What Makes a "Good" Designer?

Must be the Luce

Sir Jony Ive strikes again.

I've always loved Ive's designs. Widely considered THE core architect of the most distinguishable design languages of the world's most influential consumer hardware brand, it's not a stretch to say that Ive's team, under his leadership and vision, became the single most influential design team in the history of mankind.

Seriously, if you think about it, almost all designs in the tech space could trace their progeny back to Ive's early days at Apple (while of course, Ive himself attributes Dieter Rams and his "Less is Better" philosophy). Elegance. Charming. Immaculate. Those are just some words I'd use to describe his voice, but are also coincidentally the keywords he almost always hits in Apple's older product videos.

I understand not everyone is aware of who Jony Ive is -- and wouldn't expect so. In my opinion, this is the guy who took Rams' ideas, ran with it, and revolutionised industrial design as we know it in the process. Oh, and also, built the ever-resilient design language of a certain fruit company along the way. So resilient, in fact, that years after Ive left, his vision remains steadfast in its products today.

So, when Ferrari announced that it was launching an EV, designed from the ground up by LoveFrom and Ive, I was absolutely stoked -- and at the same time scared -- of what the end product could look like.

The Excitement

I love EVs. I loved Ive's design language. And, as Sebastian Vettel says, deep down, everyone's a Ferrari fan. All 3 things combined -- I wish you could feel the same excitement I felt when the news broke about an all-new, electric Ferrari designed by LoveFrom, Ive's new design consultancy who, up until recently, was making <checks notes> lanterns?

If you look at Lovefrom's recent designs -- Ive's language doesn't just accentuate -- it straight up dominates the products underneath. No one cares if the lantern works (why does anyone even need a lantern these days) only that it took the form signed off by one of the most legendary designers in the world. It's not a lantern, it's a Jony Ive design. It just so happens to light up.

It's not publicly known exactly why Ferrari specifically looked to Ive's team to design its new, revolutionary electric car. In my opinion, it was a move that signalled utmost commitment. Ferrari never wanted to look back - no company who hires Lovefrom ever hired them with the intention of creating something that looks like everything they've already did. Ferrari reiterates incessantly that it didn't just want to make an EV - but rather a new class of vehicles that only Ferrari can make. I believe they're sincere -- and fully trusted this project.

The Questions

Even so, I never really understood the pairing between Ferrari and Jony Ive.

Ferrari and Lovefrom-Ive has fundamentally clashing brand identities. Ive's designs stem from Dieter Rams' "Less is more" philosophy. Ferrari is all about extra - extra power, extra grooves, extra cylinders, extravagance. With these clashes, Ive's task suddently balloons from "design a new EV" to "reinvent Ferrari's brand story". That is the scope creep of a lifetime.

This is why everyone keeps screaming "The Luce is NOT a Ferrari." The frustration comes from the fact that no one understands why Ferarri would go down this route - signing off a vehicle that seems to whisper "think different" in a soft, british voice instead of screaming with a V12-powered voice box.

The Reveal (Part I)

Ferrari used a staged reveal. They knew it was about to be divisive, even hated (contrary to public opinion, none of them are stupid). And so, on a random Tuesday, Ferrari revealed a sneak peek of the Luce's interior.

It was gorgeous.