Robert Brunner – Wild Business Growth Podcast #255: Beats by Dre Designer, Founder of Ammunition

How did Beats by Dre and Apple become the design behemoths they are today? That’s the story of this week’s Wild Business Growth Podcast guest, Robert Brunner. Robert is the Chief Designer of Beats by Dre and Founder of Ammunition. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and your other favorite podcast platforms.

• Episode Summary & Player
• Full Transcript
• Show Notes
• Wild Business Growth Podcast Summary

Episode 255: Robert Brunner – Beats by Dre Designer, Founder of Ammunition

Robert Brunner, the Chief Designer of Beats by Dre and Founder of Ammunition, joins the show to share his journey from falling in love with industrial design to shaping design for Apple, Pentagram, Beats by Dre, and beyond. Hear his design principles, how Apple became what it is today, behind-the-scenes stories from Beats by Dre, his most memorable design projects, and what Dr. Dre goes by in the office. This episode covers everything from Jimmy Iovine to the Apple Lisa. Here’s a small sample of what you will hear in this episode:

• Did Robert always know he wanted to design for massive brands
• What was the scene in his house like growing up
• How did he start working for Apple
• Could he tell Apple would become what it is today
• How did he start working on Beats by Dre
• Why did he go back to entrepreneurship with Ammunition
• Does Beats by Dre really test new headphones with “In Da Club” by 50 Cent
• Pharrell

Connect with Robert at AmmunitionGroup.com, on Instagram @RobertDBrunner and @AmmunitionGroup, and on LinkedIn.

Enjoy the shoooooow! Check out the show notes below for much more detail. You can also find the full transcript here.

Show Notes

• Intro & Industrial Design
  • [0:27] Email me at to save time with your high-quality podcast and use it as a business-building tool
  • [0:36] Connect with Robert at AmmunitionGroup.com, on Instagram @RobertDBrunner and @AmmunitionGroup, and on LinkedIn
  • [1:39] Oh boy
  • [2:08] Did Robert always know he wanted to design for massive brands
  • [2:43] IBM (International Business Machines)
  • [3:33] What was the scene in Robert’s house like growing up
  • [3:48] 14″ Winchester Disk Drives
  • [4:59] What lessons did Robert’s parents teach him
  • [5:27] Engineering
  • [5:50] San José State University (SJSU)
  • [5:54] Civil Engineering, Alaska Pipeline, Electrical Engineering
  • [6:27] Graphic Design

• Industrial Design at Apple
  • [7:55] What is industrial design
  • [9:13] What are Robert’s design principles
  • [9:40] Physics, Calculus
  • [11:08] Modernism, Postmodernism
  • [11:16] Star Wars, Atari
  • [11:57] Expressionism
  • [12:05] Mario Bellini
  • [12:12] Olivetti
  • [13:51] How did Robert start working for Apple
  • [14:04] Gerard Furbershaw, Jeff Smith, LUNAR
  • [14:37] Steve Jobs, Hartmut Esslinger, frog
  • [15:11] Bill Dresselhaus, Lisa, Mac, Skunkworks
  • [18:24] The Man Who Rejected Apple* by Robert Brunner
  • [18:54] What’s Robert’s favorite memory from working at Apple
  • [19:28] Herman Miller Action Office
  • [19:57] PowerBook, MacBook
  • [22:40] Do You Matter? How Great Design Will Make People Love Your Company by Robert Brunner and Stewart Emery with Russ Hall
  • [22:52] Technology (Tech)
  • [23:00] Could Robert tell Apple would become what it is today
  • [23:24] Bazinga!
  • [24:42] Windows-Intel
  • [25:34] Hewlett-Packard (HP), Sun Microsystems
  • [25:53] Jony Ive
  • [26:10] Such an honor speaking at Podcast Movement ’23 in Denver! Sign up to grab the slides from my session at MaxPodcasting.com/PM23
  • [26:12] Sign up for the Podcasting to the Max newsletter at MaxPodcasting.com/Newsletter and receive How to Edit Your Podcast in Audacity
• Industrial Design at Pentagram & Beats by Dre
  • [27:08] Paula Scher – Wild Business Growth Podcast #110: Legendary Graphic Designer, Principal at Pentagram
  • [27:29] What brought Robert to Pentagram
  • [28:26] San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), Kit Hinrichs
  • [29:08] Kenneth Grange
  • [29:28] Colin Forbes
  • [30:53] Any day!
  • [31:28] How did Robert start working on Beats by Dre
  • [32:02] Jimmy Iovine, Dr. Dre
  • [33:37] Bose
  • [35:22] Beats by Dre Studio
  • [35:38] Silicon Valley
  • [36:01] Lady Gaga
  • [38:07] Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant
  • [38:29] Jimmy Iovine Interviews
  • [38:55] Bruce Springsteen, John Lennon

• The Ammunition Story
  • [39:48] AmmunitionGroup.com
  • [39:54] Why did Robert go back to entrepreneurship with Ammunition
  • [40:24] Daniel Weil
  • [42:52] Fuego
  • [44:59] What other projects are memorable at Ammunition
  • [45:14] Square, Jack Dorsey
  • [45:31] VISA
  • [46:01] Square Stand
  • [46:07] Retail, Small Business
• Rapid-Fire Q&A: Music Edition
  • [46:44] “I Don’t Have a Square to Spare!“
  • [46:51] What does Dr. Dre go by in the office
  • [47:42] Does Beats by Dre really test new headphones with “In Da Club” by 50 Cent
  • [48:15] Curtis Jackson
  • [48:18] Shoutout, Alex!
  • [48:31] Universal Music Group (UMG)
  • [49:02] Pharrell Williams, will.i.am, Oliver Stone
  • [49:55] Bono, U2
  • [51:02] Connect with Robert at AmmunitionGroup.com, on Instagram @RobertDBrunner and @AmmunitionGroup, and on LinkedIn
  • [51:51] What are Robert’s Final Thoughts
  • [52:27] Follow the Wild Business Growth Podcast and tell a friend about the podcast. And show love (or roast me) by leaving 5 stars on Apple Podcasts and/or Spotify
  • [52:42] Check out the Wild Business Growth Podcast on Goodpods, where you can see what your favorite people are listening to
  • [52:44] Connect with me on Instagram, Twitter (aka X), and LinkedIn @MaxBranstetter
  • [52:47] Save time with your high-quality podcast. Email me at to bring your podcast to life and use it as a business-building tool
  • [52:52] Sign up for the Podcasting to the Max newsletter at MaxPodcasting.com/Newsletter and receive How to Edit Your Podcast in Audacity
  • Theme music: Freestyle Percussion Magik – “Jungle Tribe” – provided by Jamendo

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Thanks for listening to Robert Brunner on the Wild Business Growth Podcast. To hear more Wild stories like this one every Wednesday morning, follow the Wild Business Growth Podcast and tell a friend about it. And sketch all sorts of stuff with them while listening to “In Da Club.” Until next time, Let your business Run Wild…and Bring on the Bongos!!