It's a ball.
Mistaken, not this ball.
Put on a gown and put on white gloves, just like a handover ceremony at a jewelry auction.
Gently pick up a polished white box, remove it, and open it.
Yes, it's this ball.
This is the latest masterpiece of Jony Ive, Apple's former chief design officer, Red Nose.
It's also the first product from Jony Ive that left Apple in 2019 to start a new company, LoveFrom.
Oh, and it's also the cheapest product in Jony Ive's design history — just $3.
The most "apple" work ever
The new product is actually designed for the UK's national public welfare holiday "Red Nose Day".
The annual "Red Nose Day", organized by the well-known British charity Comic Relief, will also be broadcast on British television on March 17 this year, with many stars, comedians and supporters participating.
100% of the funds raised are donated to the poor and vulnerable who are struggling with rising living costs, homelessness, food insecurity, mental health and other issues.
I hope to be able to support their work with my own strength and also bring a little joy to everyone who wears it.
Jony Ive said that for this new red nose, the entire LoveFrom team was involved.
It seems simple, but it is actually a small object that is very complex to design and make.
The main part of the red nose is made of plant material, which is much more sustainable than the previous plastic material.
It's carefully folded and packaged in a thin semi-circular container, and before it is opened, I can't help but think of the case of AirPods - take it out when you want to use it, put it in the box if you don't want to use it, and carry it in your pocket.
After taking it out, open the flat meniscus and it can turn into a honeycomb paper sphere, and the process is natural and smooth.
Wear it, and it can accommodate all noses of different sizes.
By the way, does this grid crisscrossing the surface of the red nose look a bit like a homepod?
Coupled with the fact that this red nose itself looks like a red apple, how is it not considered the "most apple ever"?
Comedian Diane Morgan also compared its design to Earth, describing how LoveFrom pays attention to detail to create a perfect "circle."
This is what I consider to be the most perfect red nose in history.
The BBC Newsround programme also praised it as "the most dramatic makeover since the Red Nose debuted in 1988".
Of course, we didn't actually get it, we didn't know how "round" it was, and we didn't know how it really felt to put it on.
But at least Jony Ive's design at Apple has hardly disappointed.
Not to mention, it also has Apple's "public welfare gene" that Apple has always had.
Many celebrities from singers, actors, writers and other fields have tried on this red nose and caused a "virality" on the Internet, although each person is limited to 8, and Amazon.com is currently sold out.
This has allowed more and more people to pay attention to "Red Nose Day".
Children's author and Radio 1 DJ Greg James says:
It's a great reminder to look out into the outside world and help others in any way we can.
A carnival of charity behind a red nose
Red Nose Day has been held for 33 times since its inception in 1988, making it the UK's oldest charity festival.
It originally helped raise money for the Ethiopian famine of the '80s, which killed about 400,000 people.
▲Image from: Associated Press, cover of the 1984 Daily Mail
But how do you get everyone involved?
Founders Richard Curtis and Lanny Henry came up with a way to call out Britain's famous comedians and screenwriters, attract everyone's attention with wonderful shows, and raise funds.
Tell a joke and ask you to be generous to suffering from afar.
▲ Image from: Associated Press
Later, not only comedians, but also popular singers, actors, pop culture leaders would get involved, such as Bill Gates, David Beckham, Adele, Mr. Bean and so on.
People also take to the streets with funny red noses on the day, and the festival becomes even more a household name.
It can be said that the annual "Red Nose Day" is like a large-scale carnival for the whole people in the UK.
This allows people not to arouse compassion in the midst of suffering and heaviness, but to be attracted to participate by kind humor to help those in need be happy.
The classic "red nose" of the festival is the best spiritual symbol.
Its design has also undergone a wonderful and long journey of transformation.
In the beginning, it was a piece of plastic that would hurt to wear.
Later, it changed to a soft sponge, and the plastic process was removed for environmental protection the year before and replaced with sustainable materials, and the image of the red nose was made into animals in nature.
In 2015, the official also made the "red nose" into a blind box design, and released about 10 styles every year, including Transformers, Frankenstein, Mummies and so on.
Rare red noses, even nearly 10,000 noses can only be smoked.
The original red noses of the public are even more colorful.
