Design

Apple’s former UI wizard applies his magic touch to a deck of cards

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

Australia-born user interface designer Robert Padbury was employed by Apple for nearly three years. In his Senior UI Designer role with the company, Padbury was helping create the visuals for a range of consumer and pro applications for the Mac and iOS.

Prior to joining Apple, he worked with numerous startups including Stipple, Cooliris, Gaia Interactive, Tapulous, DoubleTwist and more.

Now self-employed, Padbury is providing creative services like software design, identity design and design strategy for clients such as Uber, Forage and Stipple. His latest project involves applying Apple's principles of clean and striking design to such ordinary objects as a deck of cards...

Apple confirms iPhone UI creator’s departure, shoots down ill-founded power struggle claim

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

Yesterday, blogger Mark Gurman reported that Apple's Vice President of Human Interface, Greg Christie, will be leaving the company. Christie's name is on a hundred Apple patents, among them the famous slide-to-unlock invention asserted in its second California patent trial against Samsung.

The herald of Apple’s iOS design aesthetic, his departure was framed as a significant loss for the company based on Gurman's assertion that Christie was forced out due to his falling out with Jony Ive, Apple's SVP of Design, over iOS design direction.

However, turns out that Gurman's sources were wrong: Apple on Thursday denied the claim of an internal power struggle. Christie's departure after 18 years of service was planned and is part of a leadership transition inside the Human Interface group, Apple said in a statement to several media outlets...

iPhone UI creator Greg Christie departing after falling out with Jony Ive over iOS design direction

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 9, 2014

Ever since Tim Cook took the reigns at Apple, the firm's been in a perpetual shakeup mode. The most famous change at the top occurred on October 29, 2012, the day a press release was put out saying "Scott Forstall will be leaving Apple" the following year.

The unexpected change saw Apple's lead hardware designer Jony Ive assume a greater role as he got to "provide leadership and direction" for Apple's Human Interface (HI) group across the company, on top of his longtime role as the leader of Industrial Design.

With Ive in charge of all design at the company, Apple has ushered in a new era of visual simplicity with the release of iOS 7 last September, representing the biggest rethinking of the iPhone's user interface since the handset's inception.

However, a new report asserts that collaboration between Ive and Apple's Vice President of Human Interface, Greg Christie, has been a rocky one

In fact, Christie is rumored to be leaving Apple soon as a result of his falling out with Ive over the iOS's design direction...

Alleged iPhone 6 production images show protruding camera lens, rounded LED flash

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 31, 2017

Is Apple's next iPhone really going to have an unsightly camera bulge on the back akin to Samsung's Galaxy S5 and many other Android handsets out there? You bet it will, if questionable images said to depict an iPhone 6 in trial production are anything to go by.

While there's no way of determining the veracity of these photographs, we've managed to spot a few discrepancies which cast doubt on their legitimacy, so you too are advised to apply some skepticism...

Jony Ive talks design, Steve Jobs, iWatch rumors and more in new interview

Cody Lee ∙ March 17, 2014

The typically quiet Jony Ive participated in a new interview which surfaced online yesterday. The Sunday Times was able to sit down with Apple's world-renowned designer for a lengthy discussion on a wide range of topics as part of its 'Makers of the 21st Century' series.

As usual, we've highlighted a few of our favorite parts from the article, but I'll go ahead and tell you right now, the entire thing is worth reading. It's very well written, covers a wide range of topics, (5 pages worth) from rumors to copycats, and Jony Ive is surprisingly candid...

iSpaceship designer talks Steve Jobs involvement, project’s scale and smart planning

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Apple has just finished demolishing the Campus 2 site after receiving an unanimous approval for the project from the Cupertino City Council last November. When construction completes in 2016, a whopping 12,000 Apple employees will move into their new 2.8 million square foot, ring-shaped home.

But how exactly was the massive glass and metal structure conceived, what was Steve Jobs involvement in the planning process and what influenced the four-story building's unique design which earned it the nickname of 'iSpaceship'?

Renowned architect Norman Foster, the chairman of Foster + Partners, led the project and talked all of the above, and then some more, in an interesting interview with Architectural Record, here are the highlights...

How Jony Ive almost gave up his industrial design course in college

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 20, 2014

Jony Ive, Apple's Senior Vice President of all Design across the company, is the world's top industrial designer and likely the most powerful figure inside Apple: Tim Cook may be steering the ship and making sure the trains run on time, but it's Jony Ive calling the shots in terms of product development and hardware/software design.

But more than twenty years ago, Ive almost gave up on his industrial design course in college, prompting renowned designer Tom Karen to meet with Ive's father and talk some senses into his teenaged son...

Former Apple designer explains why he walked out on his dream job

Cody Lee ∙ February 12, 2014

From the outside, Apple seems like the perfect place to work. After all, who wouldn't want to be a part of one of the most renown companies in the world, transforming industries and creating revolutionary products? Sounds like the perfect job, right? Not according to Jordan Price.

Price, a former mobile designer at Apple, has caused quite the commotion these last few days with a blog post entitled "I wanted to work at Apple really bad, and now not so much." And in it, he describes how his dream job in Cupertino became so unbearable he felt he had to quit...

Analyst: iPhone 6 design locked down, specs include 4.8″ screen, 802.11ac Wi-Fi

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 23, 2014

Apple has apparently decided on the design of its next iPhone and specifications are said to include a 4.8-inch display, according to an analyst with Cowen and Company who must have been following our non-scientific poll which had the majority of respondents opt for a 4.7-inch form factor.

The phone should additionally include the latest 802.11ac networking, also known as Gigabit Wi-Fi, for three times greater wireless transfer speeds. Apple currently supports Gigabit Wi-Fi in the recently refreshed AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule wireless appliances and across its Mac Pro, MacBook and iMac families...

If Apple.com is up for flattening, please make it look like this

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 15, 2014

Milano, Italy-based user interface designer Sebastiano Guerriero has envisioned this great looking full-on Apple.com redesign which has left me speechless this morning.

I'm especially digging the uniformity, focus on large images with less text and single-colored buttons that much resemble the design language of iOS 7.

But what's really floored me is his awesomely flattened navigation bar at the top. I know Apple has removed some of the shine and depth to it over the years.

But - but - Guerriero's version is so much better! I'm not exaggerating, his mockup is an eye-candy and puts Apple's current website design to shame, hands down. But don't take my word for it, jump past the fold and have a look yourself...

Jony Ive on Charlie Rose on the value of simplicity

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated September 23, 2017

Apple's SVP of Design Jony Ive along with his good friend, industrial designer Marc Newson, has lent his magic touch to a few one-off items for Sotheby’s (RED) charity auction to help fight AIDS in Africa. Some of the unique objects the two men designed include a one-off red-colored Mac Pro, a unique aluminum-clad desk and a gorgeous Leica M camera.

Ahead of tomorrow's charity, Ive and Newson sat last night with American television talk show host and journalist Charlie Rose to discuss how they interacted to create these unique objects of affection that'll end up being used by their highest-paying owners...