Robert Brunner

Robert Brunner is an industrial designer whose work has shaped the landscape of consumer electronics and product design. After working as a designer and project manager at several high technology companies, Brunner co-founded Lunar Design. He later accepted the position of director of industrial design at Apple Computer, where he provided design and direction for all Apple product lines, including the PowerBook. At Apple, Brunner established its internal corporate design organization, Apple IDg, and developed products such as the original Macintosh PowerBook, Newton, and 20th Anniversary Mac, which served as a prelude to the iMac. During his tenure, he recruited Jony Ive.

After leaving Apple, Brunner became a partner in the San Francisco office of Pentagram, where he led strategic brand consulting and industrial design programs for Fortune 500 companies. He then founded Ammunition to communicate ideas through products, brands, and their surrounding experiences, with a goal of sharing in the success of his clients by investing in the companies the studio works with. Ammunition's work spans headphones and speakers for Beats by Dre, the Square Stand, in-car icons for Lyft, instant cameras for Polaroid, and a self-heating mug for Ember. Brunner collaborated with Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre to launch Beats by Dre and is responsible for the design of the company's lines of headphones and speakers, including Beats Studio, Powerbeats, Mixr, Solo, Solo Pro, and the Pill wireless speaker. As chief designer for Beats by Dr. Dre, he contributed to the company's emergence as a leading consumer audio brand.

Brunner's product designs have won 23 IDSA Awards from the Industrial Designers Society of America and Business Week, including six best of category awards. His work has been published internationally, and his designs are included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. He also teaches advanced product design at Stanford University.

Brunner is the co-author of the book "Do You Matter? How Great Design Will Make People Love Your Company," which explores the impact of design on emotional connections, relationships, and brand strength. His design philosophy emphasizes the humanistic aspects of design and demonstrates how thoughtful integration across all stages of product development can create functional and emotionally resonant products that drive commercial success. Brunner's career spans the founding of Apple's internal design organization to shaping consumer audio through Beats, establishing him as a significant figure in industrial design, product innovation, and brand strategy.