Jony Ive, Apple’s senior vice president of industrial design, can now add ‘knight’ to his resumé. On Friday it was announced that the Apple big-wig had been awarded knighthood for ”services to design and enterprise.” This isn’t the first time Ive has been honored by the UK, however. In 2005 he was named Commander of the British Empire, but he was thrilled to receive his knighthood nonetheless.

Ive, reportedly “humbled and sincerely grateful,” responded to the honor by saying,

“I am keenly aware that I benefit from a wonderful tradition in the UK of designing and making… I discovered at an early age that all I’ve ever wanted to do is design.”

Jony Ive certainly has an impressive track record. Forbes Magazine named him the smartest designer in tech award, Design Museum London touted him as the Designer of the Year in 2003, and the Royal Society of Arts selected him as the Royal Designer. He even received an honorary doctorate from Newcastle Polytechnic.

Ive was among a number of new honorees this year, and his inclusion on the list hardly seems out of place. His work at Apple alone is quite impressive. He’s had a hand in most of Apple’s current lineup, and was the driving force behind the unibody engineering of MacBooks as well as the (at the time) unique design of the iPhone, which “defers to the display.”

Jony Ive was a great friend and business parter to Apple’s late CEO, Steve Jobs. The two (pictured above) were reportedly “spiritual partners,” but that doesn’t mean things were perfect. Ive told Walter Isaacson, official Steve Jobs biographer, that at times it seemed like Jobs implied that Ive’s ideas were his own:

“[Jobs] will go through a process of looking at my ideas and say, ‘That’s no good. That’s not very good. I like that one.’ And later I will be sitting in the audience and he will be talking about it as if it was his idea. I pay maniacal attention to where an idea comes from, and I even keep notebooks filled with my ideas. So it hurts when he takes credit for one of my designs.”

Even still, the two had a long working relationship and Steve Jobs even designed Apple’s corporate structure in a way where Ive was granted “more operation power” than anyone else. No one can tell him what to do. And even though Steve Jobs’ great influence on Apple is hard to deny, it’s nice to see another integral member of the Apple team getting the recognition he deserves.

Via: AppleInsider, 9to5 Mac