LOS ANGELES: Fans of the clean, inviting look of the iPhone, iPad and other blockbuster Apple products are legion, and that includes Queen Elizabeth II.
The British monarch has awarded a knighthood to Jonathan Paul Ive, a British citizen and head of Apple's design team since the mid-90 s. Ive received a KBE - short for Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire - for services to design and enterprise.
"To be recognised with this honour is absolutely thrilling and I am both humbled and sincerely grateful," Ive said in a statement. Ive is credited with helping the late Steve Jobs bring the consumer-electronics company back from the brink of financial ruin in the late 1990s with his whimsical design for the iMac computer, which originally came in bright colors at a time bland shades dominated the PC world.
He later helped transform Apple into a consumer-electronics powerhouse and the envy of Silicon Valley with his designs for the iPod, the iPhone and, most recently, the iPad. He was awarded a Commander of the British Empire honor in 2006 for achievements in British design and innovation.
AP
First Published: Tuesday, January 03, 2012, 14:20