Sir Jonathan Ive, the knighted designer who has created some of Apple’s most iconic designs over the last 20 years, is leaving to establish his own creative design company called LoveFrom. It’s a sad, sad day as Jony Ive has helped turn Apple into the world’s most valuable company. But perhaps not quite that sad. Ive’s new firm’s first client will be Apple.

“Jony is a singular figure in the design world and his role in Apple’s revival cannot be overstated, from 1998’s groundbreaking iMac to the iPhone and the unprecedented ambition of Apple Park, where recently he has been putting so much of his energy and care,” says Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO in a press release.

LoveFrom Jony

We don’t yet know more information about Ive’s new venture, but what we do know is that Marc Newson, a friend and collaborator at Apple, will join it. We also know that it’ll be based in California and there are reports that one area of focus will be wearable technology and healthcare, according to an exclusive interview he gave to the Financial Times.

“While I will not be an [Apple] employee, I will still be very involved — I hope for many, many years to come,” says Ive. “This just seems like a natural and gentle time to make this change.”

Ive became head of Apple’s design studio in 1996, where he helped dig the company out of a pretty poor financial state by redesigning the iMac in 1998, and the iPod in 2001. He was also responsible for designing the iPod Mini (2004), iPhone (2007), MacBook Air (2008), iPad (2010), Apple Watch (2015), and the AirPods (2016).

The dude who can design anything from a small audio device that took over the world, to a massive multibillion-dollar building called Apple Park, will surely be missed. Particularly since he’s probably near-irreplaceable at Apple.

Source: Apple Newsroom