Ammunition founder Robert Brunner was in Belfast, Ireland last week to give a talk at Queen's University Belfast. The topic was on how ideas not objects are driving change in the market and defining what a company means to its constituents. While Robert regularly travels abroad to share his insights with the international design community, this was his first address to a UK university.

On the experience Robert says, “The atmosphere in Belfast is fantastic and the design community is strong and growing. It was a great opportunity to speak at Queens University about our work at Ammunition, and building an emotional connection between people and their products.”

Attendees included University staff and students involved in product and graphic design, local business representatives, and those who work in Northern Ireland’s creative industries.

The talk was organized by the Chief Executives’ Club at Queen's University in association with the Northern Ireland Technology Centre.

Third Rail Mobility, a start-up focusing on mobile power accessories, on Wednesday released its debut product: Slim Case for iPhone 4 with Slide-On Smart Battery. Ammunition developed the total design solution for the Third Rail System, creating the overall industrial design and and assisting in the development through to manufacturing.

The Third Rail System is the first protective case for smartphones with an optional, modular slide-on battery. The system, which can be purchased separately or in a bundle, includes a Slim Case to protect your iPhone 4 and a 1250 mAH Smart Battery that you can slide into place whenever you run out of juice. The removable battery can be stacked up to six deep for additional power and can charge other (non-iPhone 4) devices using a micro-USB.

Initial product reviews have been positive with CNET dubbing Third Rail as “one battery to power them all.”

For more information on the product, visit Third Rail Mobility.

Ammunition's work for the launch of the Kohler Numi toilet was released today at an event in New York City.

Created to associate the Kohler leadership position with the concept of gracious technology, Ammunition wrote, designed and produced an integrated launch campaign including video, photography, web, print, packaging and merchandising components.

Engineered by Kohler to deliver many new technology-driven comfort and water-saving features within a forward-looking industrial design, Numi is pretty audacious in the sense that it rewrites the rules of what people might expect from something most of us take for granted. Numi presented us with a unique set of communication and positioning challenges and the goal of the overall campaign was to magnify the sense of aspiration and luxurious technology residing within.

The launch represents the latest installment in a longstanding collaboration between Kohler and the Ammunition team. Prior collaborations include identity and launch campaigns for Kohler’s Karbon faucet line, Formilia modular bath fixture line, Flipside showering product, and Honed White product editions.

To learn more about the product and campaign, explore the Numi microsite designed by Ammunition or click over to the work section of our website.

An exhibition dedicated to the work of Dutch graphic designer Wim Crouwel opened today at the Design Museum in London. Spanning over 60 years of his career, A Graphic Odyssey showcases an extensive body of work encompassing iconic posters, original sketches, catalogues and archive photography by one of the most important and influential graphic designers of the twentieth century.

Crouwel’s work embraced a new modernity, producing typographic designs that captured the essence of the emerging computer and space age of the early 1960s; especially his 1967 New Alphabet font. According to the designer, New Alphabet was “over-the-top and never meant to be really used.” However, as unreadable as it was, the font made a comeback in 1988 when Ammunition partner Brett Wickens and Peter Saville reworked a version of the font on the sleeve of Substance by Joy Division. The font was later digitized and made available for use in 1997 by The Foundry.

For more information about the exhibition, read the Design Museum press release and events page. A Graphic Odyssey will run March 30 until July 3, 2011.

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.

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.