The downside of being Jonathan Ive is spending too much time alone, but the upside is being part of an incredible design team for over 15 years where no one has voluntarily left.

In the future, I will remember less about the actual products we've developed and more about how we worked together to create them.

Our core design team is very small, consisting of about 16 to 17 people, and we've worked hard to keep it that way over the last 15 years.

We meet religiously as a creative team three or four times a week to collaborate on our projects, often around tables similar to those in our stores.

The creative process is exciting; one day there may be no ideas, and the next day a conversation leads to a new concept that evolves into a design.

When we give form to an abstract idea, it galvanizes the entire team and provides focus, even if the initial object doesn't become the final design.

Touch technology was a significant challenge, and there were many moments when we nearly gave up on it, but it ultimately became a defining feature of our products.

Creating a product that is complex yet intuitive, like the iPhone, means it should ideally come with no instructions, allowing users to understand it naturally.

The idea of a large, directly touchable display seemed obvious and natural, but it was not an easy concept to realize nine years ago when we were developing it.

Our observation was that we had been doing a lot of abstract explorations into multi-touch technology before we could create a flat, user-friendly device. When designing products, we realized that most devices required a tradeoff between small buttons and small displays, which made them difficult to use. Our approach allowed for a larger display without compromising on button functionality, enabling contextual buttons that could be larger or smaller based on the app's needs.

During my time at art school in England, I encountered terrible computers that made me feel technically incapable. However, discovering the Macintosh was a relief; it was straightforward to use and revealed the care taken in its design, which sparked my interest in the values behind product creation.

In industrial design, we focus on creating tools that serve others, making life easier rather than expressing personal narratives like in fine art. This sense of service is what I find noble about our profession.

As a child, I was captivated by a beautifully designed food mixer by Braun, despite having no interest in cooking. Its design intrigued me and made me appreciate the craftsmanship behind everyday objects.

I find comparisons of companies like Xiaomi to Apple to be more about theft than flattery. When you invest years into creating something innovative, seeing it copied feels like a disregard for the effort and creativity involved.

I think design is everything. A beautiful product that doesn't function well is, in my view, ugly. The best designs are those that harmoniously integrate form and function, making it impossible to separate the two.

I believe that when we interact with a product, we can sense whether care has been taken in its design. Unfortunately, much of our manufactured environment reflects carelessness, prioritizing speed and cost over quality.