蘋果首席設計師批評模仿者

Apple’s design chief took a swipe at copycats as he explained some of the secretive group’s product development processes ahead of the launch of its Watch and latest iPads.

蘋果(Apple)首席設計師對模仿者作出了批評。在蘋果即將推出Apple Watch和最新款iPad之前，喬納森•艾夫爵士(Sir Jonathan Ive)介紹了這家善於保密的集團的某些產品開發流程。

In an interview at Vanity Fair magazine’s New Establishment Summit in San Francisco, Sir Jonathan Ive admitted that he sounded “a little bit harsh and perhaps a little bit bitter” in his response to a question about whether imitation by Asian rivals such as Xiaomi was “flattering”.

在《名利場》(Vanity Fair)雜誌於舊金山舉辦的New Establishment峯會上，喬納森爵士接受了採訪。他坦承，在被問到小米(Xiaomi)等亞洲競爭對手的模仿是否“令他感到榮幸”時，他的回答聽上去“有點刺耳，或許還有點憤憤不平”。

He said: “I think it’s really straightforward. It really is theft, and it’s lazy, and I don’t think it’s OK at all.”

他說：“我認爲，這件事確實很簡單。這麼做就是偷竊，是偷懶，我根本不認爲這樣做沒問題。”

Apple has fought many legal battles over patent infringement of the iPhone’s technology and designs, including winning an initial $1bn verdict against Samsung in 2012. While it has been some time since Apple initiated any new cases, Sir Jonathan’s sensitivity to copying comes ahead of the release of Watch.

蘋果因爲iPhone技術和設計專利遭到侵權的問題打過多次官司，其中包括在2012年首次告贏三星(Samsung)並獲賠10億美元。蘋果已有一段時間沒有再提起新的訴訟，但喬納森爵士在蘋果將推出智能手錶之際對抄襲的問題依然十分敏感。

“When we started working on it, it seemed like a very natural, obvious place for technology to end up,” he said.

他說：“當我們開始設計這款產品的時候，它看起來就像是技術的一個自然、顯而易見的終點。”

This iPhone accessory, which will cost upwards of $350, was conceived after Steve Jobs’ death, but Sir Jonathan said he was trying to maintain Apple’s founding ethos of making technology more personal and accessible. “I do see that the Watch is a move away from what is traditionally understood as consumer electronics,” Sir Jonathan said.

這款iPhone配件售價將超過350美元，是在史蒂夫•喬布斯(Steve Jobs)過世之後構想出來的。不過喬納森爵士表示，他試圖保持蘋果的創立宗旨：讓科技變得更加個人化和易於使用。他說：“我確實認爲，相對於傳統上人們理解的消費電子產品，蘋果手錶有所不同。”

Apple is courting the fashion and luxury market with the device, including a showcase during Paris Fashion Week held at the chic boutique store Colette.

蘋果正在以這款設備博取時尚和奢侈品市場的好感，包括在巴黎時裝週(Paris Fashion Week)期間特意在柯萊特時尚店(Colette)陳列該產品。

Sir Jonathan’s appearance came in the same week that Vogue China featured a model wearing Apple Watch, the first fashion magazine to style the watch on its cover.

就在喬納森爵士現身的同一周，《Vogue China》還登出了一位戴着蘋果手錶的模特，這是第一家在封面展示這款手錶的時尚雜誌。

Vogue’s praise for the Watch is a far cry from Sir Jonathan’s first attempt at designing a phone, in the UK in the late 1980s. He won a Royal College of Arts competition with a contraption that reimagined the telephone, rearranging the speaker, mouthpiece and handle.

《Vogue》對蘋果手錶的讚許與喬納森首次嘗試設計一部電話之時已不可同日而語，那是上世紀80年代末他在英國的時候。他以一款重新設計的電話贏得了英國皇家藝術學院(Royal College of Art)的一次競賽。這款電話的揚聲器、話筒和手柄都經過重新設計。

Shown a photo of the clunky device on stage by Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter, Sir Jonathan blushed. “Obviously it wasn’t a good idea,” he said.

《名利場》雜誌主編格萊登•卡特(Graydon Carter)在臺上展示了這款笨重電話機的照片，喬納森爵士有點難爲情，他說：“顯然，這不是個好的創意。”

But the bursary he received from winning helped him, in 1989, to make his first trip to Silicon Valley. “I was just blown away by the optimism and enthusiasm that provided such a fantastic environment to try and develop new ideas,” Sir Jonathan told Mr Carter.

不過，在比賽中拿到獎金後，他在1989年首次造訪了硅谷。他告訴卡特：“那裏的樂觀和熱情爲嘗試和研究新創意營造了絕妙的環境，我被深深打動了。”

“It’s very difficult to develop new ideas in the context of cynicism and sarcasm. It makes for good comedy but it’s a horrible way of trying to develop products.”

“在憤世嫉俗和冷嘲熱諷的氛圍中，人們很難提出新的創意。這種氛圍容易催生出好的喜劇，然而對於產品開發來說是十分糟糕的。”

Describing Apple’s product development processes, Sir Jonathan said his team of 16 designers gathered three or four times a week around its studio’s table, which resembles those that display products in its retail stores.

在講述蘋果的產品開發流程時，喬納森爵士表示他的團隊由16名設計師組成，每週會圍着工作室的桌子開三四次會，這種桌子與蘋果門店中展示產品的桌子相似。

“We draw, we still draw,” he said. The team also creates plastic or metal models of its concepts. “When there is an object to touch, everything shifts.”

他說：“我們會畫出設計圖樣，我們仍然會採用繪畫方式。”除此以外，該團隊還會根據其設計理念，製作出塑料或金屬的模型。“一旦有了可觸摸的實物，就一切都不同了。”