For the coronation of Charles, the British royal family has chosen Jonathan Ive, the former star designer of Apple. A partnership that may surprise at first glance, but which makes sense.
After the iPhone, the crown? Jony Ive, Apple’s iconic designer and Steve Jobs’ right-hand man until his death, is behind the coronation emblem for King Charles III, pending the ceremony scheduled for May 6. It is the site of the British royal family that reveals it, while the designer has been very discreet since leaving Apple in 2019.
What becomes of Jony Ive?
Jony Ive, or Sir Jony Ive since Queen Elizabeth II knighted him in 2012, is himself a British national. Given his assumed proximity to his country of origin, it is not really surprising to see him chosen by the crown to take care of the emblem of Charles III during his coronation. On the site of the English monarchy, Jony Ive says he is honored (Apple connoisseurs will no doubt hear his accent and his voice when reading the sentence):
“It is such an honor to be able to contribute to this remarkable national event, and our team is very proud of this work. The design was inspired by King Charles’ love for the planet, nature and his deep concern for the natural world”.
Arriving at Apple in 1992, Jony Ive saw his career take off when Steve Jobs returned in 1997, who immediately fell in love with his work. The iMac, the iPod, the MacBooks, the iPhone, the iPad, the Apple Watch then the Apple Park, Jony has done everything at Apple, up to irritating internally because of his sometimes extreme minimalism. The removal of all ports and some of its choices hurt Apple, at a time when Jony seemed bored with the brand’s product design.
In 2019, Jonathan Ive left Apple to start LoveFrom, his design company. At the time, it was said that he would continue to monitor Apple products in addition to other customers, such as Ferrari. In 2022, Apple and Jony Ive separated permanently.
In his low-key new life, Jony deals with cars and the coronation emblems of kings. An interesting conversion for those without whom several technological revolutions could not have taken place.
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