Last Updated on 19/07/2019 by TDH Publishing (A)
Sir Jony Ive, the Briton who over two decades helped Apple turn into the world’s most valuable company, is leaving to set up his own venture. Sir Jonathan, designer of the iPhone, iPad, and iMac leave later this year to start his own creative firm, LoveFrom, with Apple as its first client.
“This just seems like a natural and gentle time to make this change,” he said. Apple boss Tim Cook said that his “role in Apple’s revival cannot be overstated”.
But the departure comes at a time period of wider change at the tech giant. Retail chief Angela Ahrendts left the company in April and investors have been worried about falling sales of the iPhone.
Sir Jonathan also 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.”
Though there is only a little known about LoveFrom, according to the reports, it will be based in California and one area of focus will be wearable technology. In the article of the Financial Times, Sir Jonathan said that Marc Newson, who is a friend and also a collaborator at Apple, would also join the new firm. According to the article, there will also be a collection of creatives spanning various different disciplines beyond design.
Sir Jonathan became the head of Apple’s design studio in 1996 when the company was in a really poor financial health and cutting jobs. The turnaround began with Jonathan’s iMac and iPod in 1998 and 2001 respectively.
The late, Steve Jobs, Apple’s founder, once said of Sir Jonathan: “If I had a spiritual partner at Apple, it’s Jony [Sir Jonathan].” One of Sir Jonathan’s most recent projects was finishing Apple’s new corporate headquarters, Apple Park, which is an ultra-modern complex designed in partnership with British architects Foster + Partners. On Thursday, Apple said that roles would again be split, with design team leader Evans Hanskey taking over as the vice-president of industrial design, is the first lady ever to lead Apple’s industrial design team, and Alan Dye becoming the vice-president of human interface design.
