I left studio on Friday leaving the students with a few websites to check out over the weekend that I find inspiration from. My intention for this post was to elaborate on that idea, but I’ve found this to be too broad a topic to cram into one post, so I will try to elaborate on this idea over the next few weeks.
When starting to think about inspirational people in design, it was hard to ignore the passing of Steve Jobs last week and recall his influence over the past thirty years. While some criticize him for putting form over function, Jobs came closer than any other entrepreneur in modern history in understanding the power of aesthetics. While it was an uninspiring beige box, his first Apple Macintosh had proportionally spaced fonts. It’s funny to look back at that now and try to remember how different that really was from every other computer at that time. Much has changed since those computers of the 80’s, but apple being the leader in rethinking and refining their products has not. The latest MacBook deploys a sleep indicator that is only visible when the laptop is closed and that is timed to the human breathing rhythm. Pretty amazing.
I stumbled upon this video of Steve Jobs giving the Stanford commencement address back in 2005. I’ll close with that video and a quote from it:
Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
—Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs’ wonderful 2005 Stanford Commencement Speech ends with a quote from the Whole Earth Catalog “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” — and I intend to live my life that way.
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