Apple and former chief design officer Jony Ive end consultancy agreement

Sir Jonathan Ive and Tim Cook. (Jony Ive photo credit: Marcus Dawes via Wikimgedia Commons CC 3.0; Tim Cook image: Book Kraft CC 4.0)

Apple and former chief design officer Jony Ive have reportedly parted ways once again. Ive is famous for his industrial design work and is credited with his influential designs for the iPod, iPhone, iMac and iPad, among many others.

He worked at Apple for more than 20 years before moving on in 2019 to create his own design firm. At the time, Apple entered into an agreement with Ive's new firm LoveForm, which would see Ive consult on Apple's new designs. It now appears that is no longer the case.

As per a report by The New York Times, the consulting agreement between Ive and Apple has not been renewed, and as things stand, the partnership is over. Sources close to the publication said that some Apple executives were miffed at Ive for poaching Apple talent for his own firm.

According to sources, Ive wasn't too thrilled about the deal either, since it restricted him from taking on projects that would be seen as competitors to Apple. The sources said that he wanted the freedom to take on clients without needing Apple's approval.

Currently, Jeff Williams, Apple's chief operating officer, oversees the design teams at the company, with Evans Hankey in charge of product designs, and Alan Dye leading design teams for software.

Ive's firm has impressive clientele as well, with names like Airbnb and Ferrari. Ive also works for the Sustainable Markets Initiative, which is a non-profit organisation run by Prince Charles to make people aware of climate change.