“Last month, we stumbled upon videos of Steve Jobs’ yacht, the Venus, which was reportedly unveiled a year after Jobs’ death,” Eric Mack reports for CNET. “The sleek, clean design has a certain Apple Store look to it, complete with a row of 27-inch iMacs on board…”
“Then recently SuperYacht Times interviewed French designer Philippe Starck, who Jobs collaborated with to design Venus,” Mack reports. “What Starck reveals about co-creating with Jobs sheds some light on the late icon’s iDesign process.”
“What Starck reveals about co-creating with Jobs sheds some light on the late icon’s iDesign process. Starck says that in the beginning, in a move that would seem uncharacteristic, Jobs gave him ‘carte blanche,'” Mack reports. “But that was just the beginning of the design process with Jobs. Starck goes on to say that he and Jobs would spend one day every six weeks, from 2007 until his death in 2011, going over refinements ‘Millimetre by millimetre. Detail by detail.'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: More evidence that Jony Ive is a saint. Laurene, too, of course.
Related articles:
Steve Jobs’ yacht ‘Venus’ unveiled in Aalsmeer, The Netherlands (with video) – October 28, 2012
Philippe Starck: Oui, that ‘revolutionary Apple product’ is actually Steve Jobs’ family’s yacht – April 17, 2012
The real genius of Steve Jobs, the perfectionist – November 7, 2011
Steve Jobs’ quest for perfection could make even buying a sofa into decade-long ordeal – October 25, 2011
Dear oh dear…feel sorry for the poor sod who has to use the Mac OS to pilot the yacht!
Software “running” on the Mac OS
Since it’s designed by a Frenchman, it must fly the white flag of convenience – ready to surrender, just in case.
Ironic isn’t it, especially working on a yacht with an American. Everyone knows they are the only ones who’d ignore the white flag of surrender.
Always be careful of those bearing a White Flag. Once it was honored as a statement of Surrender. Now, it is a way to get close enough to kill you. If your enemy tactics alter, adopt and overcome the advantage. So, if the person holding a white is still intent on killing you by deception- dispense with the threat.
Yep it’s a different kind of war these days. And no uniforms on the bad guys either.
And where the heck is the Pirate flag?
Wonder if anyone saved that flag, now that relic would bring a few bucks on eBay.
And it’s still ugly as sin.
I was aghast how ugly this yacht is and to know that it took five years to finally launch it is astounding. I haven’t seen the interior, but my first impression was, “Oh, gawd, what an eyesore.”
It’s not a yacht, It’s a great looking houseboat.
Would not mind living aboard it permanently.
Lots of room with all the toys.
Johnny won’t be putting in a bid on it I’m betting.
is it just moi, or que ce qui se passe?!
sure, this yacht is designed by famous industrial designer Philippe Starck, sure it’s simplified to the bone by iSteve, but surely i’m not the only one, and i’m a designer/artist myself, who thinks the yacht might be an iBook-like iYacht, but that it’s damn ugly!
a yacht should be futuristic, slick etc. but elegant, sexy! This is definitely not a Venus! where’s the female curves, this is quite a stack, dark, gay design. to clean. too claustrophobic. to dry. to passionless. a yacht is not a book or gadget. Starck says iSteve left no one wasted mm, yet that took the breath & soul out of the boat’s design.
the yacht might be cut down to its essence but it’s definitely not attractive. when a design is too simple, it can end up missing the feeling.
as the biggest Apple fan, this might seem taboo or sinful to admit, but hey, fans have to be realistic, and defend good design too.
rumors were that Starck was designing not just a new Apple product for Xmas but revolutionize yet another new Apple product category. Jony Ive even admitted that that product with Starck was supposed to be the best Apple design yet. Don’t tell us the iYacht is it?! that’s Steve’s family project, not a product us consumers will enjoy for xmas. Don’t tell us the October announcements of iPad minis/iMacs now delayed are it for the rest of the year?!
What I want to know is why didnt Steve use Jony Ive to design this?
It would have been one hell of a boat if he had.
I just think thats really odd considering Steve and Jony worked together everyday.
As I said many times: Philippe Starck is a much more famous industrial designer than he is brilliant. What an ugly yacht, looks like Bill Gates’ house. I’ve never seen a product by Philippe Starck what worked well. Steve, why you asked him for such a design? A smaller yacht would have been ready during your lifetime!
OK, some of you kids with time on your hands submit what a Yacht made by Microsoft would look like for Ballmer.
Steve and I have been working on his yacht It is circular with twenty motors attached tangentially, spaced evenly along the ship. The motor set-up allows it to go very fast in the same place.
When all the motors are running full throttle, it spins very fast. Steve likes to power up the ship and call his lieutenants at MS with dizzyingly great new requirements. You can see his revolutionary design ideas in Windows 8 and the Surface!
Funny! I think the top quarters roof should be reflective dome, like his head. The horn blasts one of his famous Monkey Dance screams.
When you guys buy and design your super yacht we will critique it’s design…of course not one of you will do it….. Steve did his yacht his way …I am sure he was not too worried about anyone’s opinion….and beauty is in the eye of the beholder ….
I like the bottom part of the hull, nice clean lines, but I dislike the pagoda top. They don’t go together.
You’re right. I think the Pagoda top is absolutely what’s ruining the look. If you imagine a more modern looking top to it, it might be decent.
Still looks like it’s made out of old iMac backs, and MacPro sides. Now we know why Apple offered to recycle all our old computers.
Making a decision on the aesthetics of a yacht when it’s moored at a dock is just absurd.
Watch it go by at 15 to 20 knots and then tell me how it looks.
Yep, ugly yacht.
It looks as if one good wave over the bow in rough seas would lift/rip that superstructure off the yacht with those overhangs.
Stunningly great yacht.
Other pics of the ship from different angles reveal a structure that is quite a bit more svelte and appealing than what is revealed here.
What I find interesting, however, is something that no one has mentioned about the iMacs that control the ship. Look closely at the photo.
There are no keyboards or mice in view, nor any indication of compartments on the surface of the counter the iMacs sit on.
Touch screen controls?