Dive Brief:

• Celebrated industrial designer Marc Newson, who is known for his funky and curvy chairs and has worked on a wide range of products for several companies, will be joining sometime collaborator Jony Ive at Apple.
• Newson, who runs his own design business, will remain based in the U.K. but will be traveling to Cupertino, CA, regularly for his work at Apple.
• ​Ive and Newson reportedly collaborated on the design of the company’s highly anticipated iWatch, though Apple declined to confirm that.

Dive Insight:

The appointment of super-designer Marc Newson is yet another indication that Apple is committed to wow with its designs, especially with fellow superstar Ive moving to work on software as well as hardware. This move, along with Apple’s recent acquisition of Beats by Dre and its hiring of people like Angela Ahrendts, a former Burberry C.E.O., former Yves Saint Laurent CEO Paul Deneve, and former Nike designer Ben Shaffer, are all signs that design and fashion are increasingly important to its approach.