Legendary Apple design chief Jony Ive, responsible for the look and feel of iconic products like iPhone, grabbed headlines Wednesday for a new creation — a big, red paper nose. That may sound odd, but it’s for a good cause.
Ive and his team came up with the nose to go along with Red Nose Day, March 17. That’s charity Comic Relief’s day of giving in the U.K. and around the world to help end poverty, particularly among children.
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Sniffing out new sideline, Jony Ive designs big paper schnoz for Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day
Comic Relief began using the big red nose — long associated with clowns — as a symbol back in the late 1980s. Back then probably no one expected the nose itself would come from the designer most closely associated with iconic Apple products — iPhone, iMac, Apple Watch and more.
“It’s being dubbed the most dramatic makeover since the red nose made its debut in 1988,” wrote BBC Newsround.
Plenty of celebs and other are showing enthusiasm for the nose, too.
“When I saw the new Red Nose for this year, I was very impressed,” said actress, comic and writer Sindhu Vee, who is supporting this year’s event. “It’s very delicate and very beautifully made — and I mean, who doesn’t like a Red Nose?!”
Comedian Diane Morgan described the honeycombed paper ball as “the most perfect nose in history,” Engadget reported.
The nose folds flat and comes in its own case.
Ive’s 30-year history with Apple
Photo: Comic Relief
Sir Jony Ive — that’s right, he’s a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) — left Apple in 2019 to form his own design firm, LoveFrom. Evans Hankey, the first woman to hold the job, succeeded him. Ive’s young company consulted with Apple for a time, then the contract ended in 2022.
As a colleague quipped when he saw news of the nose, “Who says Jony Ive doesn’t have what it takes anymore?”
If you’d like to sport a big red clown nose and support a good cause for just a few bucks, click on the link below or go to Amazon U.K. (though the nose looks to be sold out there at the moment).
Price: About $3
Where to donate: Comic Relief
