Yesterday, Bloomberg broke the surprise news that Alan Dye, Apple’s vice president of Human Interface Design since 2015, is departing the company to lead a new design studio at Meta. Apple confirmed the departure in a statement attributed to Tim Cook, adding that 26-year Apple design veteran Steve Lemay will take over Dye’s role.
In a new post on Daring Fireball, John Gruber has some inside info on the reaction inside Apple to this news.
Lemay has kept a low profile during his tenure at Apple, but Gruber says his Apple sources “speak highly of [Lemay], particularly his attention to detail and craftsmanship.” He’s described as a “career interface/interaction designer.”
While some people inside Apple have criticisms for aspects of things Lemay has worked on, Gruber says “everyone” he’s spoken to is “happy — if not downright giddy — at the news that Lemay is replacing Dye.”
Sources I’ve spoken to who’ve worked with Lemay at Apple speak highly of him, particularly his attention to detail and craftsmanship. Those things have been sorely lacking in the Dye era. Not everyone loves everything Lemay has worked on, but nobody bats 1.000 and designers love to critique each other’s work. I’ve chatted with people with criticisms of specific things Lemay has worked on or led at Apple (e.g. aspects of iPadOS multitasking that struck many of us as deliberately limiting, rather than empowering), but everyone I’ve spoken to is happy — if not downright giddy — at the news that Lemay is replacing Dye. Lemay is well-liked personally and deeply respected talent-wise. Said one source, in a position to know the choices, “I don’t think there was a better choice than Lemay.”
Gruber continues:
The sentiment within the ranks at Apple is that today’s news is almost too good to be true. People had given up hope that Dye would ever get squeezed out, and no one expected that he’d just up and leave on his own.
In addition to Dye, design deputy Billy Sorrentino is also leaving Apple to join Meta’s design studio. Gruber says “word on the street is that other members of Dye’s inner circle are leaving Apple for Meta with him.”
Mark Zuckerberg addressed the news in a post on Threads last night, saying the new design studio led by Dye will “bring together design, fashion, and technology to define the next generation of our products and experiences.”
Gruber’s full article is well-worth a read.
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