Jony Ive, the legendary minimalist designer responsible for Apple's trademark sleek aesthetic, is leaving to start his own creative agency, the Financial Times reports. Ive joined Apple in 1996 and was behind the famous 1998 plastic-sided iMac desktops (Want to feel old? They're now sold as conversation piece coffee tables on Etsy), as well as the iPod, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and even the Apple Store and the company's glass-walled donut HQ in Cupertino, Apple Park.
Ive is best known for being behind Apple's simplistic designs, although his love of minimalism does not end with gadgets (no really, the guy once "designed" a Christmas tree that was literally just ... a tree without decorations). Although he is branching off to launch his agency, LoveFrom, in 2020 — calling it "a natural and gentle time to make this change" — Apple will remain one of his clients.
There is no doubt that Apple has left as big of an impression on Ive as Ive has on the company. LoveFrom apparently takes its name from an idea expressed by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who told employees that the motivation of the company should be to make products with love for people "you will probably never meet."
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Despite Ive's massive influence on the look of modern tech, he has also faced criticism over some of Apple's recent designs, such as a mouse that — hilariously — charges from the bottom.
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