Design
Englishman Jonathan Ive is responsible for two of the design icons of our age, the Apple iMac and iPod. Although he now lives and works in the Silicon Valley, California, he trained at Newcastle Polytechnic.
The UK’s art schools have been turning out some of the world’s finest artists and designers since the sixties. Graduates of St Martin’s and Glasgow School of Art (www.gsa.ac.uk) (to name but two) have gone on to produce a distinct brand of attractive and functional wares.
The Mini Cooper, Robin Day’s ‘polyprop’ stacking chairs and our road signs are all classic designs from 1960s Britain that you’ll still see everywhere.
The Design Museum (www.designmuseum.org/) in London is a great place to get to grips with British designers past and present.
The popular exhibition Designing Modern Britain, has the cream of contemporary talent on show, including Designer of the Year nominees Jamie Hewlett and Tom Dixon.