Amber Neely
Duncan Kerr, a designer who has been a part of Apple's journey since the late 1990s is now departing, marking another loss for the design team in a relatively short span of time.
In February, Apple lost designer Bart Andre, who had been with the company since 1992. He was Apple's longest-serving industrial designer.
On Wednesday, it was learned that Kerr would also be departing, though his plans are currently unknown. Kerr had worked at Apple since 1999 and was heavily involved in developing several generations of the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
As Bloomberg points out, there aren't many of Ive's original team left. Since Ive's departure in 2019, designers Jody Akana, Anthony Ashcroft, Jeremy Bataillou, Joe Tan, Eugene Whang, and Andrea Williams have left the Cupertino-based company.
According to reports, there is a feeling of unease among employees due to the recent changes in leadership at Apple. Jeff Williams has taken over as the head of the design team and has allegedly introduced cost-cutting measures, which have caused some concern. In addition, there have been rumors that Apple has scaled back on its exploratory projects, which were a hallmark of previous design lead, Jony Ive.
However, some of these designers have been at Apple for more than 25 years. The recent departures are more likely about retirement more than dissatisfaction, given the ages of those involved.
For others, it may be greener pastures. Some of the core team have left to work for LoveFrom, Ive's new design company.
Currently, only a handful of Ive's original team are left at Apple. This includes Richard Howarth, Ben Schaffer, and Molly Anderson.
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15 Comments
I doubt it’s about retirement.
sounds like personnel conflict. Some “new” guy coming in snd “wrecking everything” isn't going to sit well. After a while, you get tired of it snd decide it’s no longer fun, no longer feels important and not worth it any longer.
you break that and you’re in trouble.
I don’t think the particular individuals matter so much. New designers are a good thing and will inevitably happen. The concerning part is that a company built on great design apparently thinks cost cutting in the design department is a wonderful idea. That is worrisome. I’d also like to be hearing that there are lots of exploratory projects happening there. If the leadership believes they are just delivering widgets to consumers then Apple will gradually slip downward, and be indistinguishable from other tech companies. I’m hoping they are smarter than that.