42 Facts About Jony Ive

Sir Jonathan Paul Ive was born on 27 February 1967 and is a British industrial and product designer, as well as businessman.

Jony Ive was the chief design officer of Apple Inc from 1997 until 2019, and serves as Chancellor of the Royal College of Art.

Jony Ive joined Apple in September 1992, and was promoted to senior vice president of industrial design in the late 1990s after the return of co-founder Steve Jobs to the company, and CDO in 2015.

Jony Ive helped design buildings, such as Apple Park and Apple Stores.

Jony Ive studied design at Newcastle Polytechnic, and was later hired by the London-based start-up design firm Tangerine.

Jony Ive was invited to join the Royal College of Art in May 2017 as its head-of-college, serving a fixed five-year term until May 2022.

Jony Ive has received accolades and honours for his designs and patents.

Jony Ive's designs have been described as integral to the successes of Apple, which has gone on to become the world's largest information technology company by revenue and the largest company in the world by market capitalization.

On 27 June 2019, in an interview with the Financial Times, Jony Ive announced he would leave Apple after 27 years to start his own design firm, LoveFrom, together with industrial designer Marc Newson.

Jony Ive was recruited by the Agnelli family to work on Ferrari vehicles, starting in 2021.

Jonathan Paul Jony Ive was born on 27 February 1967 in Chingford, London, United Kingdom.

Jony Ive's father, Michael Ive, was a silversmith who lectured at Middlesex Polytechnic, and his grandfather was an engineer.

Jony Ive decided to study industrial design at Newcastle Polytechnic instead.

Jony Ive graduated with a first class BA in industrial design in 1989.

Jony Ive designed a diverse array of products, such as microwave ovens, toilets, drills and toothbrushes.

Jony Ive was unhappy working for clients whom he disliked and who had different ideas.

Jony Ive was formally recruited to Apple as a full-time employee in September 1992.

Jony Ive was initially apprehensive about leaving Tangerine for Apple as he thought the move from Britain to California would take a toll on his family.

Steve Jobs, who left in 1985 after being pushed away by John Sculley, was staging a return to the company and recruited Jony Ive to join him in taking the firm in a different direction.

Jony Ive became the senior vice president of industrial design in 1997 and subsequently headed the industrial design team responsible for most of the company's significant hardware products.

Jony Ive was given his own design office at Apple during the early 2000s in which he oversaw the work of his appointed design team, and he was the only Apple designer with a private office.

Jony Ive refused to allow his children or family members to enter the office.

Jony Ive's compensation ceased to be publicly disclosed by the firm thereafter, rendering him the only Apple executive to be afforded such as provision.

On 26 May 2015, the firm announced that Jony Ive was promoted to chief design officer, at the time one of only three C-level executives at Apple along with CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri.

On 8 December 2017, Apple announced that Jony Ive would resume direct responsibility for the company's product design after spending the preceding two years in a more executive, non-creative role.

Apple announced on 27 June 2019 that Jony Ive would depart the company, stating that he would start an independent firm named LoveFrom, along with fellow Apple industrial designer Marc Newson, that would work with Apple as its primary client.

In July 2022, Apple ended its consulting agreement with Jony Ive, thus ending Jony Ive's relationship with the company.

Jony Ive received an honorary degree from the Royal College of Art in 2009.

On 25 May 2017, Jony Ive was appointed Chancellor of the RCA in London, effective 1 July 2017, succeeding Sir James Dyson.

Jony Ive began running committee meetings, attending faculty meetings, and conferring degrees in the summer of 2017.

Jony Ive is widely known for his minimalist, downplayed sense of style and presentation of self.

Jony Ive's look had him referred to as one of the "100 Most Powerful Bald Men in the World" by GQ in their 2013 listing.

Jony Ive has been known to sport "signature looks" that include: multi-colored pied-de-poule suits, painter's pants, canvas pants, linen button down shirts, Clarks Wallabees, and mono-colored t-shirts.

Jony Ive's voice, used in Apple's marketing and promotional videos since 1994, has been noted for its Essex accent and reserved, loquacious style of speech.

Jony Ive is said to have been influenced by the Bauhaus tradition, which emerged in Germany during the 1920s and became a staple design approach adopted by the Ulm School of Design during the 1950s.

Jony Ive said in 2014 that if his work at Apple ever became substandard, he would "make things for [himself], for [his] friends at home instead".

Jony Ive frequently attends auto shows and exhibitions such as the Goodwood Festival of Speed, where he serves as a jury member for competitions.

Jony Ive has been linked to owning: an Aston Martin DB4, Aston Martin DB9, Aston Martin Vanquish, Bentley Brooklands, Bentley Mulsanne, Land Rover LR3, and a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud.

In 2023, Jony Ive redesigned the Red Nose, the symbol of Comic Relief's Red Nose day, sold to raise money for charity.

Jony Ive described the choice of these flowers as being "inspired by King Charles's love of the planet, nature, and his deep concern for the natural world," and that it is intended to refer to the "optimism of spring".

Jony Ive has received honorary degrees from the Rhode Island School of Design and California College of the Arts, and made an honorary doctor of the Royal College of Art.

On successive Wednesdays in June 2016, Jony Ive was awarded honorary doctorates at the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford.