Apple hires renowned designer Marc Newson to work with Jony Ive

By David Nield September 6, 2014

apple hires renowned designer marc newson work jonny ive

If you’ve had your fill of Apple rumors this week and want a piece of news that’s actually been confirmed by the Cupertino company then try this: Renowned industrial designer Marc Newson — who has worked on products as varied as furniture and watches in the past — is now an official Apple employee, working directly under design maestro Jony Ive.

Newson has worked with Apple in the past — he helped Ive design the limited edition (RED) Mac Pro, for example — and the pair have been good friends for years. “Marc is without question one of the most influential designers of this generation,” Ive told Vanity Fair. “He is extraordinarily talented. We are particularly excited to formalize our collaboration as we enjoy working together so much and have found our partnership so effective.”

Related: Jony Ive thinks the iWatch is so super cool it could disrupt the Swiss watch industry

Newson himself was equally enthusiastic: “I’m full of admiration and respect for the extraordinary design work that has been produced by Jony and the team at Apple,” he said. “My close friendship with Jony has not only given me a unique insight into that process, but the opportunity to work together with him and the people that have been responsible. I am enormously proud to join them.”

Rumors abound that Newson has already been involved in the design of the upcoming iWatch; check out some of his timepiece creations to see if you can spot anything Apple might like. Newson’s previous clients include Ford, Nike and Quantas Airways, and his work has been archived by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He currently lives in London but will be making frequent trips to California as part of his new role.

For Apple, it’s another sign that the company is thinking as much about fashion and style as technology these days. The firm hired Burberry boss Angela Ahrendts to oversee its iconic stores in October last year and of course there’s the acquisition of Beats, Dr Dre and all, that was wrapped up at the start of August. Whether Marc Newson will take to the stage next Tuesday to announce the iWatch, we’ll have to wait and see.

[Header image: Financial Times/Flickr]

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Dave is a freelance journalist from Manchester in the north-west of England. He's been writing about technology since the…

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Mac Pro goes for $977,000 at Jony Ive and Marc Newson’s (RED) charity auction

mac pro goes for 977k at jony ive and marc newsons charity auction red

One-off product designs created by Jony Ive and Marc Newson sold at a special (RED) charity auction at Sotheby’s in New York City over the weekend, with the pair’s four designs smashing all bidding estimates.
The Mac Pro, for example, was expected to fetch between $40,000 and $60,000 but ended up going under the hammer for almost a million – $977,000, to be precise. The auctioned model of Apple’s high-end powerhouse PC looks identical to the recently revamped model except for one difference – the color. The regular model, which goes on sale in December with a starting price of $3,000, has a black exterior, whereas the auctioned model is red. Let’s hope Apple popped in a bit of extra memory for the buyer’s additional $974,000.
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Even the pair’s one-off aluminum desk fetched way more than expected, with the highest bidder paying $1.68 million for a table top (with legs) that had been expected to go for between $300,000 and $500,000.
In an interview with Vanity Fair earlier this month, Ive and Aussie industrial designer Newson discussed their work, with Apple’s design guru quick to underline the importance of focusing on every single aspect of a design.
“We are both fanatical in terms of care and attention to things people don’t see immediately,” Ive said. “It’s like finishing the back of a drawer. Nobody’s going to see it, but you do it anyway. Products are a form of communication – they demonstrate your value system, what you care about.”
Newson added, “You discover that very few people have the level of perfection we do. It is actually very sick. It is neurotic.”
The charity auction, called Jony and Marc’s (RED) Auction, included a bunch of other one-of-a-kind items – 44 in all – with the special event raising nearly $13 million for The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Apple has for some time been involved with the (PRODUCT) RED campaign, set up seven years ago by U2 frontman Bono and Bobby Shriver to work with brands to raise money for a variety of causes, including AIDS programs in Africa.
The tech giant has several special edition (RED) products – an iPod Touch and Nano among them – available to consumers at prices slightly more wallet-friendly than those seen at the Sotheby’s auction, with a portion of the profits going to The Global Fund, which helps distribute funds raised by (RED).

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