Robert Brunner

There is still a lot of impetus to just “make shit smart,” whether it needs to be or not.

Named one of Fast Company’s “Most Creative People in Business,” Robert Brunner is the designer of such iconic products as the Apple PowerBook and Beats by Dre headphones. Former director of industrial design for Apple, Brunner laid the foundations for moving computers from the utilitarian to the desirable and helped define Apple as the most powerful brand and technology company in the world. In 2007, he founded San Francisco–based design studio Ammunition to communicate ideas through products, brands, and their surrounding experiences.

In this episode, we talk about the meaning that objects can hold, the shift from the world of corporate design to design consulting, and why sometimes a fridge should just be a fridge.

First Things First is produced in partnership with the Association of Registered Graphic Designers. It is hosted by Paddy Harrington and edited by Max Cotter. Frontier’s sponsor music is an edited version of “sketch (rum-portrait)” by Jahzzar from the album Sketches.