Apple has been praised for the sleek & sexy designs of their products. I have known many people who have purchased Apple products only because they continually lead the industry on creating great looking products. To show their appreciation for helping design a number of products, Apple has decided to promote Jony Ive from Vice President of Design to Chief Design Officer.
Jony Ive has been responsible for the hardware and software design of Apple products since 1996. During this time, Ive has acquired 5000 design and utility patents which are currently in his name. As Chief Design Officer, Ive will be focusing on the look and feel of Apple retail stores, product packaging, as well as Apple’s new campus in Cupertino. In addition to the design of the buildings, Ive will be in charge of what’s in Apple’s offices, including the chairs and desks the employees will be using.
So who will be taking Jony Ive’s place as Vice President of Design? In an email to Apple employees, Tim Cook sheds light on this question by explaining that Richard Howarth will take over the roles of Vice President of Industrial Design, while Alan Dye will be appointed to Vice President of User Interface Design.
In their previous roles, Richard has helped work on the design of each iPhone generation, while Alan played a major role in the UI design of iOS 7, iOS8, and the Apple Watch. Richard and Alan have some big shoes to fill as Ive has been an industry leader when it comes to designing top of the line products. Luckily, Ive will still be in charge of the design teams as Richard and Alan take over the day-to-day operations. It will be exciting to see what’s to come with future Apple products as these leaders in design take on their new roles.
What are your thoughts? Do you think that Richard Howarth, and Alan Dye will be able to fill the shoes of Jony Ive? Will Ive be able to fully hand off the reigns to his successors? Let us know what you think in the comment section below.
Here is the full email Tim Cook wrote to his employees, originally published by 9to5mac.
Team,
I have exciting news to share with you today. I am happy to announce that Jony Ive is being promoted to the newly created position of Chief Design Officer at Apple.
Jony is one of the most talented and accomplished designers of his generation, with an astonishing 5000 design and utility patents to his name. His new role is a reflection of the scope of work he has been doing at Apple for some time. Jony’s design responsibilities have expanded from hardware and, more recently, software UI to the look and feel of Apple retail stores, our new campus in Cupertino, product packaging and many other parts of our company.
Design is one of the most important ways we communicate with our customers, and our reputation for world-class design differentiates Apple from every other company in the world. As Chief Design Officer, Jony will remain responsible for all of our design, focusing entirely on current design projects, new ideas and future initiatives. On July 1, he will hand off his day-to-day managerial responsibilities of ID and UI to Richard Howarth, our new vice president of Industrial Design, and Alan Dye, our new vice president of User Interface Design.
Richard, Alan and Jony have been working together as colleagues and friends for many years. Richard has been a member of the Design team for two decades, and in that time he has been a key contributor to the design of each generation of iPhone, Mac, and practically every other Apple product. Alan started at Apple nine years ago on the Marcom team, and helped Jony build the UI team which collaborated with ID, Software Engineering and countless other groups on groundbreaking projects like iOS 7, iOS 8 and Apple Watch.
Please join me in congratulating these three exceptionally talented designers on their new roles at Apple.
Tim