A member of Apple’s elite industrial design team has just joined GoPro

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A longtime member of Apple’s closely-knit 19-person elite industrial design team has joined action camera maker GoPro, according to an exclusive report published Wednesday by the former Wall Street Journal reporter Jessica Lessin’s The Information.

The article, hidden behind a paywall, states that Apple designer Danny Coster is now joining GoPro to head up a new hardware design group there as Vice President of Design.

On a somewhat related note, a murky rumor recently alleged that Apple was interested in acquiring GoPro. In a company-wide email today announcing the hire, GoPro said the executive would begin his role by month’s end. Coster, who worked for Apple since the early 1990s, was apparently curious to explore the new opportunity at GoPro.

The designer helped create the original Bondy Blue iMac, the original iPhone, the iPhone 4, the iPhone 6, the original iPad, the iPad 2, the iPad Pro’s Smart Cover keyboard and also worked on designing software interfaces.

Danny attended Auckland Grammar school and went to Wellington Polytechnic School of Design. After graduating with a degree in industrial design, he ran his own consultancy for a year before spending four additional years working in Australia.

After design consultancy firm saw his portfolio during his 1993 trip to the United States, he quickly wound up joining Apple and now his name is on as many as 500 design patents and a handful of utility patents.

Coster, who is a native of New Zealand’s Wellington, said the following in an interview with the New Zealand publication, called Stuff:

“I want more time with my family and friends. And to explore this new opportunity at Go-Pro.” I wouldn’t exactly call GoPro a career opportunity, but that’s just me.

After joining Apple, Danny found he had to adapt to the required level, which he said was “quite high”, and work at that level. “Sometimes it seems too daunting because the pressure of things can be too large,” Danny said.

If anything, this marks a rare departure of a member of Apple’s industrial design team.

Source: The Information