If you connect to Apple in any way, this news has to hit hard. The Apple blogs and Twitter feeds were filled to bursting last night when the news broke.
Personally, this feels like a friendly but still quite painful divorce or, as John Gruber put it:
My gut sense for years has been that Ive without Jobs has been like McCartney without Lennon. Or Lennon without McCartney — take whichever analogical pairing you prefer. My point here is only that the fruit of their collaborations were, seemingly magically, far greater than the sums of the duos’ talents and tastes.
This is the last vestige of a magical period at Apple, when Steve Jobs and Jony Ive changed the world, cycle after cycle.
From Apple’s press release:
Apple today announced that Sir Jony Ive, Apple’s chief design officer, will depart the company as an employee later this year to form an independent design company which will count Apple among its primary clients. While he pursues personal projects, Ive in his new company will continue to work closely and on a range of projects with Apple.
Jony’s new company, said to be called LoveFrom and in partnership with long time collaborator Marc Newson, will launch next year.
Design team leaders Evans Hankey, vice president of Industrial Design, and Alan Dye, vice president of Human Interface Design, will report to Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer. Both Dye and Hankey have played key leadership roles on Apple’s design team for many years. Williams has led the development of Apple Watch since its inception and will spend more of his time working with the design team in their studio.
Jony Ive’s status on Apple’s official leadership page remains unchanged. Makes sense, since Ive won’t be leaving until the end of the year.
Gruber’s Lennon and McCartney comment really resonates. In Steve Jobs’ second time with Apple, his iMac/iPod/iPhone/iPad period, Jobs and Ive felt like equals, partners, reporting to each other, sharing an incredible vision. Together.
Wrap-up from Gruber’s piece (if you only read one piece on Jony Ive leaving, that’s the one):
I don’t worry that Apple is in trouble because Jony Ive is leaving; I worry that Apple is in trouble because he’s not being replaced.
My Apple world feels a bit ripped apart this morning.
There’s a ton of speculation on why he’s leaving, but I suspect Ive is simply ready to move back to the U.K. and design non-Apple things. It’s been reported in the past he desired to return, but Apple’s Board refused. I don’t think it’s a money/power thing, but simply the freedom to design other things he’s passionate about, like cars. He strikes me as someone who wants to improve the quality of life for everyone, through his design. This break will allow him that.
I think I see it much like Caleb mentions. It felt like Ive has been slowly leaving the company for a few years now, and I can understand it not feeling like what it was when Steve and he changed the world. Sometimes moving forward is hard, but necessary. Still, it brings me great sorrow, because I have loved the soul that Steve and Jony brought to everything they created. Making things beautiful because they bring joy was lost for a long time where function was more important than form. Both are important to humans, even if we don’t want to believe it always.
I hate endings, and have trouble with change. This one hits me a little bit more than I thought it would.
Everything is all right!
Seriously, another evidence that Apple is not afraid of change.
I read this with mixed feelings holding the best looking but worst performing mouse. 🙂
So, how do we know he’s not being replaced?
Sure, he’s not being replaced right now but how do we know they don’t have someone else lined up? And they’ll tell us when they’re bloody well ready???
Yeesh.