Sir Jonathan Ive: video courtesy British Ceremonial Arts
Jonathan Ive - the British designer responsible for Apple's iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad - has been knighted at Buckingham Palace.
Apple's senior vice-president of industrial design has said he is "both humbled and sincerely grateful" for the "absolutely thrilling honour".
Sir Jonathan, 45, told the Daily Telegraph he was "the product of a very British design education".
He was born in Chingford, east London, and studied at Newcastle Polytechnic.
In a rare interview, published in the paper on Wednesday, he said that, "even in high school, I was keenly aware of this remarkable tradition that the UK had of designing and making".
"It's important to remember that Britain was the first country to industrialize, so I think there's a strong argument to say this is where my profession was founded."
The "Bondi blue" iMac G3 was launched in 1998
After graduating from Newcastle Polytechnic - now Northumbria University - he began working as a commercial designer before founding design agency Tangerine with three friends.
One of the agency's clients, Apple, was so impressed with his work it took him on as a full-time employee in 1992.
Sir Jonathan, who now lives in San Francisco with his British wife and two sons, has led the Apple design team since 1996.
He was described by Steve Jobs as his "spiritual partner", according to the late Apple co-founder's biographer Walter Isaacson.
His eye for design, combined with Mr Jobs' attention to detail, has helped to turn Apple into one of the biggest technology companies in the world.
The iPod was launched in November 2001
Over the past 15 years, the company has created a series of products which are all considered to be design classics.
They include the iMac G3 - the "Bondi blue" computer launched in 1998 - and the iPod, released in 2001, which helped to revolutionise the music industry.
"We try to develop products that seem somehow inevitable, that leave you with the sense that that's the only possible solution that makes sense," Sir Jonathan told the Telegraph.
Sir Jonathan said Apple products were tools "and we don't want design to get in the way".
In 2005, he was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE).
Other figures being honoured by Princess Anne on Wednesday include Sir Peter Bazalgette, of Endemol - the TV company behind Big Brother - who is being knighted for services to broadcasting.
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