Apple has announced that its chief design officer Jonathan Ive will be leaving the company later this year, after 27 years, to form an independent design company LoveFrom launching fully in 2020, with Apple as its first client. “While he pursues personal projects, Ive in his new company will continue to work closely and on a range of projects with Apple,” said the company.
He started working at Apple in the early 1990s, and has led Apple’s design team since 1996 designing the iPod, iPhone, iPad, MacBook, and parts of Apple’s user interface including the revamped iOS 7 in 2013.
Jony Ive was named as the Apple’s chief design officer in 2015, later in 2017 he regained back his position of direct management of product design teams two years after he was handed off some day-to-day responsibilities while Apple was building its new Apple Park headquarters in Cupertino, California.
Design team leaders Evans Hankey, vice president of Industrial Design, and Alan Dye, vice president of Human Interface Design, will report to Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer.
Regarding his latest move, Jony Ive, said:
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. 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.
Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, said:
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. 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.