Red Nose

Being nosey

We are living through some decidedly grim times right now – politically, economically and emotionally. Lurching from one disaster to the next, with Brexit, toxic Trumpism, COVID and a new cold war, my usual optimism is being severely challenged. Thankfully, we have Eurovision happening in Liverpool soon (a subject covered elsewhere in this blog) and on Friday 17 March we have Comic Relief.

Comic Relief is a major UK charity and event, with a vision of a just world, free from poverty, it aims to drive positive change through the power of entertainment, principally with Red Nose Day, where funds are raised from people wearing a comedy red nose. Each year the design changes and we’ve seen many ingenious and clever interpretations of the iconic item over the last few decades. Sadly, these noses have relevance for just one day and then inevitably go on to finish their lives in landfill. This year is different.

Readers of this blog, and anyone who knows me, knows I am an admirer of Apple design, predominantly the creative works of an English man called Jonathan ‘Jony’ Ive. He, with Apple founder Steve Jobs, rescued Apple from ruin in the late 1990s with beautiful design, introducing an aesthetic that would impact on almost everything. This year, Jony has had a go at redesigning Comic Relief’s red nose and at the same time has addressed the issue of plastic waste by rendering 2023’s nose from something different.

“We’ve grown up with Comic Relief and are proud to support their remarkable work,” said Ive. “This new and seemingly simple Red Nose has been a fabulously complex little object to design and make and has involved our entire team. We hope it brings a little moment of joy to everyone who wears one.”

Ive’s nose is made from 95% plant-based materials and has a folding paper design that starts out as a small, flat crescent that opens up into a honeycomb paper sphere and it even comes with its own carry case. All this for the princely sum of £2.50, available from the Comic Relief website and supporting retail outlets.

It isn’t called the iNose.

    Leave Your Comment Here