Apple is Expanding Its In-House Design Team

Apple is looking to nearly double the size of its in-house design team, according to a report from AdAge.

Longtime observers say after years of capping the size and type of internal creative talent, the tech giant is significantly expanding its in-house design group. One executive familiar with the company said the group could grow to 500 or 600 staffers from about 300.

According to an unnamed executive, it was Steve Jobs who "was fairly strict about the headcount in that group. The group didn't grow proportionally to the company as it went through astronomical growth, and that was partly because Steve wanted Apple to be seen as a products company, not a marketing company."


Apple has recently been approaching senior creatives known for producing innovative work. However, it may have some difficulty obtaining top talent as many creatives prefer to work for more than one client. Also, at Apple there may not be much room for innovating outside of product roles.

Some of the work that might be shifted in-house includes site design, tutorial videos, and commercial production. According to the report Apple is not particularly looking for more efficiency but rather to keep intellectual property within its walls and retain more ownership over its creative work.

Read More