How Did Jony Ive Fake a Busy Design Studio?

David Senra, reading Leander Kahney, says Jony Ive faked a busy design studio at Tangerine by stacking the room with old prototypes whenever a client visited. Jony Ive quit and started the design firm at 23 as one of four partners. The young startup had few resources and had to hustle.

The partners worked on everything from power tools to combs and televisions to toilets. The work was consistent, but not especially challenging or prestigious. To attract and keep clients, they copied a trick from RWG, where Jony Ive had worked before. When executives from a car company came to visit, the RWG designers drove their own cars into the studio, put sheets over them, and said the cars were for a secret project. The trick worked and RWG got the job. Taking that cue, Jony Ive and his Tangerine partners stacked the studio with all the prototypes and foam models from earlier projects. When the client left, the models went back into storage. Most jobs had small budgets, and the designers still gave them full attention.

The young business stayed careful with money and ran on a shoestring budget. The partners were sensible and never really pushed the finances too much. If they had a small overdraft, or not enough money at the end of each month to pay themselves, they took less and tried to do things sensibly.