Apple today announced that its design director, Sir Jony Ive, will leave the company until the end of this year. He will start an independent design company and have Apple himself as one of his first customers.
“Jony is a unique figure in the design world and his role in the resurgence of Apple cannot be underestimated, from the revolutionary 1998 iMac to the iPhone and the unprecedented ambition for Apple Park, where he has put so much energy and affection recently,” said Apple CEO, Tim Cook. “Apple will continue to benefit from Jony’s talents by working directly with him on exclusive projects, and through the continued brilliant and passionate work that his design team has built. After many years of working together, I am happy that our relationship continues to evolve and I can’t wait to work with Jony for a long time to come. ”
With Ive gone, leaders Evans Hankey, vice president of industrial design, and Alan Dye, vice president of human interface design, will now respond directly to Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer. Both have been leaders of the Apple design team for years; Williams has led Apple Watch development since its inception and will spend more time working at the Apple design studio.
“After almost 30 years and countless projects, I am absurdly proud of the longstanding work we have done to create a unique design team, process and culture at Apple. Today she is stronger, more vibrant and more talented than at any point in her history, ”he said. Ive. “The team will certainly shine under the excellent leadership of Evans, Alan and Jeff, who are among my closest collaborators. I have complete confidence in my fellow Apple designers, who remain close friends, and I can’t wait to work with them for many years to come. ”
In the past few months, four members of the Ive team had left Apple before him. The executive resumed all of the company’s design management in late 2017, after spending a good deal of time focused on Apple Park. Ive has been the design director of Apple since mid-2015; until then, he was “just” senior vice president of design.
According to Financial Times, the new Ive company will be called LoveFrom and will have his old friend Marc Newson as a partner. It will actually go into operation next year.
Update, for Eduardo Marques Jun 27, 2019 at 21:36
As traditionally happens, Tim Cook sent an email to all Apple employees talking about it – released by BuzzFeed News.
Here is our free translation:
Team,
I’m writing to report on some changes in the executive team involving two people who embody Apple’s values and whose work will help shape Apple’s future.
I am happy to announce that Sabih Khan has been appointed to the executive team as senior vice president of operations, reporting to Jeff Williams. Sabih has worked with all Apple products since the late 1990s, always striving to delight our customers, while promoting quality, sustainability and manufacturing responsibility. His team makes some of the most beloved – and most complex – products in the world possible, and Sabih conducts them with his heart. I am very happy to have you overseeing our supply chain.
Today, we also have another important evolution for our company. After nearly 30 years at Apple, Jony Ive is starting an independent design company that will have Apple among its first customers and will leave the company as an employee later this year. Jony’s contributions are legendary, from the central role he played in Apple’s renaissance in the late 1990s, through the iPhone and perhaps, through his most ambitious project, Apple Park, in which he devoted much of his energy. and care in recent years. I am proud to call Jony a friend, and those who know him know that his ideas and curiosities are limitless. We will all benefit – as individuals who value great design and as a company – as he pursues his passions and continues his dedicated work with Apple.
Of all his achievements, Jony cites the team he helped create as one of his most proud. His longtime collaborators, Evans Hankey and Alan Dye, are strong representatives of Apple’s ethical and creative design culture. Collaboration and teamwork are characteristics that define Apple’s success throughout the company.
Evans and Alan will respond to Jeff Williams. As many of you know, Jony and Jeff have been close collaborators and partners for many years. In particular, Jeff’s leadership in the development of the Apple Watch brought together an interorganizational team, unprecedented in scope, to produce Apple’s most personal device. This is what Apple does best: raising a category beyond its imaginary limits and revealing how a single device can be much more than the sum of its parts. I am very excited about the work of the design team, which is ongoing and is yet to come.
Tim
Update II Jun 27, 2019 at 22:13
A little more about Apple’s new design leaders.
First, as John Gruber pointed out in the Daring Fireball, it is quite strange (not to mention worrisome) for a company so driven by design not to appoint a direct replacement / successor to Ive as design director, and still place the two new leaders under the umbrella of their chief operating officer. It remains to be seen if this is something temporary (perhaps Tim Cook has not yet defined what that name will be) or if really, with the departure of Ive, Apple will no longer have a CDO (Chief Design Officer).
Alan Dye is the one on Jony Ive’s left.As for the two, the name of Alan Dye (specialist in human interfaces) is known to those who follow the design team at Apple. He was already there, close to Ive, when he was promoted to the position of design director – in May 2015. At that time, however, his “duo” in charge of industrial design was Richard Howarth (who left the scene for some obscure reason ).
The “new” name to come into play now is that of Evans Hankey, left in the photo below:
Image: @bzamayoAs an industrial designer, Hankey has a profile much more in line with Ive’s than Dye’s. According to Cult of Mac, she has accumulated more than 300 patents in her name and has worked closely with Ive for many years on the Apple design team.
May this be the beginning of a new and very prosperous phase for the Apple. For some, Ive’s departure is very worrying, but such a shake-up in the team can end up doing the company very well. Still, it is worth noting that we will only see the first signs of renewal a few years from now; Apple certainly has many projects already triggered and out of the oven which Ive had direct involvement with.