Apple has hired a well-known industrial designer to work on new products. Marc Newson, whose work has been shown at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, has worked on projects for Ford Motor Co. and Qantas Airlines Ltd., and has designed several furniture pieces and watches. He joins the super small and super secretive group of only 20 people who work on designs that provide Apple’s look and feel. He will be based out of the UK where he now lives.
Newson, an Australian, has been good friends with Jony Ive for years and they recently worked together on an auction organized by Bono; the auction raised over $26 million for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS in Africa. They’ve also worked together in the past on Apple designs such as a special red version of the Mac Pro, which was auctioned off to raise money for the charity.
Marc Newson is just the last in a series of new high-profile hires of people from outside the tech industry. Former Burberry Group Plc CEO Angela Ahrendts is running the Apple Stores, Jimmy Iovine, a longtime music industry exec, recently joined, and former Yves St Laurent SA CEO Paul Deneve now works on “special projects.” Many believe Newson has already worked on the iWatch.
