![]() ![]() I think if Jony Ive were to be slowly extricating himself from Apple, he could get a ceremonial title, but a C-level corporate officer doesn’t sound ceremonial at all. I don’t think Jony Ive is going anywhere. ![]() But it feels to me like Ive’s heartfelt goodbye to his best friend and colleague, five years gone. I see why some people think Designed by Apple in California could be Ive’s goodbye to Apple. I think if you want to argue that Ive is one step out the door at Apple, you also have to argue that he’s one step out the door of being a designer. Fundamentally I think Jony Ive loves Apple, feels a responsibility to the legacy of his collaboration with Steve Jobs, and that whatever aspirations he has for the remainder of his career, personally, they’re only possible at Apple. But if I had to bet, I’d bet he’s not going anywhere. Confirmation bias can lead one to see what one wants to see. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking on my part, because I don’t want Ive to leave Apple. (See also: last year’s $20,000 gold Apple Watches.) If Jony Ive wants to make a $300 book of super-high-end product photography, Apple makes that book. Perhaps every bit as much as Steve Jobs was. I’ll argue the other side: the existence of this book - not just what the book is about, but the extraordinary effort that went into creating and printing it - is evidence that Jony Ive is wholly in charge of product at Apple. That it’s only the last 20 years says a lot - this is Ive’s Steven Troughton-Smith expressed the “this is Ive’s swan song” side succinctly: The Designed by Apple in California book is fascinating in this regard. Some of this I’ve heard just in the last few days, in the wake of last week’s episode of the show and the ensuing misconstruing of my remarks. That his chief design officer title isn’t the least bit ceremonial, and instead is an accurate representation of his increased authority. Importantly, I’ve also heard from well-placed sources within Apple that there is nothing to this - that while Ive is devoting much of his time and attention to architecture recently (both for the new campus and Apple retail), every aspect of every new product remains as much under his watchful eye as ever. That’s what I tried to convey on The Talk Show last week. Nobody has said to me “ Jony Ive has checked out of day-to-day product design.” What I have heard is from people who’ve said “ I think Jony Ive has checked out of day-to-day product design.” There is a big difference between those two sentences. Almost everything I’ve heard about Ive’s current role is second or third-hand. There aren’t many people who work with him directly, and those few who do, don’t talk about it. Ive has also always been a bit of a mystery man at Apple. The skeptic’s take is that this new arrangement allows Ive to be less involved, period, and that the chief design officer title is almost ceremonial. The company line is that this new arrangement allows Ive to spend less time on management, and more time directly on, well, design. There’s been speculation to that effect ever since his promotion last year to chief design officer and the coinciding promotions of Alan Dye and Richard Howarth to vice presidents of user interface design and industrial design, respectively. There are definitely people who think Ive might be on his way out. I think if you listen to that part of the show, the surrounding context makes that clear. I have no doubt Ibrahim transcribed my words accurately, but the above excerpt is not an accurate representation of what I tried to convey. I try not only to make it easy for my meaning to be understood, but also difficult to be misconstrued. With everything I write here at DF, I aim for painstaking precision in my choice of words and phrasing. This is what I dislike most about podcasting. Retirement from Apple, some who believe that Ive has been on his Many Apple fans see the book as part of Ive’s slow Looks back the last 20 years of products made under Ive and hisĭesign team. The comment comes on the back of Apple releasing a photo bookĬalled “Designed by Apple in California” in which the company That maybe the other top-level executive who’s been working the Involved with product design and that he’s been largely focused onĪrchitecture, meaning the spaceship campus and the new stores. I’ve heard that he has lately been checked out or not as directly The design of physical hardware as he used to be. Ive’s role has changed in a way where he’s not as much involved in He specifically makes mention that he’s heard that Role in the company and how it’s changed in the years since Steve In the latest episode of The Talk Show, John Gruberĭiscusses with Six Colors founder, Jason Snell, about Jony Ive’s On Jony Ive’s Role at Apple Tuesday, 22 November 2016
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