After being promoted to Chief Design Officer in 2015, Apple’s Jony Ive spearheaded overall design initiatives of the company. This meant that he had the freedom to work on various facets apart from just designing iPhones and iPads. Taking over his place were Richard Howarth and Alan Dye, who then led the company’s industrial design and user interface teams and reported directly to CEO Tim Cook. During this time, Ive worked on macro projects such as the architecture of Apple Park and the redesigning of Apple Stores.
Now that Apple Park is completed, Bloomberg reports that Jony Ive will return and bring Apple products’ a-game back.
The publication quotes spokesperson Amy Bessette, “Apple’s design leaders and teams are again reporting directly to Jony Ive, who remains focused purely on design.”
Apple owes a great length of its success streak to Ive, who designed iconic products like the original iMac in 1998 and the first iPod in 2001. Now that he’s taken direct management of the firm’s product design teams, you can expect that greater innovations are in the works.