Apple Park is decorated with the colors of Apple’s classic rainbow logo today in celebration of the formal opening of Apple’s new headquarters, and as a tribute to its late co-founder Steve Jobs, who helped conceptualize the spaceship-like design of the main building on the campus prior to his death.
First and foremost, Apple has set up a stage with a rainbow arch within the inner circle of the main building, as we shared last week.
The rainbow colors can further be seen on some stairs and walkways at Apple Park, on coffee cups at the Caffè Macs employee cafeteria, and on some of Apple’s shuttle buses. Apple employees have also received classic Apple rainbow logo pins with the message “thank you for being part of what makes Apple, Apple.”
Apple’s design chief Jony Ive reflected on the rainbow’s significance in a recent interview:
There is the resonance with the rainbow logo that’s been part of our identity for many years. The rainbow is also a positive and joyful expression of some of our inclusion values and I think that one of the primary reasons the idea resonated so immediately and so profoundly with us was the form — the connection from an aesthetic design point of view. A semi-circle relates so beautifully and naturally to the form of the ring.
Rumors suggest that Lady Gaga will be making a special performance at Apple Park later today. The pop star has visited Apple before, having previously dropped by its Infinite Loop campus to visit Steve Jobs. Apple executive Eddy Cue recounted that experience in an interview with Steven Levy last year:
Lady Gaga once came in to visit Steve. I don’t know exactly what she was wearing, but it looked like it was made out of, like, a Glad trash bag, and she had these huge heels and these gigantic glasses. I’m thinking, “This is going to be a disaster.” But she sat down and started talking with Steve and she had all these great ideas.
Lady Gaga also performed at the iTunes Festival at the Roundhouse in London in 2013.
Apple employees began moving into Apple Park as early as the spring of 2017, but the process took many months, and some construction and landscaping also continued for quite some time. A recent drone video showed that the campus now looks lush and green, with hundreds of trees and a large central pond.
Lady Gaga’s performance would in all likelihood be a private event for Apple employees.
