“Jonathan Ive, Apple’s head of design, has been awarded a knighthood in the New Year Honours list,” BBC News reports. “Mr Ive, who can now style himself Sir Jonathan, has been made a Knight Commander of the British Empire (KBE).”
“Raised in Chingford, Mr Ive began working for Apple in 1992 and since then has been the brains behind many of its products. He described the honour as ‘absolutely thrilling’ and said he was “both humbled and sincerely grateful,'” The Beeb reports. “Mr Ive was apparently frustrated during his early years at Apple as the company was then suffering a decline. Everything changed, however, in 1995 when Steve Jobs returned to the company he helped found. ‘What’s made him so outstandingly successful is the relationship he’s had with Steve Jobs and Apple,’ said Deyan Sudjic, director of The Design Museum.”
The Beeb reports, “Mr Ive’s eye for design combined effectively with Mr Jobs’ legendary attention to detail and the products that have emerged from the company since the late 1990s have turned Apple into the biggest and most influential technology company on the planet… The knighthood is the second time Mr Ive has been recognised in the honour’s list. In 2005 he was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE).”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews readers too numerous to mention individually for the heads up.]
Related articles:
Gordon Brown blocked honorary knighthood for Steve Jobs after Jobs declined to speak at Labour Party conference – March 1, 2011
Apple design chief Jonathan Ive collects CBE from Queen Elizabeth – November 17, 2006
Apple’s Jonathan Ive named Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire – December 31, 2005
BFD!
actually it is a big deal , being independently recognized for excellence in design is both unusual and about time!
please name another designer that has contributed so much .
Name one other industrial designer who has contributed so much on a worldwide basis. Only Dieter Rams has done as much significant work, and before him it was the Bauhaus.
Don’t show your ignorance in public.
There have been a number of designers who have impacted daily life and made global statements but it is nice to see them recognized. I wonder if we’ll start seeing ‘by appointment to the queen’ plaques on Apple equipment now. 😉
Err, no. “By Appointment to the Queen” means the company in question has a Royal Warrant.
Still, it’s a nice thought 🙂
=:~)
“impacted” means “damaged by a violent collision.” Try “affected.”
Impacted is totally apt and is a better word choice.
“Impacted” might well be in common use, but it’s typically used in place of words that would better fit the intended meaning.
In this case, “affected” absolutely would do less violence to the intended meaning.
Sorry.
Wow, two people with no poetry in their souls.
Raymond Loewy comes to mind.
But with Ive, his primary connection to Apple was the relationship with Jobs, and I fear he may leave the company after a decent amount of time has passed.
He’s not leaving as long as Apple keeps their commitment to excellence. Besides, where is he going to go? Microsoft? One of the Android handset makers? Apple is the one place where he can work on multiple platforms — desktop computers, laptops, and mobile devices — while still bringing in plenty of money.
Steve may be gone, but the vision lingers — as long as that vision is there, Sir Jony will be at the helm.
Of course not microsoft or android oems. I don’t want him to leave Apple either, but maybe he would like to work on his manor house or spend his time in free exercise of his talent, or take it easy and enjoy his family. He doesn’t need a paycheck.
He doesn’t need a paycheck, but neither did Jobs.
Raymond Lowey – Charles and Ray Eames. Not many in that league.
In the US, he is referred to Siri Jon rather than Sir Jony
And yet you felt it was significant enough to express your contempt.
SB. Barmy!
Go back to the basement.
Yes, agreed. BFD. Read my comment below.
Your contempt at another person’s success is noted.
Congratulations, Jony…and thanks for the enrichment of so many lives.
Makes you proud to be British 🙂
Well done, Sir Jony. You truly deserve the accolade.
=:~)
French Soldier: I don’t want to talk to you no more, you empty headed animal food trough wiper. I fart in your general direction. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries.
Sir Galahad: Is there someone else up there we can talk to?
French Soldier: No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time.
1
I’ll be known as Sir Ballmer’s left nut henceforth seeing that Ballmer’s been invested with the Knight Commander of the Imperial Empire of the Sith Lords by none other than Queen Amidala herself.
At your service, my liege.
Together, the death star of our IP portfolio shall rule the Galaxy Nexus!
Well done Sir Jony. It’s a shame Steve Jobs also didn’t get an honor from the British establishment while he was alive. Bill Gates got one.
+1
-2
And Ive didn’t even have to speak at a party conference..
