Jony Ive, or rather Sir Jony Ive has been officially knighted in his home country of the United Kingdom. The honor, which was announced back in December, was announced this Wednesday. What was the honor for you might ask? Well I’ll tell ya! His honor has been rewarded for his amazing work in the field of design for his work in Apple products since the original iMac. This is definitely not the first time he has been rewarded for this reason either. He has received many awards and honors in the past for his amazing work.
Here is a quote that he made in an interview almost immediately after he was knighted.
“All I’ve ever wanted to do is design and make; it’s what I love doing. It’s great if you can find what you love to do. Finding it is one thing but then to be able to practice that and be preoccupied with that is another,” he says. “I’m very aware of an incredible tradition in the UK of designing and making, and so to be recognised in this way is really wonderful.”
What an amazing guy. He has very similar ideas to life as Apples late CEO Steve Jobs. He is a very interesting guy with insanely great ideas. His creations have ranged from the original colorful iMac to the iPod to the iPhone to the Macs we have now. Undoubtedly one of the best designers out there. All this from a guy Steve Jobs just so happened to stumble upon. That’s right he wasn’t Apples chief designer when he came back. He just happened to come across him and really like the original ideas that Jony had. These plans included the original iMac. He worked with Jony extensively and eventually appointed him chief designer all the way up to SVP of ind. design. He is one of the most influential Britons in the world, up to the ranks of Churchill (sorry Ive, not quite there though). Through all of his experiences, Jony Ive has remained very humble about himself using “us” or “we” sometimes more than “I”. Check out this quote.
“We’re keenly aware that when we develop and make something and bring it to market that it really does speak to a set of values. And what preoccupies us is that sense of care, and what our products will not speak to is a schedule, what our products will not speak to is trying to respond to some corporate or competitive agenda. We’re very genuinely designing the best products that we can for people.”
Amazing how humble he is, isn’t it? He’s just a great guy!
When asked what his most important work is, this is what he said. He says that his team’s current projects are “the most important and the best work [they’ve] done” but of course he can’t disclose details on that work.
I believe that not only should every Apple fan have a deep appreciation for what Jony does, but really everyone should. He has done a lot for Apple. He has done a lot in the field of design and he will continue to do great things until the end, which according to his age is fortunately far off. He has after all said himself that the greatest achievements he’s made are ones that we havent even seen yet! Thank you Jonathan and all that you do. I know that when it comes time for CEO Tim Cook to step down, you will be next in line for the position because your talent and intelligence really stand out. Keep doing what you’re doing Jony!
Thanks for reading,
Joe