Ive was born in Chingford, London, United Kingdom. His father was a silversmith who lectured at Middlesex Polytechnic. "He's a fantastic craftsman, his Christmas gift to me would be one day of his time in his college workshop, during the Christmas break when no one else was there, helping me make whatever I dreamed up". Ive attended the Chingford Foundation School, then Waton High School in Stafford. During his high school years, Ive was passionate about cars and it was this interest that led to his later career as a designer. Following graduation from Walton, Ive explored the option of studying car design in London, such as the course offered at the Royal College of Art; however, he encountered a learning environment that was off-putting: "The classes were full of students making vroom! vroom! noises as they drew".
Ive studied Industrial Design at Newcastle Polytechnic, which is now Northumbria University. Items from his student portfolio, such as a hearing aid design, were exhibited at the Design Museum in London. Ive had been interested in drawing and making anything he could think of. Since he was a teenager, he was unsure of what area to specialise in after leaving Newcastle. After meeting with various design experts, he was drawn to product design. He was given employment at London design agency Roberts Weaver group, his college sponsor. Ive graduated with a first class Bachelor of Arts degree in 1989.
Ive explained that his discovery of the Apple Mac, after "having a real problem with computers" during his later student years, was a turning point. Fearing he was "technically inept", he felt the Apple user experience was a departure from the computer design at that time[4] and was particularly impressed by the intuitive mouse-driven system.[5]