The trending news in the tech space right now is the announcement by Apple that long-time design chief Jony Ive is taking a bow from the tech giant in a bid to start up his own company. Jonathan Ive until the announcement was Apple’s chief design officer. He joined the company is 1992 and for almost 30 years, has been responsible for designing Apple’s most iconic products like iPod, iMac and iPhone. Apple says it will still work with Ive on exclusive projects but as a client of the British/American industrial designer’s company named “LoveFrom”.
Jony Ive was the brain behind most of Apple’s designs and is believed to be the one keeping Steve Jobs’s knack for perfection alive through the design of Apple products. Jony Ive’s monumental contribution helped bring Apple back from the brink of obscurity with the design of the translucent iMac G3, the design of which was also adopted for the iBook G3 released in 1999. After that, probably one of the most futuristic looking products from Ive’s design stable was the G4 Cube, a computer that was encased in clear polycarbonate. Since then, Ive has become synonymous with some of the most popular Apple products like the iPhone and the Apple watch. However, in 2015, Ive stepped down from his role temporarily to work on the design of the Apple Campus. Since, then, he has functioned more on the managerial angle than actually designing iPhones.
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Thus, it is safe to say Ive isn’t responsible for the design of the latest iPhones that have received knocks from various quarters due to what some say is a loss of creativity. The iPhones look like they were struggling to catch up with Android phones especially in the adoption of the notch-screen design. The same scenario is about playing out in the adoption of multiple rear cameras on the next iPhone XI, if leaked renders are anything to go by. The seeming loss of identity and creativity may have forced the British/American citizen out of Apple. It is difficult to point at any iconic product from Apple in the years after Steve Job’s demise. Recently, the company pulled the plug on the AirPower completely, citing difficulty meeting its own standards. That is after the product has been announced during the iPhone X launch in 2017. In another light, this could just be the quest for a fresh lease of life after so many years at Apple.
Ive’s works at Apple is aptly showcased in a video released a couple of years back. In November 2016, Apple launched a hardbound photo book chronicling 20 years of product designs. The book is titled “Designed by Apple in California,” and it comes in two sizes: small and large, priced at $199 and $299 respectively. Alongside the release, Apple posted a promotional video by the same name on its website featuring voiceover from Chief Design Officer Jony Ive and a sneak peek into their design studio. Here’s the video which is basically an exhibition of Jony’s designs.
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