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/steve-jobs/8354215/Gordon-Brown-blocked-knighthood-for-Steve-Jobs.html
He was invited to such honor, but the invite came with some kind of endorsement of then Prim Minister Tony Blair party, Jobs refused. I think in John’s case it’s different for two reasons, he is British and second, this comes with no such strings attached.
It was Gordon Brown, not Tony Blair.
Is Bill Gates still alive? Thought he’d died.
Not ‘Sir Jony’. In England that would be pronounced Joe nee.
SB – Sir Jonny. Or better, Sir Jon.
I think it would be pronounced however the fuck he wants it pronounced. He’s a knight of the realm!
Your mum would be proud of you, little peasant that you are.
So, does this mean Sir Jonathan will be rubbing elbows with the Knights Who Say Nee?
In other news, South Korea announces that Samsungs Kim Kopi Yu has received the Blighthood award.
So Ive got knighted? Big whoop.
Ballmer became dated years ago….
A corrupt system based on ugly and needless hierarchies (themselves existing because of extreme violence in the distant past) gives an ‘award’ to a guy for design – even though the corrupt system is known for its poor design and anarchic ways.
And this is good how, exactly?
Jonny Ive doesn’t need this CRAP from the UK and its useless geriatric ‘royal’ family.
Fuckwit.
Why do I have a feeling that you would crap your pants and cry like a girl if told that you were being knighted?
… surely you meant archaic?
Your point about “royalty” is well taken, if a bit harshly stated, and shows a good grasp of history. Would that more folk had as good a grasp of American history. Still … people showing appreciation for your work … bragging rights, yeah?
Wow! You think bozo has a “good grasp of history”, that’s hilarious, and possibly as abstract as bozo’s unedumacated grasp of history.
Sam Cooke eat your heart out.
I always thought in order for someone to be knighted they would have to do something spectacular for Great Britain. Possibly make great sacrifices on the battlefield, the kind of actions that warrant a Medal of Honor in America. Not people who invent media related electronics or have multi platinum albums… Just my opinion. And no I’m not hating just confused as to what truly makes a knight.
Plenty of actors and actresses have been knighted in the past without doing anything “spectacular” for Great Britain, just for being outstanding in their fields. I know the actor Ian McKellen (probably most famous for his role as Gandalf in the LOTR saga and the upcoming Hobbit movie) has been knighted, and I also believe Sean Connery has received the honor; similar honors have been given to actresses such as Maggie Smith and Judy Dench (you often hear them referred to as “Dame” which is the female equivalent of “Sir”). And speaking of multi-platinum albums, ever hear of Sir Paul McCartney?
” just for being outstanding in their fields.”
I knew a farmer who was outstanding in his field.
Sean Connery, being an ardent Scottish nationalist has declined any honours from the usurping English queen :o)
You better look up the definition for the Medal of Honor. It is so far above anything else.
Might be a good idea to read a good history of the MoH from its beginning during the American Civil War. (There is no “Congressional” in the name.)
Sort of a spotty beginning, with it being awarded for all sorts of actions, including a number of non combat-related that were later rescinded, in the early years.
Requirements were made more stringent, and these days it’s rare for it to be awarded to a living recipient. Very similar to the British Victoria Cross.
We have the Victoria Cross as the highest order of merit/valour in the armed forces – US equivalent is the Medal of Honor. The George Cross is the highest for civilians. A knighthood is a recognition of services to the UK, not for valour.
Knights were a band of marauding killers who kept the status quo (serfdom/slavery) in place for the ‘king’ and ‘queen’.
Thats what makes a knight.
Its NOT an award that you’d want to get….
“Its NOT an award that you’d want to get….”
Yeah, that’s why absolutely no one wants it. What are you, some kind of closet Muslim, or just a whiny little douche bag? Get off your high horse asshole.
You really are a shithead, aren’t you.
And a whiny, ignorant one at that.
Do they still make the knights dress up in armor, ride horses, and smack each other with those long metal poles? Maybe that’s why Steve Jobs was like “I’m not having this. Sorry, not for me.”
Steve Jobs wasn’t English, so could not be given such an award. He could be given honorary recognition, but that is all.
Jony, great designer of the iPhone, iPad, Samsung Galaxy S, and Samsung Galaxy Tab!
Lol. So true
Congratilation !!
It is a great honor.
