Exodus at Apple: Another veteran designer departs, Jony Ive’s era nears its end،
Apple's design team is going through some upheaval. According to Bloomberg Marc GurmanApple's longest-serving senior industrial designer is bidding farewell, marking a near-complete renewal of a team once led by Jony Ive, who stepped down in 2019.
According to insider sources, Bart Andre, an Apple veteran since 1992 alongside Ive, announced his retirement to colleagues this month. Andre was one of the last designers of the Ive era, contributing to the aesthetic of Apple products released over the past three decades.
Gurman notes that André was known as “one of Ive's best lieutenants” and played an important role in leading the team following the departure of former boss Evans Hankey, Ive's successor, last year. Additionally, Andre holds the title of one of the most important holders of Apple patents.
This departure (even if it is a retirement) marks the last in a series of exits in recent months. Top designers Colin Burns, Shota Aoyagi and Peter Russell-Clarke said goodbye towards the end of the previous year. Several other longtime designers on Apple's software design team indicate they will also be leaving soon.
With Ive's departure and Hankey's departure, the industrial design and user interface groups are now under the supervision of Jeff Williams, the company's chief operating officer.
Ive's core design team consisted of about two dozen people for more than a decade. An exodus began around the time I left in 2019, with almost every senior designer reporting directly to him leaving. Many of them joined LoveFrom, a design company founded by Ive.
The team played a central role in the creation of Apple's last two product categories, the Apple Watch and Vision Pro. Jony Ive led the design of the watch and also helped create iconic products like the iMac, iPod and iPhone. Although the development of VisionPro started while he was still with the company, he left years before his exit.
Apple's design team is responsible for shaping the appearance of devices and software, as well as developing new features and interfaces.
