CNN posted an excellent profile today on the cultural, artistic and political rise of Lady Gaga.

Contributing to her success is Ammunition founder Robert Brunner who spearheaded the development of her Heartbeats headphones and Polaroid Grey Label line. He says, "Artists like Gaga who have made the cross-over to product development do well because they do believe in the products and are sharp business people. Other celebrities fail when it's a 'name-play' or the products are ill-conceived."

Robert is a becoming somewhat an authority in the realm of working with celebrities, helping design and launch the highly popular Beats by Dr. Dre brand, and collaborating with P. Diddy as well.

Read the full article here.

The collaboration between Lady Gaga and Ammunition reached a new milestone last week with the announcement of the Polaroid Grey Label line at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas. This is the second collaboration between Ammunition and the Grammy Award-winning artist, who previously collaborated to produce “HeartBeats by Lady Gaga” from the Beats by Dr. Dre line of headphones.

Led by Robert Brunner, our team of designers worked closely with Gaga in her role as creative director at Polaroid and her team to help conceive and design the products for the inaugural line. Each product was designed with the idea that creativity and sharing go hand in hand in both the digital and physical world. The goal, which Ammunition helped bring to life, was to encapsulate both the instant experience reminiscent of the classic Polaroid brand and the fashion-forward vision from the musician’s signature style.

Grey Label gives consumers a new and exciting way to embrace self-expression, originality and artistry and communicate it instantly through technology to the world around them. Three products were debuted on the tradeshow floor including the GL20 Camera Glasses, GL30 Instant Digital Camera and GL10 Instant Mobile Printer.

For product descriptions and release dates, read here.

For more on the design, read here.

Ammunition recently teamed with DreamWorks Studios to design a futuristic headset worn by Hugh Jackman in the upcoming sci-fi drama Real Steel. Inspired by the award-winning Beats by Dr. Dre line of headphones, the hypothetical product exists in a near-future world where robots replace humans in the boxing ring.

The design concept featured in the film represents an exciting milestone in the ongoing partnership between Ammunition and acclaimed hip-hop artist Dr. Dre and Interscope Chairman Jimmy Iovine. This special collaboration reflects a progression of the technology that we see today and demonstrates the important role that designers play in the forecasting of technology in entertainment.

For a glimpse of the headset, watch the official movie trailer here.

Billboard Magazine has posted a detailed profile of the Beats By Dre headphone line on their website.

The article by Antony Bruno provides an overview of the project’s history, market position, and key products, while industry observers weigh in with their own opinions: "They've really revitalized the headphone market," Sound & Vision's Brent Butterworth says. "They've created headphones people want to own. Look at the Sennheiser line. Here's a bunch of well-engineered headphones, but there's no lust there. They're just headphones. Beats have great design. They have a cool logo. They're well-made. For someone who wants to look cool, these are a great thing."

Robert Brunner and his team here at Ammunition are responsible for putting form to the vision of music legends Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine in making the Beats line a reality.

Read the full article here.

Ammunition has been profiled by the highly regarded business journal, San Francisco Business Times. Partner and founder Robert Brunner was interviewed by Bridget Riley, who calls Ammunition a “must-hire design firm” while covering the company’s history and notable projects like Lady Gaga’s earbuds for Beats by Dr. Dre and Barnes & Noble’s Nook. The profile comes on the heels of SFBT ranking Ammunition Group at 7th place in the Fast 100, a list of the Bay Area’s fastest growing private companies. Please click the following here to download a PDF of the article.

Last week Barnes & Noble launched the Nook Color, the latest collaboration between Ammunition and the US’s largest brick-and-mortar book retailer. With over two million book titles and the world’s largest magazine publishers providing content, the Android operating system, Wi-Fi, and seamless integration of content sharing and social networking, the Nook Color is poised to redefine the boundaries of e-Readers.

In 2009, Ammunition provided industrial design, packaging, and brand identity for the original Nook. It was named Time Magazine’s #2 Gadget of 2009, went on to sell over a million units, and is on track to crack two million by Christmas this year. When the nation’s largest book retailer wanted to not only bring color to the Nook but to open the device up to Android apps, video, and more, they again turned to Ammunition for product identity and packaging design.

The response at the event in Manhattan was immediately positive, with Gizmodo claiming “it might be the best Android tablet yet.” Featuring beefed-up software to handle tablet-style user interface, Facebook and Twitter integration, and MP4 video playback capability, the Color nook blurs the line between e-Reader and full-function tablet.

The color nook will be available November 19 for $249.00. Barnes & Noble is taking pre-orders now at Barnes & Noble.

To read Engadget’s initial impression, visit Engadget.com