Apple design chief Jony Ive makes Time's 100 Most Influential list

Ive is listed in Time's Artist category, along with writer George Saunders, musicians Miguel and Frank Ocean, and stars of the big and small screen Jennifer Lawrence and Bryan Cranston. The accompanying vignette on Ive was written by popular musician and activist Bono.

Bono's short piece praises Ive's own sense of simplicity and dedication to not only money, but a "pursuit of greatness over profit."

"What the competitors don't seem to understand," Bono writes, "is you cannot get people this smart to work this hard just for money. Jony is Obi-Wan. His team are Jedi..."

Ive has for some time been a prominent face for the Cupertino company, but Apple's design chief has become even more so in the time since Apple cofounder Steve Jobs' passing. Previously tasked with designing the hardware of devices from the iMac to the iPad and iPhone, Ive now heads software and interface design for Apple as well. His team is expected to bring the look of iOS more in line with the minimalist hardware aesthetic that typifies Apple products.

As Ive's profile has grown, so too has his renown. Already knighted by the British Crown, Ive — along with Apple's entire design team — received an award in September naming them the best design studio of the past 50 years by Design and Art Direction.

Earlier this year, Ive accepted another reward from Children's BBC show Blue Peter. A lifelong fan of the show, Ive was visibly affected when handed the gold Blue Peter badge, which put him in the company of British high achievers like David Beckham, Tom Daley, and JK Rowling.