I’d rather be Kiera Knightley’d. But ok.
Euugh…not enough flesh on that bag of bones.
Now with his knighthood and a couple of pounds and , he can buy a cup of coffee at Starbucks in London.
If the old Queen made me a knight, I would be Sir Ron Norris, both coming and going.
Is that the Ron Norris of the Oxford slums?
If the old queen made you a knighty you’d have us all coming and going.
A man, a plan, a canal, Panama!
British designers are the best in the world.
You betcha, just ask the ghosts of those who were aboard the RMS Titanic.
That was Scottish engineers that screwed the pooch on the Titanic.
Actually, Harland and Wolff of Belfast, Northern Ireland. Part of the UK; you know, British.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harland_and_Wolff
He deserves all the awards and recognition there is. He is a far bigger piece of Apple than many realize, and along with the influence of Jobs, I feel that Apple’s DNA is alive and well. I hope they gave him a contract that keeps him at Apple as a lifer.
I heard the society of retired spooks awarded someone else (working at the ‘other company’) the “the Prime Mole Award”.
Beauty of design is in the small details. Jobs knew and pursued that beauty at almost any expense. Just try to imagine any other company that would allow a designer to chase down and invent new manufacturing processes just to get the right shade of white plastic (as Ive did with iPods and iMacs, to name just two), and you’ll have your answer as to how long Sir Jonny Ive will stay with Apple. Apple is lucky to have Ive, and Ive will never find another company like Apple that allows him to control the whole process, forcing the inner workings to fit while not compromising his visual design. Too often the designer’s conceptual work gets “modified” by businessmen until it fails to impress (IE: car makers, as Steve Jobs once noted).
Couldn’t agree more…but fingers crossed all the same.
Didn’t realize Jony had been at Apple so long. Obviously his creativity was being stifled until Steve returned (though I believe the iMac was originally championed by Gil Amelio).
The BBC gets the year of the return of Steve Jobs wrong by two years. That’s somewhat sad. Apple purchased NeXT on Feb. 4, 1997 (NOT in 1995), after discussions that began in late 1996.
Read more: http://macspeedzone.com/archive/art/con/be.shtml
Isn’t this the kind of thing that big news media companies say smaller news sources get wrong, and are thus not legitimate? Basic fact-checking should matter.
OK Chaps, much ignorance on show here.
First. If one who is British, a knighthood is a great honour (spelt with a ‘u’ in Britain), whether you believe in the archaic British traditions of royal heritage or not. To be recognised is still a damned fine thing. It’s just not down to the Queen where these honours go.
Secondly the shortened version of Jonathan is either Jon or Jonny (short vowel “o” usually requires a double consonant)
As for non British people receiving knighthoods. Bob Geldof received an honorary knighthood as he is Irish.
Davy Jones you are right. The Titanic was built in Belfast. The design was fine. A major sideways hit on an iceberg did the damage. It ripped open several watertight compartments. Lack of radio communications and a shortfall in lifeboats was the reason so many perished. It was very cold in that water. The iceberg won.
Finally I’d give Jonathan Ives plenty of honours. I’m surrounded by amy of his designs that enhance my life constantly.
I know a public show of pedantry, but God is in the detail. Sir Jonathan surely knows pedantry or his designs would not be so good.
One minor addition, Bob:
The Titanic suffered, in addition to bad judgement on the part of the captain, from an unfortunate choice of steel being used in the the hull. Turns out that it was quite a bit more brittle than expected in cold conditions, which increased the amount of damage done when it hit the ice.
“Secondly the shortened version of Jonathan is either Jon or Jonny (short vowel “o” usually requires a double consonant)…”
That’s correct, but I believe that it’s spelled “Jony” in Sir Jonathan’s case because Sir Jonathan himself prefers to spell it that way. I could be wrong, of course.
Bob, I’m a pedant from way back, which is why I was sure to spell “Jony” correctly in this instance.
As long as we’re being pedantic, Irish was (officially) British when Geldof received his knighthood (if I’m not mistaken). English is a subset of British, as are Welsh and Scottish. Unless there’ve been changes I missed.
I think you are mistaken. Bob Geldof is from Ireland, not Northern Ireland. Ireland hasn’t been “British” since the War of Independence in 1921. Bob Geldof was born 30 years later.
That’s supposed to be I’m surrounded by “many” of his designs that enhance my life constantly.
Pedantry applies to my own typing skills