One of the most prominent figures in the history of Apple has just separated his path definitively from that of the American company.
Jony Ive, former chief designer at Applehad left the company in 2019 to found his own design studio, LoveFrom, but had until now continued to work with Apple as an exclusive client, advising on the look of new devices coming to market.
With his departure, Ive signed a deal valued at more than $100 million with Apple for several years, in which it promised that Apple would be its main client and not to collaborate with companies that could be considered competitors.
Now, Apple and Jony Ive have reached an agreement to stop collaboratingaccording to 2 people with knowledge of his contract with LoveFrom, as reported by the newspaper The New York Times.
This has been decided by both parties by mutual agreement, as the contract was about to end. Those involved say that Apple was suspicious of the departure of several of its designers to Ive’s firm, as well as its desire to accept new clients without needing the approval of the technology company.
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With the departure of Ive, Apple’s chief operating officer, Jeff Williams will continue to oversee the designs of the brand’s new products, with Evans Hankey in charge of industrial design and Alan Dye, of software.
For their part, Ive and LoveFrom will continue to collaborate with their current clients, which include major brands such as Ferrari and Airbnb.
30 years of collaboration Apple-Ive that leave products like the iPhone or the iPod
Jony Ive joined Apple’s design team 30 years ago, in 1992., when the company was in the worst moment in its history. He was involved in designing iconic products from the start, like iMacs with translucent green backs.
His most decisive contribution to the company began in the 2000s, when he participated with Jon Rubinstein in the team that designed the first iPodwhich was launched in 2001 and was a revolution for Apple’s mobile device business.
As a great merit, Ive was largely responsible for the innovative form factor and design of the first iPhonewhich Apple launched on the market in 2007, and which has recently been 15 years since its launch.
Subsequently, the designer had an important role in the iPad design and even the Apple Park building complex at its Cupertino headquarters. After his departure in 2019 he had also participated in the design of the new models Colored iMac and MacBook.
His great weight in the design of the devices made him one of the most important and powerful executives of the American company. “It has more operating power than anyone at Apple except me.Steve Jobs once said of Ive, who spoke of him as “not just a designer”.
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