What makes for good design? How do you pursue your education when you hate school? What’s the key to becoming a beloved brand? These are some of the questions we ask Gavin Ivester, Creative Consultant, Strategic Advisor, veteran of Apple Computer and for three + years the Vice President of design at Bang & Olufsen. Gavin Ivester started his career in industrial design at Apple Computer, where he helped create the original PowerBook. After 11 years with Apple, Gavin started his own consultancy and then went on to hold jobs at Nike and Puma before coming to Nashville to be the Chief Creative Office for Gibson Guitar and co-founding Flo Thinkery. Gavin believes focus is what makes a brand lovable. See if you agree with him on this episode of the Fortune’s Path podcast, where we explore the role of virtue in work and family to help you find your own fortune.
Tom talks with innovation leader and brand builder Gavin Ivester. Gavin is the former Vice President of Design for Bang & Olufsen, the beloved maker of artful audio equipment and televisions. Gavin talks about creating a principle driven design strategy that delivered double-digit growth in a painfully competitive market, how he started at Apple where he was employee number 2,454, and how he made the change from forklift driver to designer of the original PowerBook. Gavin also speaks about the breakthrough design decision of the PowerBook that's impacted every laptop since, the implications of design principles, how "honesty in materials" promotes sustainability and superior customer experience, how great design and great craftsmanship together create longevity and explain why it can be worth paying $20k for a TV. Gavin also discusses what he learned at Puma where his career shifted from design to product as head of the footwear division, and why licensing can be a sinkhole for your brand equity. Tom ends with a discussion of "the shadow" and how it's reflected in industrial design and managing your life as a product, and Gavin takes us home by talking about the implications of having a successful career on raising children, and what products he loves.