Do it for the love of it
Marc Newson and Jony Ive of Lovefrom
NYT: After Apple, Jony Ive Is Building an Empire of His Own
Over five years, Mr. Ive and Mr. Newson hired architects, graphic designers, writers and a cinematic special effects developer who work across three areas: work for the love of it, which they do without pay; work for clients, which includes Airbnb and Ferrari; and work for themselves, which includes the building renovation.
The independent design studio model has been declining for years, either by getting bought up by big consultancies (1, 2) and private companies (3, 4) or closing up shop for good. The industry change has been well-chronicled. But it’s great that two of the most prominent designers of the past three decades in Jony Ive and Marc Newson are building something of their own and really making design the center of the company in Lovefrom.
They attract clients that truly value design (Moncler, Ferrari, Airbnb), can charge a premium for their design firepower (one client reportedly pays $200M annually), and are multidisciplinary ranging from industrial design (the two founders’ bread & butter), to fashion, to software.
Obviously, not every design studio can command this type of clientele and premium. They’re two of the most successful and well-known designers of all time. But in Lovefrom, they found their niche as widespread and ambitious they might be and that’s good for design as a practice and an industry. If anything, I love it as a philosophical exercise: they’re saying “we’re going to design products with design front-and-center, we’re only going to work with clients who already value design and trust our design expertise, and we will design things for us, starting with our company.”
September 22, 2024