Following former Apple design chief Jony Ive’s departure from the company in 2019, Ive has continued to consult for Apple through his LoveFrom design firm. This partnership has apparently come to an end.
Apple and Ive have agreed to stop working together, ending a more than 30-year relationship. Ive has been responsible for some of Apple’s biggest products, designing the iPhone, Apple Watch, Macs, Apple retail stores, and more.
Ive announced his departure from Apple in June 2019, with Ive apparently set on creating his own design firm. Ive also noted that Apple would continue to be one of his primary clients, with Ive continuing his design work. Since 2019, Ive has lent a hand on the 24-inch iMac, a number of other products, and has provided guidance on the Apple Car design.
When Ive left Apple, Apple signed a multiyear contract with him that was valued at more than $100 million. Under the terms, Apple was LoveFrom’s primary client, but the deal restricted Ive from working on projects that Apple felt were competitive.
Although Ive and Apple were set to renew the contract, the two parties apparently decided not to extend it. Apple executives are said to have questioned Ive’s salary, and are rumored to have been frustrated that Apple designers were leaving for I’ve LoveFrom firm. Ive, in turn, is said to have wanted the freedom to choose his own clients without clearing his work with Apple.
Ive is also rumored to have been dispirited after the launch of the Apple Watch, which Ive apparently felt was becoming less design focused and more focused on operations. Ive is said to have felt that Cook had little interest in the product development process, and he was allegedly frustrated that Apple’s board was populated with directors with backgrounds in finance and operations rather than technology.
Since Ive’s departure, Jeff Williams has been overseeing the Apple design teams, and will continue to do so. Industrial design continues to be led by Evans Hankey, and software design is led by Alan Dye. Apple marketing chief Greg Joswiak is also said to have a central role in product design choices.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via MacRumors and The New York Times