iPod man gets Gong

Jonathan Ive, 38, Apple's senior vice president of design was born in London and studied design and art at Newcastle Polytechnic. For our American readers, Newcastle is legendary for its Blueberry, Grape, Tangerine, Lime, and Strawberry landscapes.

In 1989, he became a partner at Tangerine, a London-based design consultancy where he worked on products ranging from power tools to wash basins. Headhunted by Steve Jobs in 1992, Ive became the leader of the company's design team in 1996. It was he who came up with Apple's fruity themed iBooks, iMacs and powerbooks. Later he toned down his designs to come up with the more minimalist eyePods.

He was named in the New Years Honours list for his services to industry. Alas it was for services to American industry. There's more here. µ