Does Design + Celebrity = Innovation? [infographic]

I’ve watched the “celebrity endorsement” game like most people – vaguely registering LeBron James shilling for Microsoft, or Shakira posing in pink with Lumix Cameras. But what’s piqued my interest lately is a transition: Celebrities are no longer just associating with tech products. They’re helping to design them.

With Dr. Dre serving as Co-Founder of the hugely popular Beats by Dre, and multi-hyphenate Alicia Keys becoming “singer-songwriter-Creative Director at Blackberry Global,” it’s clear that celebrity endorsements are being taken a step past the red carpet and into the design lab.

In time we’ll have an answer to the big question:

Does Design + Celebrity = Innovation?

For now we’ll have to wonder if innovation or marketing is the end-game. Is an A-list “chief innovator” a new way for the marketing department to impress consumers weary of celebrity endorsements that seem bought-and-paid-for?  Or will having a superstar intimately involved in design truly shake up the innovation process?

I’ll be watching to see how this trends plays out. Until then, here’s a look back at the evolution of celebrity influence in the tech world, from endorsement to design.

image credit: geeksugar.com