Jonathan IveIt is the end of an era at Apple. Jony Ive will leave the company later this year to start a new venture of his own, called LoveFrom — with Apple as his first client.
The Financial Times spoke to Sir Jonathan for almost an hour this week about why he is making the change now, what LoveFrom will do and the legacy he leaves at Apple.
Jony Ive: “There were some significant projects that I feel like I’ve completed. For example Apple Park — this was a project that started in 2004 . . . A couple of weeks ago we had our official opening of the Park. That was a really significant project, that was unlike many of our others, because it was for us.
I think that part of the timing for LoveFrom is in some ways connected to having a very clear sense about the health and vitality of the design team. I’m actually looking forward to contributing in a different way to projects we’ve been working together on for, in some cases, many years…
While I will not be an employee, I will still be very involved — I hope for many, many years to come. This just seems like a natural and gentle time to make this change.”
MacDailyNews Take: It was past time for both Ive and Apple to make this move, but it’s here now. When he was named “Chief Design Officer” four years ago is when you could sense his focus was wandering.
We still can’t believe Ive let himself get so distracted and wrapped up in Apple Park, retail store design, and other assorted sideline pursuits. To the detriment of product design*, no less. And that whole dalliance with UI design? Ay-yi-yi!
Without Steve to reign him in, it all seems inevitable.
Listen, Jony is hugely famous for good reason. His hits are legion and routinely in the genius category. From the original iMac to the new Mac Pro and hundreds of products in-between! Genius! We hope he goes on to do exactly what he wants to do, when he wants to do it.
We also hope this brings renewed focus to Apple, new blood, and new ideas. Both Apple and Jony can, and likely will, benefit from this gentle dissolution.
*Siri Remote, original Apple Smart Battery Case for iPhone, Trash can Mac Pro, portable butterfly keyboard, iPhone notch, etc.
they needed him, if nothing else but to straighten out where to place the pencil to recharged on the ipad. the mac pro design is corny. i mean in order to get to the mac pro’s inside’s you have to pull all the enclosure off. good grief. do we add additional component all the way around the mac pro? silly!
someone should tell apple about this really cool innovation that allows you access to where you will add stuff… i think pc user call them doors, not sure though, could some google that and let us know.
their are some really interesting PC cases on the market today. do a google search on pc cases and then click images. i bet you will find some you really like.
i think ive’s greatest product design was the macbook pro, until they screwed up the keyboard.
i don’t know if the blue and white macs was his design but the door with the motherboard was really good. oh well.
You post makes you sound as if you think there has been no macs with doors.
I guess you’ve never actually seen or played with Jony’s incredible original Cheese Grater made more than a decade ago.
It revolutionized PC design. It had easy to open side panels (no screws, ‘Doors’ on PCs at the time were held by screws) and drives that slid out on trays (PC drives were screwed in ) . It was extremely easy to access components, add RAM, change drives etc. When you open it it was a neat INSIDE with all the wires carefully arranged , compared to the spaghetti maze of PCs of the time where it was a total pain to access anything, some you had to pull all the wires out before you access the drives (the Grater like I said had drives that slid out on trays. You can take them out just pop them into another MP, no screw driver needed)
Jony’s design changed PC boxes forever.
After the original grater PC boxes (just like Phones after iPhone) started to change.
I have three of the Cheese Graters still, upgraded, typing this on one now.
I’ve not had hands on with the new Cheese Grater MP but the pull off case seems great as it gives you 360 access.
How many companies in any field have had as dynamic designer on a long term basis? NO use taking hits on Jonny until you have performed better than he has over 10 – 20 years.
Please, there have been some questionable designs, but it’s ok, cause it took 10-20 years + to gain the experience… Plus, you have to credit the Mac/Apple faithful, really. They supported his art work to the tunes of BILLIONS over the years, not to mention the rip off designers from HP, Acer, Dell, Lenovo, Sony, Amazon, Google, Samsung, Motorola, etc. And, that’s not mentioning the thieves of design, crooks all, they should pay Ive and Apple.
Industrial design should ALWAYS be about a synergy of form and function. In the last five years, starting with the MacPro debacle, Ive seemed seemed to favor the form so much, that the function suffered and consumers were stuck with a caricature of “industrial design.” Part of the beauty of great industrial design is its practicality and intuitive usefulness, not just that it “looks” cool. Ive seemed to forget that principle with recent Mac designs, or he didn’t care and farmed it out to subordinates who didn’t care.
Good riddance his time to leave has come. The guy is downright horrible with product design. The keyboard on the MacBook Pro is the perfect example of it…… Utter garbage
This is clearly another sign that Tim Cook is turning Apple into just an average company. Apple needed Ives. Apple was a magical company and so special. Now more and more it is just another company. Tim Cook is not a product guy per Steve Jobs. Apple is a Product and Services company. Without the desirable product there are no services.
That Mr. Ive was able to create designs which became cutting edge products is a testament to his genius. Auto designers come up with cool designs all the time. Then engineers have to tell them the impracticality of their efforts are either undoable or not cost effective.
Apple management made him upgrade the cheese grater.
The fanboy public outcry made him upgrade the cheese grater.
Now that his humongous ego took a severe five year hit over the failure of the Trashcan, forced to upgrade the cheese grater after public outcry, finally he took his toys and went home.
