Jony Ive has a new job at Apple.
He's been bumped up from "Senior Vice President of Design" to "Chief Design Officer". It's an entirely new position at the Cupertino company, and it's one that apparently includes handing off all managerial duties for both the industrial and software design units to two new leaders.
In an interview with The Telegraph, Ive confirmed to Stephen Fry that a man named Richard Howarth will become the new "Vice President of Industrial Design" at Apple and will focus on things like hardware design, while another man named Alan Dye will be the "Vice President of User Interface Design", which encompasses not only desktops but also mobile devices.
So, these three men now oversee how all of Apple's hardware and software products will look going forward (well, starting 1 July):
Jonathan Ive
Ive (pictured above, middle) is synonymous with Apple design. He's an English designer and has been the Senior Vice President of Design for several years at Apple, where he's influenced the design of several Apple product lines, including MacBooks, iMacs, iPods, iPhones, iPads, even iOS.
Ive’s new role keeps him in charge of Apple's hardware and software design teams overall, but now with the two new leaders handling most day-to-day duties, Ive will be able to focus on new tasks like the design of Apple’s retail stores and new campus.
Richard Howarth
Howarth (pictured above, right) has been part of the iPhone team since the first generation device. He's actually been a member of Apple's Design team for two decades and has contributed to the design of each generation iPhone, Mac, and several other Apple products. Within profiles that ran earlier this year in the New Yorker and Wired, Howarth was highlighted as a key Apple employee.
Alan Dye
Dye (pictured above, left) played a major role in the iOS redesign that debuted with iOS 7. He also worked on the new Watch OS interface. Dye started at Apple in 2006 on the Marcom team and helped Ive build the current UI team at Apple. Within profiles that ran earlier this year in the New Yorker and Wired, Dye was also specifically mentioned as a key Apple employee.
Want to know more?
9to5Mac has published an email from Tim Cook to Apple employees, in which the chief executive officer discusses Ive’s new position and his new design leaders. He said all three men have been working together as colleagues and friends for many years and called all three of them "exceptionally talented designers".