APPLE Design Boss JONY IVE Leaving to Form New DESIGN FIRM; Retaining Apple as CLIENT

The late Steve Jobs may be the face of all technological innovation in Apple, the company he co-founded close to a half-century ago now. But it has long been proven that whatever awesome product comes out of the tech giant is the result of a team effort in development. If Apple loyalists really like the looks of their computers and mobile devices, then they owe it to British industrial designer Jonathan Ive. Since joining Apple in 1992 and becoming design chief in 1996, he made products like the iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad look sweet. But time has passed. For Ive, it was time he left Apple for other opportunities.

As The Verge tells us, the head of Apple design Jony Ive has announced his impending departure from Apple sometime late this year. Though he has been part of the computer and tech juggernaut for close to three decades now, Ive has decided to form his own independent design firm, like the staert of his own career in industrial design. And similar to his start, the new company he would found would also count Apple among its priority clients. The firm, which Ive is founding with Australian industrial designer Marc Newson (only with Apple since 2014), will be called LoveFrom.

Regarding Ive’s impending departure, Apple CEO Tim Cook issued a public statement elaborating on what will happen later on. “Apple will continue to benefit from Jony’s talents by working directly with him on exclusive projects, and through the ongoing work of the brilliant and passionate design team he has built,” says Cook. “After so many years working closely together, I’m happy that our relationship continues to evolve and I look forward to working with Jony long into the future.” Several products remain on Ive’s to-do design list, according to Apple.

Jonathan Ive first did work for Apple back when he was with the London-based industrial design startup called Tangerine. In the late 1980s to early nineties Apple was a design client of Tangerine, and Ive designed the first PowerBooks for them. He was initially reluctant to join Apple due to worries that his family might be ill-adjusted moving from the UK to California. When he did come on board it was around the time that Steve Jobs was planning his return to Apple following his 1985 sacking, and the latter tapped Ive to help him take the company in a new direction. Said direction was in the introduction of the Apple “i” branded mobile devices, and the rest became history.

Both Ive and Newson have received royal honors for their iconic work in industrial design, with Ive himself being a Knight of the British Empire. He is also Chancellor at the Royal College of Art.

Image courtesy of Android Authority