Now that you are finally on the contract LEASH Sir Jony, beholden to every whim of client Apple, you need to do better and I think you will…
Ive is leaving because Tim Cook is soiling Steve Jobs’ legacy by routinely offending shareholders who are morally at odds with his sexual deviant lifestyle by using Apple’s fame to promote it. Apple will always be Steve Jobs and Johnny Ive no matter how much Cook tries to ruin it. I wish Ive the best.
they needed him, if nothing else but to straighten out where to place the pencil to recharged on the ipad. the mac pro design is corny. i mean in order to get to the mac pro’s inside’s you have to pull all the enclosure off. good grief. do we add additional component all the way around the mac pro? silly!
someone should tell apple about this really cool innovation that allows you access to where you will add stuff… i think pc user call them doors, not sure though, could some google that and let us know.
their are some really interesting PC cases on the market today. do a google search on pc cases and then click images. i bet you will find some you really like.
i think ive’s greatest product design was the macbook pro, until they screwed up the keyboard.
i don’t know if the blue and white macs was his design but the door with the motherboard was really good. oh well.
good luck dude.
” i think pc user call them doors”
You post makes you sound as if you think there has been no macs with doors.
I guess you’ve never actually seen or played with Jony’s incredible original Cheese Grater made more than a decade ago.
It revolutionized PC design. It had easy to open side panels (no screws, ‘Doors’ on PCs at the time were held by screws) and drives that slid out on trays (PC drives were screwed in ) . It was extremely easy to access components, add RAM, change drives etc. When you open it it was a neat INSIDE with all the wires carefully arranged , compared to the spaghetti maze of PCs of the time where it was a total pain to access anything, some you had to pull all the wires out before you access the drives (the Grater like I said had drives that slid out on trays. You can take them out just pop them into another MP, no screw driver needed)
Jony’s design changed PC boxes forever.
After the original grater PC boxes (just like Phones after iPhone) started to change.
I have three of the Cheese Graters still, upgraded, typing this on one now.
I’ve not had hands on with the new Cheese Grater MP but the pull off case seems great as it gives you 360 access.
“someone should tell apple about this really cool innovation that allows you access to where you will add stuff… i think pc user call them doors”
1999 Power Mac G3 b/w had a latched side door that you could even lock. 20 years ago!
god I still have a plastic grey G4. Too beautiful to throw away. Forgot about it, under a desk.
How many companies in any field have had as dynamic designer on a long term basis? NO use taking hits on Jonny until you have performed better than he has over 10 – 20 years.
Please, there have been some questionable designs, but it’s ok, cause it took 10-20 years + to gain the experience… Plus, you have to credit the Mac/Apple faithful, really. They supported his art work to the tunes of BILLIONS over the years, not to mention the rip off designers from HP, Acer, Dell, Lenovo, Sony, Amazon, Google, Samsung, Motorola, etc. And, that’s not mentioning the thieves of design, crooks all, they should pay Ive and Apple.
Fine, let’s keep playing your game another round. How much should Ive and Apple pay Rams Dieter for all the design they ripped off?
Industrial design should ALWAYS be about a synergy of form and function. In the last five years, starting with the MacPro debacle, Ive seemed seemed to favor the form so much, that the function suffered and consumers were stuck with a caricature of “industrial design.” Part of the beauty of great industrial design is its practicality and intuitive usefulness, not just that it “looks” cool. Ive seemed to forget that principle with recent Mac designs, or he didn’t care and farmed it out to subordinates who didn’t care.
Good riddance his time to leave has come. The guy is downright horrible with product design. The keyboard on the MacBook Pro is the perfect example of it…… Utter garbage
truth be told Steve Jobs was the designer and Jony Ive was the coordinator, on his own he was no maestro.
I’ve felt that his leaving would be the real end to the Jobs era. To the Big Apple Era. I hope I’m wrong.
This is clearly another sign that Tim Cook is turning Apple into just an average company. Apple needed Ives. Apple was a magical company and so special. Now more and more it is just another company. Tim Cook is not a product guy per Steve Jobs. Apple is a Product and Services company. Without the desirable product there are no services.
All hail to Sir Jony!!
That Mr. Ive was able to create designs which became cutting edge products is a testament to his genius. Auto designers come up with cool designs all the time. Then engineers have to tell them the impracticality of their efforts are either undoable or not cost effective.
Why I’m leaving Apple:
You people made me make the cheese grater!!
The only comment here that nailed it! 👍🏻
The Pros made him upgrade the cheese grater.
Apple management made him upgrade the cheese grater.
The fanboy public outcry made him upgrade the cheese grater.
Now that his humongous ego took a severe five year hit over the failure of the Trashcan, forced to upgrade the cheese grater after public outcry, finally he took his toys and went home.
Now that you are finally on the contract LEASH Sir Jony, beholden to every whim of client Apple, you need to do better and I think you will…
He should have named his company Thin:Air.
Yes indeed, creative awesome… 👍🏻
After reading this article I still have no clue why he made this move.
finally laptops with more ports! iPhones without glass backs… iPads with micro sd expansion, upgradable computer …. WOW!!!
Not with Cook still there.
Anyone else read the quote in Ive’s voice?
Ive is leaving because Tim Cook is soiling Steve Jobs’ legacy by routinely offending shareholders who are morally at odds with his sexual deviant lifestyle by using Apple’s fame to promote it. Apple will always be Steve Jobs and Johnny Ive no matter how much Cook tries to ruin it. I wish Ive the best.