vice President of Industrial Design, despite his desire to leave the company in 1996 ( Design Museum, 2007). Walter Isaacson, writer of the biography Steve Jobs, noted that Ive disagreed to the company s approach to product design. The company focused on maximizing profits, using the industrial design team to only create the outside casing for computers, while engineers made the internals at the lowest cost (Isaacson 341). Ive decided to stay only after Steve Jobs rejoined the company in 1997 as CEO (342). Jobs allowed the designer to create new products such as the imac in 1998, the ipod in 2001, the iphone in 2007 and the ipad in These products gained critical mass not only from their iconic design but also their record sales (Salter 2009). Ive worked during Apple s worst financial performance as the San Antonio Express-News reported in 1996, to the company s dominating return to profitability. Peter Svensson of the Associated Press nicknamed Apple Incorporated as the world s most valuable company with a market value of $624 billion in August 2012 ( Apple 1996; Svennson 2012). In hindsight, Ive s decision to remain with the firm s decline rather than leaving for job stability resulted in success and creative freedom. The resiliency of Apple can act as inspiration to recent graduates who find themselves in disappointing jobs. Finding the courage to endure displeasing work or management may turn to the graduates favor. Ive s career is an example of building persistence in entry-level occupations, and can sway emigration among recent graduates. Jonathan Ive: Designing a Model for New Graduates 1

3 DEVOTION TO WORK, NOT ON PROFITS Another attribute Ive is renowned for is his attention to work. Ive s products are meticulously designed with precision and attention. Chuck Salter of Fast Company suggested that Ive s obsession to refine a product category led to industry-changing inventions. The Apple iphone was the first multi-touch smartphone, and the Apple PowerBook was the first laptop made from titanium. Salter described these products as benchmarks by which companies in all industries judge themselves, and that most companies create designs that can be manufactured from existing equipment and processes, while Ive and his team overhauled manufacturing to get perfect products built (Salter 2009). This drive to create perfect products exhibits a value of focus that will engage the audience in their future ambitions. In an interview with writer Olivia Solon of Wired Magazine, Ive expressed that the goal is only to make great products. His team does not conduct market research to assuage maximum profits: It will guarantee mediocrity and will only work out whether you are going to offend anyone (Solon 2012). The industrial designer s devotion to the final product, and not profits, can inspire new graduates to focus their attention on doing great work, and not accumulating wealth. Entry-level workers can be distracted by investment savings and lose sight of why they initially studied so hard for the position there acquired. INTEREST AND ACCOLADES According to U.S. News College Rankings, Oakland University s art and design programs are not listed among the five most popular majors for 2011 graduates (Oakland 2012). A speaker with a background, in which the majority of students have not studied, will pique the interest of many graduates contemplating a different perspective for their career path. Jonathan Ive was also awarded an honorary doctorate from the Rhode Island School of Design, and an honorary doctorate from the Royal College of Art (RISD 2009; RCA 2012). This may raise the attention of the faculty, as honorary degrees are given only in exception to the contributions made to the field. The graduating class will also take interest in Ive, because they likely own a product he invented, such as an ipod, iphone or MacBook. Ive s distinguished awards will raise awareness to the commencement ceremony. The Design Museum of London awarded the industrial designer with the first Designer of the Year award in In 2007, Ive won a National Design Award for product design. The Mobile Data Association awarded Jonathan Ive with an MDA Personal Achievement Award in 2008, and in 2012, the 16-unit Apple design team each collected a Design and Art Direction award for Best Design Studio ( Designmuseum 2007; Trescott 2007; TheMDA 2008; Spanier 2012). Jonathan Ive is also among a notable few who have been knighted in the Order of the British Empire by Princess Anne in May 2012 ( BBC 2012). A commencement speaker, decorated with awards not only increases recognition, but is also seen as a leader in the field. Jonathan Ive: Designing a Model for New Graduates 2

4 CONCLUSION The OU Commencement Committee recommends that Jonathan Ive speak to the graduating class of spring 2013, not just to tell a success story, but also to demonstrate a model by which recent graduates can emulate. Ive s early disinterest in Apple later became the turning point of his most celebrated designs and the company s success. The graduating class can learn from this example, as many of them will be hired into jobs that they may not enjoy. Ive s devotion to the work as opposed to profit margins will remind the students where their motivation derives from. And Ive s decorated awards will bring merit and recognition to the role as commencement speaker. Ive is not only an accomplished industrial designer; he is a leader among his field. The graduating class of 2013 won t have an instructor or a classroom to continue their pursuit of knowledge. They will learn at an office desk, a laboratory, or on a tool of their trade. Graduates need a model to emulate the hardships, the work ethic, and the goals of another to learn how to succeed in the workforce. Jonathan Ive might have designed some of the most iconic devices that we use every day, but he had to follow a model of success too. Jonathan Ive: Designing a Model for New Graduates 3

5 REFERENCES Apple CFO sees profits in near future. (1996, Oct 3). San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved November 10, 2012, from: Bbc.co.uk. (2012 May 23). Apple Design Chief Jonathan Ive is Knighted. BBC News UK. Retrieved November 11, 2012 from: Designmuseum.org. (2007). Jonathon Ive Biography. Retrieved November 5, 2012, from: Isaacson, W. (2011). Steve Jobs. (pp ). New York: Simon & Schuster. Oakland University Academic Life. (2012). US News. Retrieved Nov 11, 2012 from: Rca.ac.uk. (2012). Honorary Doctors. Retrieved Nov 13, 2012 from: Risd.edu. (2009 May 30). Sir Ken Robinson to Deliver Keynote Address at Rhode Island School of Design s 2009 Commencement. Retrieved Nov 13, 2012 from: Salter, C. (2009). Most Creative People Jonathan Ive. Fast Company. Retrieved November 10, 2012, from: Jonathan Ive: Designing a Model for New Graduates 4

6 Solon, O. (2012 Jul 30). Jonathan Ive-Apple s Goal isn t to make money. Wired UK. Retrieved November 10, 2012, from: Spanier, G. (2012 Sep 19). Sir Jonathan Ive and entire Apple design team fly to London to collect prestigious D&AD awards. London Evening Standard. Retrieved November 13, 2012 from: Svensson, P. (Aug 20, 2012). Apple Sets Record for Company value at $624B. Associated Press. Retrieved November 10, 2012, from: Themda.org. (2008). MDA Awards Retrieved Nov 14, 2012 from: Trescott, J. (2007 Jul 19). National Design Awards Presented At White House. Washington Post. Retrieved Nov 14, 2012 from: dyn/content/article/2007/07/18/ar html Jonathan Ive: Designing a Model for New Graduates 5