Apple Eliminates Product Design Chief Role, Spelling Great Changes Post-Jony Ive
Apple, revered for its sophisticated yet pared-back products, has done the unimaginable and chosen not to name someone to succeed its industrial design lead after her exit in the coming months, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports.
Evans Hankey, who replaced former design chief Jony Ive and was appointed vice president of industrial design in 2019, announced her departure last October, after three years of helming the position. It was reported then that Hankey would stay on for about half a year to assist Apple with the transition and potentially identify a new executive to fill in these big shoes.
In an unprecedented step, Apple has decided that its core group of some 20 industrial designers will all report directly to chief operations officer Jeff Williams, according to Bloomberg. Gurman cites people familiar with the decision who requested to remain anonymous as his sources.
Ive, credited as a key force in the creation of the Mac, iPod, iPhone, Apple Watch, and many more, left the Cupertino company in July 2019 to start his own independent creative studio. He remained as an ad hoc consultant to Apple until July last year.
With no immediate replacement for Hankey, Apple is purportedly expanding the job capacities of its longest-tenured designers.
Apple’s design department was split up into two teams in 2015, with one side tasked to handle industrial design and the other focused on user interfaces. Alan Dye remains the lead of user interfaces at Apple.
While one option might be to promote Dye to take charge of both design teams, sources told Bloomberg that this decision would likely irk Apple’s creatives. Apple also isn’t considering recruiting someone from the outside to serve as industrial design lead for a similar reason.
The report notes that the flattening of the organizational structure will further close the gap between Apple’s operations and design, an outcome that has been met with vexation from some of Apple’s creative employees. Now that more veterans will be reporting to Williams, his chances of becoming CEO Tim Cook’s successor are boosted.
