Beats by Dr. Dre. After founding Lunar Design just a few years after college in the mid-80s, Robert was employed by Apple’s design team. Apart from all of the other spoils that come with its high-stakes deal with Beats Electronics, including the company’s entire hardware arsenal, its Beats Music streaming service, and the musical minds of Dre and Iovine, Apple is buying into an entire culture. and at the forefront of that is the design of the thing.”. Head into the weekend with "genre-less" cuts from around the world. Apple Purchase a … Before working with Beats, Brunner was an Apple alumn, working as the company’s Director of Industrial Design from 1989-1997. Ive is now a major driving force behind Apple’s design vision, reporting directly to CEO Tim Cook. He's later seen in just the jeans. As the “first and only chief designer” of Beats products since its formation in 2006, Brunner and his design firm, Ammunition, have helped craft the aesthetic that supercharged the genre, and cemented Beats products in the minds of an entire generation. Though many saw Apple’s acquisition of Beats as something that sprung up overnight, the companies have been in an incestuous relationship since Beats was born. Serving as one of the company's first self-developed products after the end of its exclusive manufacturing deal with Monster Cable Products, the Beats Pill was designed by Robert Brunner's studio Ammunition Design Group, and carries a capsule-based design roughly 7.7 inches (20 cm) in length. For Polaroid, Ammunition had the fascinating challenge of reviving a technology that had been superseded by smartphones. Designer and renowned creator, Robert Brunner, is best known for his work with Apple Computers. “The real secret weapon,” he says, “was Dre’s and Jimmy’s ears; because they created much of the popular music out there and they knew exactly how it was supposed to sound.”. Steven Lamar claimed credit for the idea of creating a brand of celebrity-endorsed headphones. Robert Brunner, designer of the original Beats by Dre headphones. Polaroid. Robert Brunner: Through my experiences working with these great organizations, I saw this rising importance of product design in the business community as being crucial to success. Apple knows that all too well. For Beats by Dre, amplifying Black culture is an always-on effort, Best cheap Beats headphone deals for April 2021, Best cheap Powerbeats Pro deals for April 2021, Meet Gen Z’s fierce female founders aiming to radically reshape the tech world. Now Ammunition will be ceding the Beats branding to Apple, a bitter-sweet transition for Robert Brunner, especially as he was once head of design at Apple and was responsible for hiring its now famed designer Jonathan Ive. Apple will take great care to preserve the look and feel of Beats products – at least in the short run. . Robert Brunner is a designer and creative director best known for his work at Apple Computers. The two agreed on Iovine’s premise of bringing sound quality to the younger … The design industry has produced its share of strange bedfellows, but a collaboration between Robert Brunner and Dr. Dre has to be one of the most unexpected we've seen. TGIF! The partnership began seven years ago when Dre and best pal Jimmy Iovine (now Chairman and CEO of Beats Electronics) became interested in producing audio products; Dre sought to generate a platform for his music to be heard in its truest form. Robert Brunner on why new designs should be familiar. And now, as far as Beats Electronics goes, Brunner and his team are out of a job. Before working with Beats, Brunner was an Apple alumn, working as the company’s Director of Industrial Design from 1989-1997. In this 99U talk, designer Robert Brunner deconstructs his creative process revealing the stories behind products like Beats by Dre headphones and … He also talks about the lessons he learned from Dre and Iovine, such as becoming used to yielding design control to the individualized branding of the ‘phones that were tailored to music and sports stars; and he talks about the thrill of working with two people who knew exactly what they wanted — no need for focus groups — while giving Ammunition the freedom to run with an idea. © 2021 KCRW All Rights Reserved. assignors: young, andre, iovine, jimmy But there's one surprise: Robert Brunner, the industrial designer behind Beats, is not coming along for the ride. Brunner has deep ties with Apple. Its appearance is characterized by curved surfaces and a gloss finish. Upgrade your lifestyleDigital Trends helps readers keep tabs on the fast-paced world of tech with all the latest news, fun product reviews, insightful editorials, and one-of-a-kind sneak peeks.Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Brunner has the artillery to back up that statement. Remaking an instant photography icon. And that could be a big deal. Working with a hip-hop legend to build an iconic product brand. Robert Brunner started out in civil engineering but now heads San Francisco design studio Ammunition, creating products for brands including Apple, Adobe and Beats … “It’s not about technology at all,” said Robert Brunner, designer of Beats’ first headphones, in an email to Cult of Mac a few weeks before the Apple/Beats rumor hit the headlines. Still, as the leading designer for arguably one of the most iconic and aesthetically-driven corporations in modern history, Ive will no doubt have his own ideas for the brand. The document also details a meeting between Lamar and … Highlights Features . We can’t do it without you. Insightful and knowledgeable, audiences revel in Robert's valuable expertise. View project. View project. He was appointed Apple’s Director of Industrial Design by the end of the decade. What do you think a new pair of Beats headphones will look like in the hands of Apple’s design team? That fact sparks a lingering sense that, as Ammunition moves on to other projects, Apple will take great care to preserve the look and feel of Beats products that was so carefully cultivated by Brunner and his team – at least in the short run. And thanks to the entire team at Beats for an amazing, rewarding journey. He took the idea to Dre and Iovine in 2006; and the first Beats headphones … Walk around the offices of Ammunition, Brunner's seven-year-old design firm, and you notice most … Read in Bloomberg. We wish them all the best for their next chapter.”. Much of their work, he says, has to do with figuring out “new and meaningful ways of changing the way we live through connectivity.” This means questioning the meaning of meaningful; for example, he asks: “Do I really need a connected toaster that scans my bread and tells me when it’s done?”. While the answer to that – and many other questions – are still up in the air, one thing we do know is that once Apple’s design team takes the reins, all of Beats’ hardware is likely headed for a change. We are member-supported, so your donation is critical to KCRW's music programming, news reporting, and cultural coverage. Says Dr. Dre, according to the press release, "When I'm making a track I'm trying to capture the sound that … He has mid-length, brown, unkempt hair and green eyes. Dr. Dre’s Beats Unveils A Portable Speaker Shaped Like A Pill. Ammunition Group, the design studio behind the modern, hip hop-infused look that characterises Beats headphones, was founded by Robert Brunner in 2007. Dr. Dre was interested in starting a sneaker company, and Jimmy Iovine was interested in making speakers. Developed in collaboration between legendary music producer and artist Dr. Dre, engineers from Monster Cable, and renowned industrial designer Robert Brunner, the Beats by Dr. Dre headphones bring a professional producer's experience to music fans everywhere. The companies have been in an incestuous relationship since before Beats was born. Robert Brunner, founder of Ammunition Group, discusses his approach to design with Bloomberg's Cory Johnson on "Bloomberg West." Hey! “I think this is a golden age for design,” says Robert, “I always say that technology enables but design establishes. And behind those cool headphones lies a person, specifically Robert Brunner, founder and head of Ammunition design and branding company in San Francisco, and chief designer for Beats by Dr. Dre since Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre founded the company back in 2006. And that’s just the beginning of the relationship between the two ostensibly divergent brands. Read in TIME. As a technology expert, the innovation speaker frequently features at industry events internationally, where he shares his creative process and design strategies with audiences. But those rosey comments from Brunner don’t just stem from his magnanimous nature. In addition to being great design partners, they have been incredible mentors to me over that last eight years, and they have helped me to grow as a designer and as a leader. Made in L.A. 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