Apple's British chief design officer Sir Jonathan Ive, better known as Jony Ive, is breaking out on his own after nearly 30 years at the company.

Sir Jony announced his plans to start his own design company called LoveFrom on Thursday - and it says it will count Apple among its first clients.

The precocious talent - who discovered his talents with the help of his father, a professor of design and technology - is the mind behind the iMac G3 and iPhone.

After leaving Apple, Sir Jony will continue to work closely with the firm on 'a range of projects' as he takes on his own ventures, the firm says.

He will remain in his current role until he departs later this year.

Apple's chief design officer Jony Ive (left, next to CEO Tim Cook) is breaking out on his own after nearly 30 years at the company

WHO IS APPLE'S JONY IVE? Jony Ive is a long-time Apple designer who is responsible for pioneering many of the company's most iconic products. Sir Jony has followed the company's rise since 1996 and was eventually put in charge of designing the company's software in 2012. Among the most pivotal designs are the 1998 iMac, equipped with colourful side panels, as well as the company's sleek iPad. Sir Jony has left his post after nearly 30 years to start his own design firm 'LoveFrom.' Wearable technology is of particular interest according to Sir Jony, though the heavyweight has yet to fully detail specific projects. Advertisement

Sir Jony's meteoric rise is perhaps unsurprising, given that this north-east London 'boy done good' was raised in a household where design was held in high regard.

Sir Jony, born in 1967, spent his early days with his father in the university professor's workshop, where Sir Jony's dad would help him transform his visions from page to product.

He cut his chops at Newcastle Polytechnic in the late 1980s, where he used a design grant to head for the bright lights of San Francisco.

There he hoped to find out more about the people behind the Apple Mac computers he fell in love with at university.

His arrival was timely, with Silicon Valley eager to find more creative ways to market their burgeoning array of home computer products.

After graduating in 1989, Sir Jony worked on products for London design startup Tangerine, from microwave ovens to toilets.

Apple was impressed with his work in the states, however, and attempted to poach him, joining the firm in 1992.

'After nearly 30 years and countless projects, I am most proud of the lasting work we have done to create a design team, process and culture at Apple that is without peer,' Sir Jony said, in a wide ranging interview with the Financial Times (FT).

'Today it is stronger, more vibrant and more talented than at any point in Apple's history.

'The team will certainly thrive under the excellent leadership of Evans, Alan and Jeff, who have been among my closest collaborators. I have the utmost confidence in my designer colleagues at Apple, who remain my closest friends, and I look forward to working with them for many years to come.'

Designers Evans Hankey, vice president of Industrial Design, and Alan Dye, vice president of Human Interface Design, will jointly replace Sir Jony, according to Apple.

Sir Jony said that now seemed like a 'natural and gentle time' to leave the company and venture on his own.

LoveFrom will borrow from Apple's current roster, bringing designer Marc Newson, who joined Apple in 2014, along with him, according to the Financial Times.

The two will work on Apple projects and non-Apple projects alike.

As far as specific ventures in the designer's cross hairs, Sir Jony said that wearable technology, especially those in the health and wellness sphere, were likely targets.

These are areas he decided to focus on after his experiences at Appe, Sir Jony told the FT. He added: 'We saw we could use technology to be extraordinarily useful in relation to our health and wellbeing.

'This area is one that I've been fascinated by, as is specifically addressed by wearable technology.'

Other than affirming his passion for wearable technology, Sir Jony remained relatively cryptic about what LoveFrom will focus on specifically.

Despite the major step outside Apple's umbrella, Sir Jony said that LoveFrom won't be designing products that are different for the sake of being different but will instead be created with what he learned at Apple in mind.

'My motivation is to be very aware of what I have learned and take that learning and the approaches that I've developed and use those toward trying to make good products,' Sir Jony added.

'I'm using the word "products" fabulously ambiguously.'

The iMac took consumers by storm with its colourful side panels and unique user interface that helped differentiate Apple products from its peers

Sir Jony first joined Apple's design team in 1996 and has contributed to many of Apple's iconic designs.

That includes its colourful iMac, launched in 1998, whose iconic shade of translucent cool blue set it apart from the bland beige prevalent in the decade's PCs.

The design also hinted at the portable future of computing, with the machine's components built directly into the case that houses its monitor - a case itself equipped with a carry handle.

His magnum opus came almost a decade later, with the launch of the iPhone in 2007.

Both Sir Jony and the firm's founder, Steve Jobs, are listed on the iPhone's patent as having created the smartphone's curvaceous 'ornamental design'.

Originally designed as a internet connected version of the iPod with a large touchscreen display, the handset brought smartphones to the masses for the first time.

In 2012, Apple CEO Tim Cook put the in charge of software, Sir Jony's first foray into tweaking the code under the hood of Apple's products.

His first stylistic choice was to ditch 'skeuomorphic' designs that resemble real-world objects in favour of sleek digital effects.

That included the removal of faux felt and leather textures in favour of more modern and minimalist 3D icons for apps, culminating in the release of iOS 7.

His next design, the iWatch, was slower to build in popularity, but found its feet when its purpose was more firmly centred on health and fitness.

This gave the product a purpose beyond being just a fancy way to read notifications, make calls, send texts and run apps from your phone.

Sir Jony's last major project for Apple came shortly before the death of founder Steve Jobs in 2011.

Sir Jony was tasked with designing Apple Park, the firm's plush new 2.5m sq ft (232,000 sq m) Cupertino, California, headquarters.

Apple Park finally opened in 2017 after more than a decade of planning and scrutiny from the outside world.

Before Sir Jony leaves Apple, the firm hopes his design for the upcoming titanium Apple Card, which will allow for payments via the iPhones iWallet, will do for the credit card what he has done for the smarthphone.

From Chingford to Silicon Valley: How 52-year-old tech genius Sir Jonathan Ive transformed Apple's fortune

Sir Jonathan Ives, 52, was born in Chingford, north-east London and came to design through an early interest in made objects.

He considered taking a car design course at the Royal College of Art, but decided against it, opting instead for Newcastle Polytechnic - now known as Northumbria University - to study industrial design.

After university, Sir Jony joined London design consultancy Tangerine, working on a number of products from power tools to wash basins, but moved to San Francisco in 1992 to work with Apple as a design consultant.

By 1998, he was vice-president of industrial design at Apple, and rose to become chief design officer in 2015, where he was behind many of the products we use today.

In 2006, he was awarded a CBE.

Sir Jonathan was instrumental in a large number of Apple's devices, both hardware and software.

Early notable works he contributed to include the iMac G3 (1998), the iBook G3 (1999), the G4 Cube computer (2000) and the iMac G4 computer (2001).

He also worked on the iPod and iPod Mini, before taking on the iPhone and iPad in the late Noughties.

In 2013, Sir Jonathan ushered in the biggest overhaul to the iOS operating system yet, with a new 'flat' look that went on to influence brands globally.

'I think there is a profound and enduring beauty in simplicity,' he said during the iOS 7 launch.

Sir Jonathan is leaving Apple to start his own design company called LoveFrom, though he will carry on work associated with wearable technology and healthcare.

Apple said it would be among his new firm's 'primary clients', with the designer continuing to work closely with the tech giant on a range of projects.

He will not be immediately replaced and two of his deputies will report directly to the company's chief operating officer, Jeff Williams.