Design Better
The Design Better Podcast
Robert Brunner: Where art and commerce meet
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Robert Brunner: Where art and commerce meet

Episode 76 of the Design Better Podcast

Our guest today, Robert Brunner, once joked that his tombstone will say: “Here lies the guy who hired Jonathan Ive.” But there’s much more to Robert than that. He did indeed build out the industrial design team at Apple in the 90’s, but he’s also been a partner at Pentagram Design, and was the chief designer of Beats by Dr. Dre, a brand that sold to Apple for $3 billion dollars.

We talk with Robert about the arc of his career, what it takes to run a successful design consulting business, and why great products are more about ideas than objects.

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Bio

Robert Brunner is an industrial design leader with broad experience in consumer electronics, personal computers, communications, and appliance industries. He was the co-founder of Lunar Design and former Director of Industrial Design at Apple Computer. Robert was also a Partner at Pentagram Design in San Francisco, after which he formed Ammunition LLC, a product design and brand development group in San Francisco, CA. He co-authored the book Do you matter? How great design will make people love your company, published by Financial Times Press.


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Links

Rethinking Everyday Things - Robert Brunner keynote

How Design Drives The World's Best Companies w/ Robert Brunner | Chase Jarvis LIVE

Do You Matter? Robert Brunner, Stewart Emery, Russ Hall

Design Better
The Design Better Podcast
Design Better co-hosts Eli Woolery and Aarron Walter explore the intersection of design, technology, and the creative process through conversations with inspiring guests across many creative fields. Whether you’re design curious or a design pro, Design Better is guaranteed to inspire and inform. Episodes are released semi-weekly. Vanity Fair calls Design Better, “sharp, to the point, and full of incredibly valuable information for anyone looking to better understand how to build a more innovative world.”