Apple's senior VP of industrial design, Jonathan Ive, is receiving an honorary doctorate from the Royal College of Art in the UK. The presentation will take place on July 1st, following tonight's RCA dinner, where Ive is delivering a speech under the theme "Innovation Night." The school is the only institution in the world specializing in postgraduate degrees for art and design.

Though not himself a graduate of the RCA, Ive is frequently considered one of the most influential product designers in the world. The executive has helped to design numerous generations of Macs, as well as the iPhone and the iPod, lending Apple products their signature look. Prior to arriving at Apple in 1992, Ive worked for the UK design firm Tangerine.