Apple announced the departure of their chief designer of over twenty years, Jony Ive, last Thursday.
Ive is credited with everything from the design of the classic candy coloured iMac, launched in the 90s and a saving grace for a young and struggling Apple, to the current iPhone designs we know and love today. The loss of such a significant player in the technology company’s success has already noticeably impacted Apple, with their stock dropping by 1% in the wake of the announcement.
The announcement of Ive’s departure has caused waves amongst the tech community, stirring up old and new reports of bad blood between the head designer and the company’s CEO, Tim Cook. These include claims that Ive was disappointed in recent releases from the company, such as the relative failure of the Apple Watch.
Ive was heavily involved in the design of the Apple Watch, which was originally released in 2015 and is currently on its fifth generation. He had pushed for the wearable tech to be marketed as a fashion accessory, as opposed to a tech accessory. Unfortunately, the product did not reach expected sales, with only a quarter of the predicted 40 million units sold. Following Apple Watch’s release, Ive begun to take a back seat in the company. His absence was reported to result in a lack of cohesion amongst the design team, a concern that has heavily coloured the news of his departure.
However, in a statement that may act to discredit these rumours, Ive shared that he does not plan to leave the tech giant completely, stating that he will “still be very much involved… for many, many years to come.” Simultaneously, Ive announced the launch of his new design company, LoveFrom, with new partner, Marc Newson, and their first client – Apple.
Additionally, Ive is leaving his parent company on a good note, having completed the design and production of the Apple Park, the company’s new headquarters. Mixing his flair for product design with architecture, the California offices were a huge undertaking. The project was first started in 2004 and Ive himself stated the significance of the this undertaking in an interview with The Financial Times.
Ive’s departure leaves Apple with extremely large shoes to fill. Instead of employing a single heir to the design throne, two current employees will step up to the plate to undertake further design responsibilities. Evans Hankey, vice president of Industrial Design, and Alan Dye, vice president of Human Interface Design, were announced as the new heads of the design team. They will be reporting to Apple’s COO, Jeff Williams. CEO Tim Cook has stated in an email to NBC News reporter, Dylan Byers, that the design team at Apple are “phenomenally talented,” and expressed his “confidence that they will thrive under Jeff, Evans and Alan’s leadership.”
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