Apple’s chief designer Jony Ive is leaving the company after nearly 30 years at Cupertino. Ive is widely known for designing the iPhone, as well as many other Apple products. Ive’s iconic voice has been the highlight of many Apple promotional videos, too.

Apple today announced that Ive is leaving the company to form his own independent design company. In an exclusive interview with the Financial Times, Ive revealed that he is launching a new creative business called LoveFrom, which will launch fully in 2020. Ive’s LoveForm will have Apple as its first client, and he hopes to continue working with the company going forward. His transition away from the company will start by the end of this year.

“Apple will continue to benefit from Jony’s talents by working directly with him on exclusive projects, and through the ongoing work of the brilliant and passionate design team he has built. After so many years working closely together, I’m happy that our relationship continues to evolve and I look forward to working with Jony long into the future,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook. 

Apple won’t have an immediate successor to Ive just yet. For now, 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.

Ive’s departure from Apple is obviously a huge surprise to everyone in the industry. It will be interesting to see how Ive’s new design venture works with Apple going forward.

Tagged with Apple, Jony Ive