It encourages people, rich or not, men and women, young and old, to use their imagination and a little courage not to be afraid of embarrassment, and everyone can contribute.
Richard Curtis said:
It proves that the smallest things can make a huge difference.
Last year's "Red Nose Day" helped raise more than 42 million pounds (about 350 million yuan), once again setting a record all-time high.
Image courtesy of Comic Relief Official Website
Sixty per cent of these funds will be used to improve the lives of poor people in Africa, 40 per cent will go to vulnerable groups in the UK, and more and more countries are participating and learning from it.
Lin Junjie also served as the ambassador of the 2018 June 1 Red Nose Festival, calling on the whole society to do public welfare with happiness and pay attention to children in need.
The British themselves have this summary of "Red Nose Day":
It looks silly and feels great.
This year's red nose made by Jony Ive can be said to be the best design ever that combines beauty, functionality, environmental protection and communication.
LoveFrom: More than a red nose, continue to convey humanistic care and love
It's no surprise that Red Nose and Jony Ive are linked, and their philosophies and goals coincide – about humanistic care, about friendliness and love.
Jony Ive, who has contributed greatly to the design of products such as the iPod, iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and more, can be said to be the "godfather of Apple's design".
The image above is from Architectural Digest, and the picture below is from Yanko Design
After leaving Apple, he teamed up with renowned industrial designer Marc Newson to found the creative company LoveFrom.
Image from Forbes
LoveFrom transmits the most "spiritual power" side of Apple's genes.
For a long time, they only showed the official website to the public, and the page has the simplicity and atmosphere that we are familiar with.
There are no introductions, products, contact information, just one line:
LoveFrom is a creative collective. We are designers, architects, musicians, filmmakers, writers, engineers and artists.
You may know us through our past work.
We indulge in the tradition of creation and making, our fanatical pursuit of excellence, and our insatiable curiosity.
We work with leaders and founders. We work for pleasure. We develop our own ideas.
In our previous article, we mentioned the origin of the name LoveFrom, which is actually based on the inspiration of Steve Jobs.
Jony Ive talked about a past staff meeting with Jobs, who gave a touching description of "design motivation":
One of the fundamental motivations [by design] is that when you do something with love and heart, even though you may never meet the people you've worked for, or even shake hands with them, by seriously creating something, you're expressing gratitude to all humanity.
Although we can find that LoveFrom has cooperated with Airbnb, Ferrari and other large companies after its founding, in the past few years, what has been shown in front of us are more products with public welfare.
The first piece to be released to the public was a badge designed for Terra Carta.
Terra Carta is an environmental initiative launched by Prince Charles, and the badge is given to companies that excel in sustainability.
It looks like just a badge, but the design is extremely detailed and rich.
Not only did they design a new font specifically for the badge, but in seven interconnected rings, ferns, acorns, ladybugs, monarch butterflies, birds and bees can be seen gently and powerfully blending in.
In July of the same year, Jony Ive also teamed up with Charles to create the "Terra Carta Design Lab", an initiative that allows students to design small, low-cost designs for a sustainable future.
▲Image from: iconeye.com
The winners of the inaugural Terra Carta Design Lab were announced last April, with four entries winning from 125 original designs.
"Aerseeds" that turn food waste into seed pods:
Image courtesy of Aerseeds
100% recyclable high-performance waterproofing material "Amphitex":
Image courtesy of Amphibio
"Innovative tires" that capture plastic particles from tire wear:
Image courtesy of Sustainable Markets Initiative
Wearable devices "ZELP" that can achieve zero emissions in livestock projects:
Image from: ZELP
These masterpieces allow us to see the world's most talented design students, designing high-impact, low-cost solutions for nature, people, and the planet.
The red nose this time is the first time that LoveFrom has made a product that can be purchased for the public.
It also continues Jony Ive's design characteristics: while pursuing perfectionism, it makes a lot of things after technological changes dignified and humane.
More and more new products from LoveFrom should come out soon, but they will not be released regularly and at a fast pace.
After all, the reality is that many public welfare products are more difficult to achieve commercial success.
But Jony Ive says, "Success is the enemy of curiosity."
Fortunately, this hot red nose just proves that by turning the above sentence around, curiosity can also make people successful.