Jony Ive has reportedly resumed management of the company’s design team, notes AppleInsider. This was mentioned on Twitter by Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman after Apple removed Alan Dye and Richard Howarth from its Leadership profiles.
In May 2015 Ive’s title was changed to chief design officer, Dye debuted as vice president of User Interface Design and Haworth was named vice president of Industrial Design. At the time it was announced that Ive would hand over “day-to-day managerial responsibilities” for industrial and UI [user interface] design to Howarth and Dye.
Howarth joined Apple in 1996 and has been involved in the design of nearly every Apple product since the original iMac. He’s led the design of each generation of iPhone and most recently, Apple Watch. As head of the Industrial Design group, he leads a multinational team of designers, CAD sculptors and model makers responsible for creating and imagining the future of Apple products. Howarth holds a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design from Ravensbourne.
Dye joined Apple in 2006 as creative director with the Marketing Communications team, following previous design lead roles at Kate Spade and Ogilvy & Mather. Before joining the User Interface team, he led global design efforts across all aspects of communications, from identity and packaging, through retail and interactive experiences.
In 2012, Dye joined Ive’s team to lead the User Interface group responsible for the design of iOS 7, iOS 8 and watchOS. He graduated from Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications Design.
Since 2015 the design teams reported to Dye and Howarth, who reported to Tim Cook. Now they once again report to Ive now that the new campus — which apparently occupied a lot of his time — is finished, according to Gurman.
It’s uncertain what caused the shake-up or what Dye and Howarth will be doing now. AppleInsider says that both “are presumably still with the company, but it’s unknown how their roles may have shifted if Ive is jumping back into the fray.”
However, Apple spokesperson Amy Bessette told “Bloomberg” that “with the completion of Apple Park, Apple’s design leaders and teams are again reporting directly to Jony Ive, who remains focused purely on design.”
