Nearly every mobile device they’ve released since 2007 has had his fingerprints on the creation of it. So what will they do now that he’s gone? How will Apple’s design process change as a result of this news?

A New Relationship

While this departure seems like a significant shift for Apple, it might not be as big a change as people think. Ive will still be working with Apple, only now in a new capacity as an independent contractor, through his new company, LoveFrom. His influence will still be there.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has said that they plan on “working directly with [Ive] on exclusive projects.” This implies that, rather than his being a general advisor on all of their major projects, as in the past, he plans to concentrate on just a few individual projects and provide a more significant overall contribution to their design.

Searching for a Replacement

But what about the future projects that Ive doesn’t work on? Well, Apple still has the rest of their design team, which was largely built by Ive, and which still carries his influence. It’s likely that they will continue to work as they always have, and the changes to the overall process will be minimal.

At least until Apple names Ive’s successor. That’s going to be the major deciding factor in how Apple will evolve going forward. Who’s next to take the helm, and how will their design ideas be different from that of the great Jony Ive?

Not surprisingly, Apple has yet to announce a new CDO. Some wonder if they plan on filling the position at all, or simply have Ive perform the same basic duties he always has, only as an independent contractor.

However, Apple has begun the search for their new Chief Design Officer. They’re just not in any hurry to find one. This is totally understandable. Whomever they hire will have some big shoes to fill. They’d rather take the time and get the best person for the job than rush in and risk making a poor decision that could set their company back years. They need someone who not only has the right qualifications, but who will fit with their overall design philosophy—a philosophy which was largely created by Ive in the first place.

In the end, it’s hard to say for sure just how Ive’s departure from Apple will impact the company in the long run. For the moment, they seem to be fairly secure, and conducting business as usual. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens next, and how they continue to deal with this major change going forward. Because while it may seem like business as usual on the surface, it’s clear that, one way or another, Apple will never be the same.

Want more tips and insights from Cuppa SEO?

The post Discussing Design – How Will Jony Ive’s Departure from Apple Impact Their Design Process? appeared first on Cuppa SEO.

Where do you find your design inspiration?

Dieter Rams (the long-time Chief Design Officer at Braun) found it while working with his grandpa who was a wood worker. Jony Ive (Chief Design Officer at Apple), interestingly enough found some from Dieter Rams.

Although you can see this influence in many Apple products, this one is quite obvious.

The first product you see here is the Braun Electrostatic Loud Speaker LE1 …

And this, of course, is the iMac …

There’s no denying the connection between these two products.

I’m sometimes asked (typically in our web design prep meetings) where I find design inspiration. I often find my inspiration from books like these …

The first, Dieter Rams: As Little Design as Possible, is a history of Braun, their products, and Mr. Rams creations over the course of 40 years. In addition to design inspiration, the book also causes me to think about design methodology and the future of web design (which will look different than it does today, right?).

The second book, Design: The Definitive Visual History, is chock-full of mid-century industrial products that (at least to me) lend themselves very nicely to web design.

Many of the designs we’re working on, including the new website for my forthcoming book, A Holistic Guide to Online Marketing, are based on inspiration from these mid-century products. But they’re top secret until they go live!

That said, here’s one example from a website we built for EarthView Yoga, an awesome yoga studio on the east side of Madison, WI. This homepage design is based on the Penguin Books cover on the left …

Design inspiration can come from anywhere. As long as you’re mindful about keeping your eyes open for it, you’ll start to identify all kinds of items that can ignite an idea.

Where do you find YOUR design inspiration?

The post Finding Your Design Inspiration appeared first on Cuppa SEO.