Would Apple Be The Same If Jony Ive Left Apple Tomorrow for Microsoft?

London-born Jony Ive is credited with bringing to life the look and feel of virtually all of Apple's successful products over the last decade, from his first product - the candy-like iMac G3 - to more recent blockbusters including the iPod, iPhone, and iPad. Truly, when it comes to design, Apple and Ive are nearly inseparable - a technological briar and rose, so to speak. So what would happen if Ive were to suddenly take leave of his senses and defect to Microsoft tomorrow?

Apple At A Crossroads

Undoubtedly, the loss of Jonathan Ive would leave Apple with a big choice to make: follow the design aesthetic that has brought them so much success, but without the mind the birthed said aesthetic, or embrace new designers with new visions and hope for the best. Danger lurks down both paths.

Following the former path - continuing with business as usual - means interrupting the Apple design story-arc midway through. Will another artist be able to pick up the threads where Ive left them and carry on? Unlikely.

A more likely outcome would be the slow perversion of Ive's simple beauty until Apple's products come to resemble the Apple knock-offs coming from overseas. The other danger here is that in attempting to be true to the work of a designer no longer participating in the process, Apple will stifle the true innovations that their people may be able to offer.

Following the latter path - trusting a new Lead Designer to carry the company into new innovation is a gamble as well. This would undoubtedly lead to another G3 moment - a huge paradigm shift in Apple design and aesthetic. Consumer reaction could be fantastic, and it could be horrific, depending a lot on the actual designs in question.

One factor weighing heavily against this course of action is that Apple's current product designs are generally regarded as the simplest and most intuitive in the world. Any shift from this stance would have to include impressive additional features or new technologies in order to wow consumers and maintain market share.

Microsoft Wins?

The outlook for Microsoft in the event of Ive's arrival is pretty tough to predict. The product-creation juggernaut that Microsoft is would struggle mightily to integrate a Lead Design position of Ive's caliber. Overseeing the design of the company's many hard goods from mice and keyboards to IR receivers and webcams is a tall order, made all the harder by the globalization of Microsoft's operations.

Microsoft's product division would need to be completely rebuilt to take advantage of Jony's skills, as each niche is currently overseen by different folks, and manufacturing takes place all over the world. To really use Ive, the company would do well to create a single business center overseeing product design. This would be a herculean task in itself, so the immediate upside for Microsoft of such a high-level hire as Jonathan Ive is incredibly hard to quantify.

At the very least: their wireless laser mouse wouldn't be so crappy anymore.

Thanks for dropping by and reading or sharing my article Feel free to join the discussion over at my site where there lots more great topics like this Applelife.

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.