Most Apple fans have become familiar with the company’s design chief, Jony Ive, through its promotional videos showing off the latest iPhone or iPad. But in a recently posted video presentation from Sotheby’s, viewers are treated to a rare instance in which Ive talks about design innovation without any mention of Apple.

The video (embedded above) offers an early preview of an upcoming event during which items designed by Ive and industrial designer Marc Newson will be auctioned off for charity.

Jony Ive's special Edition red Mac Pro, expected to sell for between $40,000 and $60,000.

From the music score, to the visuals showing off the production process of the specially designed items, the video is reminiscent of Apple’s own iconic product commercials.

However, for die-hard design fans, what the video really illustrates is that Ive’s famed attention to detail isn’t limited to Apple, it’s something that extends to every project he works on. In it, Ive also points out that the design process of solving really difficult problems often "yields the most beautiful objects."

At the beginning and end of the video, U2 lead singer Bono, who is also involved in the charity auction, makes an appearance, discussing the merits of the special event, the proceeds of which, he says, will go entirely to the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

In a November article in Vanity Fair, Ive and Newson talk at length about their work together on the Sotheby's auction, which the pair curated. “You discover that very few people have the level of perfection we do. It is actually very sick,” Newson told the magazine. “It is neurotic.”

The special edition Leica camera that Jony Ive designed with the help of 55 Apple engineers.

Later in the article, recounting his positive personal experiences with Ive back in 2004, during the development of a special edition U2 iPod, Bono says, “Jony makes some of his greatest decisions while having a drink.”

Sotheby's auction featuring the specially designed items, which are being sold to benefit the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, will occur on Nov. 23 in New York.

Image: Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images

