Sir Jonathan Ive is one of the modern era’s most prominent and influential industrial designers. Best known for his work at Apple, the British designer played a pivotal role in shaping the company’s universally loved product design language. His close working relationship with Steve Jobs is legendary. Together, they reshaped Apple’s product line and helped turn the company into one of the most valuable brands in the world.
However, after working for Apple for 27 years, Jony Ive quit in 2019 to start his own design company, LoveFrom. We last heard that Ive’s design studio was working with Ferrari on its first-ever all-electric car. The New York Times revealed some fascinating details about the ongoing project with the iconic Italian automaker.
The article gives a round-up of everything that has happened in Ive’s life over the last five years, ever since he founded LoveFrom with his friend Mark Newson. Last year, the company was in the news for designing the coronation emblem for King Charles III. However, the Ferrari project is going to be crucial for both Ive and his design studio. According to the NYT, John Elkann, the CEO of Exor and a member of the Agnelli family, which owns Ferrari, was keen to work with Ive.
Apparently, he became an admirer after Ive designed the Apple Watch, successfully turning an analog device into a popular digital product. Elkann wanted Ive to work the same magic on Ferrari’s first electric car.
Earlier this year, in January, Exor’s top boss visited LoveFrom’s design studio in San Francisco to discuss details on the electric Ferrari’s steering wheel. The meeting went on for several hours, during which Ive and others from the studio talked about the appropriate steering wheel length and how a driver should hold it. Ferrari’s chief test driver has also tested an early prototype inspired by the company’s iconic sports cars and racecars to assess its performance.
“Paying attention to the steering wheel in a car that you want to drive and what the physicality of what that means is something that Jony was very clear about,” Mr. Elkann said. He added that the result is “something really, really different.” LoveFrom has also been tasked with designing the digital gauge cluster for the electric Ferrari. The Italian marque’s first EV is expected to debut next year and could go on sale in 2026. A news report earlier this year claimed that it could cost more than $500,000.
