Hello! My name is Gunnar Kortenbach.
I’m creative, curious and determined to find solutions that use design and technology to tell stories and solve problems. My entire life I’ve been a huge fan of Apple (to put it mildly) in fact reading Steve Jobs’ biography as a child inspired me to become a designer. I thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative environment and am eager to learn and grow as a lucky participant in the Orchard residency program.
I’ve spent my youth navigating our crowded media landscape; taking photos, editing on the timeline, scanning 3D meshes and shifting vectors to create new perceptions through iterative media and image sequences. The edge of the new is always there and I do my best to get as close as I can, making interactive design experiences, performances, VR game concepts, soft sculpture and social media content.
I’m an artist, an influencer, a user experience designer, a freelance photographer, a nightlife model, an art director, a creative, a corporate campaign consultant, a game designer, and of course an Apple Lincoln Rd team member. In today’s creative economy it pays to have diverse specialties, so I also run a small business buying, growing, and selling the rare aroid plants that flourish in my HomeKit-enabled backyard garden.
Since my time studying visual communications at Design and Architecture Senior High, a prestigious art magnet school in Miami, I have craved an environment full of talented peers to collaborate with at the intersection of technology and the humanities. My first internship was running a laser cutter for a local makerspace serving architect clients, in my free time I would laser out my sculpture projects. I carried this passion with me to The Cooper Union in New York, one of the preeminent arts and engineering universities in the country, where I got the insider’s look at motion graphics, brand systems, interactive design and video installation.
In the bustling surroundings of New York’s East Village I discovered myself during long nights in the studio and found my destiny in glowing images. My education has given me an immense library of historical practices, theoretical frameworks and conceptual methodologies, but as of yet I am still seeking the digital frontier. Mr. Jobs believed that computers are like a bicycle for the mind, allowing us to ride ever further into the future with every advancement.
In my experience I’ve never worked for a company with an imaginative and inclusive culture like Apple, a place where I’m never afraid to be myself, where differences are celebrated and where I always feel valued and encouraged. At Apple Lincoln Rd learning and teaching are a daily occurrence, and I don’t have to pass for anything binary to be worthy of respect.
It has been so exciting to work with my team to help customers from all around the world to solve their unique needs, and to speak on technology features in as many as four languages a day! I’ve been connecting devices to global networks, using the APPLE steps of service, troubleshooting technical issues, and looking good doing it too. I believe being a Specialist has been a necessary step to gaining insight and knowledge on the Apple product line, business philosophy, interfacial systems and international customer base.
My dream is to design for the next wave of deepened cybernetic communication and sociality, when reality and interface will overlap and change our lives forever. Zero latency and full immersion. That’s why i became a Specialist, I think it’s so important to understand things from the ground up, whether that is the Apple Ecosystem, the canon of art history, or the postmodern condition.
One thing I love about Apple Lincoln Rd is that it is in a way but a friendly fractal of the brand as a whole, a manifestation of the global Apple vision. It would be an immense honor to participate in the creation of the world-class design I experience everyday with our satisfied customers.
I have had but a taste of what Apple has to offer, and I am so excited to go deeper. Nothing is more powerful than working as a team of creative people from around the world coming together to build relationships and create the future, riding ever faster towards new horizons. I believe I have this enormous creative potential growing within me, ready to be released in the right environment. Will that place be the Orchard? As we always say at the store, ‘let’s learn together!’
Thank you for your consideration, I look forward to this creative and rewarding opportunity to grow with Apple!
- Gunnar Kortenbach
