Taimur Asad·

End Of An Era: Chief Design Officer Jony Ive Is Leaving Apple

Apple has announced that its chief design officer Sir Jony Ive will be leaving the company later this year after a span of more than 20 years at Apple.

Ive will be leaving to form his own independent design firm named LoveFrom with Apple being its first client. Marc Newson, who joined Apple in 2014, will also be leaving with Ive to form this new company.

Here’s an excerpt from the press release Apple issued on Ive’s departure from the company:

Jony is a singular figure in the design world and his role in Apple’s revival cannot be overstated, from 1998’s groundbreaking iMac to the iPhone and the unprecedented ambition of Apple Park, where recently he has been putting so much of his energy and care,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “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. 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.

In the aforementioned press release, Apple also confirmed that “Ive in his new company will continue to work closely and on a range of projects with Apple.”

Jony Ive himself had this to say about his departure from Apple:

“After nearly 30 years and countless projects, I am most proud of the lasting work we have done to create a design team, process and culture at Apple that is without peer. Today it is stronger, more vibrant and more talented than at any point in Apple’s history,” said Ive. “The team will certainly thrive under the excellent leadership of Evans, Alan and Jeff, who have been among my closest collaborators. I have the utmost confidence in my designer colleagues at Apple, who remain my closest friends, and I look forward to working with them for many years to come.”

With Ive leaving Apple’s iconic design team, Apple’s design team will now include leaders such as Evans Hankey and Alan Dye both of whom will now report to Jeff Williams, the chief operating officer at Apple.

With Steve Jobs, Scott Forstall and now Jony Ive all gone, it truly marks an end of an era at Apple.

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