Jonathon Ive awarded knight hood in Queen's New Year Honours

Had to happen sooner or later - the man who has helped define what we regard as desireable in our electronic goods has been recognised by his country of birth:

He grew up outside London and studied design at Newcastle Polytechnic (now Northumbria University) in Newcastle, England. After finishing school, he co-founded a London-based design company called Tangerine. There, he designed a range of products including combs and power tools. It was through Tangerine that he first got to work with Apple.

In 1992, while Jobs was still in the midst of a 12-year exile from Apple, Ive was hired as a senior designer.

After Jobs returned, he and Ive worked closely, ushering in products that are sleek and stylish, with rounded corners, few buttons, brushed aluminum surfaces and plenty of slick glass.

Apple's pride in this work is evident even in the packaging: Open up any iPhone box, for example, and see Apple proudly proclaim, "Designed by Apple in California".

Remember when those i-Mac's in their multi-colours were the most radical tech object you had ever seen? Not that I think Ive is lagging in his design innovation, but I wonder who is the next style guru waiting in place?

Source: Sydney Morning Herald