Hasta La Ideas

In anticipation of Device Design Day 2011, we’ve partnered with Kicker Studio to bring you a series where speakers from this year’s conference reflect on six questions about design and their practice. D3 brings together visual, interaction and industrial designers for a multi-disciplinary conversation about the design of consumer electronics and objects with embedded technology.

As a special thank you to Core77 readers, get 10% off registration for this year’s Device Design Day with the code: FOC77! Register today!!

For the last two months we’ve been bringing you a Friday treat; insight into the speakers from this year’s Device Design Day. Now, with the conference only one week away, we’re drawing the series to a close with industry veteran Robert Brunner of Ammunition. Read on to learn more about the Olivetti Divisumma 18 calculator, the power of empathy and the importance of responsibility in design.

After graduating in industrial design from San Jose State University in 1981, Robert co-founded the design consultancy Lunar. Subsequently, he was hired as Director of Industrial Design for Apple Computer where he served for 7 years. In 1996, he was appointed partner in the international firm Pentagram, helping lead the San Francisco office. In 2006, Brunner launched the start-up Fuego, a new concept in outdoor grilling. In 2007, Robert founded Ammunition, focusing on the overlap between product design, brand and experience. Around the same time, he helped launch the Beats by Dr. Dre brand of headphones with Interscope chairman Jimmy Iovine and hip hop icon Dr. Dre.

Robert has received numerous awards for his work in product design from prestigious organizations such as IDSA, Red Dot, Good Design, and iF. His work is also included in the Museum of Modern Art product collections in New York and San Francisco. In 2008, Robert co-authored the book Do you matter? How great design will make people love your company along with Success Built to Last author Stewart Emery. He has also taught advanced product design at Stanford University.

Read on for more from this year’s Device Design Day speakers:
Six Questions for Liz Bacon, Devise
Six Questions for Charles Goran, T-Mobile
Six Questions for Karen Kaushansky, Jawbone
Six Questions for Mike Kruzeniski, Microsoft
Six Questions for Branko Lukic, NONOBJECT
Six Questions for Cori Schauer, NASA
Six Questions for Leila Takayama, Willow Grange

Kicker Studio: What is the most cherished product in your life? Why?

This is hard to answer. I really don’t have a lot of things that I could describe as cherished. I have lots of things I like, and they tend to move in and out of “cherished” status. My Jasper Morrison “Low Pad” chairs are a long term love. Or my Eames benches that serve as coffee tables in my living room. But I guess my current cherish is my Audi S5. Love the car. Great merging of emotional/functional design, performance and sensitive detail. Above all I love the sound. It makes me feel great every time I drive it.

(more…)