Jony Ive, the designer of iconic Apple products such as the iPod music player, the Mac, the Apple Watch, and, of course, the iPhone, has unveiled his latest work: a red nose made of paper.
But this, it has to be said, is no ordinary red nose. This is “the most perfect rose in history,” and is made “to fit neatly on your nose.”
It’s also the most recognizable symbol of the U.K’s Comic Relief charity, the organization behind the massive Red Nose Day fundraising event that takes place every March and has been broadcast by the BBC since 1988. Profits from sales of the nose, along with other donations, go to a range of causes.
Comic Relief’s red nose used to be made of plastic, then in 2020 it produced its first plastic-free red nose. Ive’s nose, so to speak, is made from 95% plant-based materials.
As the video below shows, the newly designed red schnoz starts as a tiny flat crescent and springs into a honeycomb-paper sphere. It also comes with its own, very small, carry case.
“We’ve grown up with Comic Relief and are proud to support their remarkable work,” Jony Ive said on Comic Relief’s website. “This new and seemingly simple red nose has been a fabulously complex little object to design and make and has involved our entire team. We hope it brings a little moment of joy to everyone who wears one.”
Since Red Nose Day’s launch in 35 years ago, Comic Relief has raised more than 1 billion British pounds (about $1.2 billion) for charitable causes, with tens of millions of pounds coming from sales of red noses. Speaking of which, you can get your Jony Ive-designed red nose here.
Ive left Apple after 27 hugely successful years at the company. Soon after his departure, he set up a design firm called LoveFrom with his friend and long-time collaborator Marc Newson. LoveFrom worked with Apple on various projects until July 2022. In recent years, the British designer has worked with Ferrari, Airbnb, and environmental initiative Terra Carta. Ive also served a number of years as chancellor of the Royal College of Art (RCA) in London.
Following his red nose triumph, the ace designer is sure to be sniffing out his next big project.
