Some thoughts from Maxwell: There are only a few inspirations that I drew from in founding Apartment Therapy, and one was Steve Jobs work at Apple and Next. Not that I was passionate about computers at the time, but I was deeply inspired by the creative, irreverent, outside of the box spirit that drove the early Apple and which Steve Jobs picked back up when he returned…
I remember being amazed at the whole layout of the first Apple campus, how managers would often hold meetings out of doors and how "management" was an ongoing experiment that sought to mine the best of the laid back California lifestyle and high zen-like standards.
And I remember Ross Perot, deeply impressed by Steve Jobs, saying that Steve would spend as much time worrying about the design of the power cord as he would the design of the computer itself. It was this attention to detail and beauty that separated Apple from the rest of the world.
While I can't hold a candle to that, deep inside the heart of Apartment Therapy his heart is still beating.
From all of us at Apartment Therapy, we send our thanks, gratitude and best wishes to Steve Jobs on his next journey.
Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan
Founder, Apartment Therapy
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Comments (14)
Somehow, he had the quality of the computer nerd next door. It was endearing. And his passion for what he did was like watching a 4 year old discover fireflies. He made it all look like play.
RIP Steve
Very nice Maxwell, thanks!
Awesome!! Well said.
He remains an inspiration.
Even in the realm of interior design, you can't go wrong with principles that Apple as company has propagated through its products, such as
* being fearless in the face of change - sometimes you have to start from scratch and throw away or forget everything you know or have right now.
* acknowledging that form and function and not distinct elements - design is not an afterthought, it is part of the very nature and function of things, be they iPods or dining chairs, wireless base stations or laundry hampers. the most beautiful objects meld design and function until one is simply part of the other.
* that attention to detail matters - the size of a power brick, the exact colour of an accessory, the beautiful smooth simplicity on the bottom of your MacBook or the elegant layout of the internal components of your iPhone - even what you can't see everyday is worth your time if you want to create something to be proud of.
A favourite quote of mine from Jobs is simply: "focus is about saying no." Do what you do do well, don't compromise.
And above all, think differently. :)
I'm just reminded that obsessing over creating something you know is good is never a bad thing, whether it's a sentence, a chair or a person's connection to their environment. It's hard not to be affected by his drive and creative momentum.
We have an all Apple household. The hardware is incredibly well designed, the customer service is great and the user experience is so easy to learn even a 70 year old grandmother can do it (I gave my mom an iPad last year for mother's day. She sleeps with it)
I will miss Steve. But if I were a betting person, I would bet that he left a bunch of things on his todo list that he wanted to get done, complete with instructions that is anal in detail.
I don't know where he is now but you can bet he's got ideas for an upgrade.
Very nice post. Thanks AT.
Beautifully put, analogdialog.
Good post+nice comments.
R.I.P. Steve.
Glad he is no longer suffering. Very rarely is a genius truly appreciated while he is alive, but Steve was loved and respected all over the world for his hard work and innovation. He was truly special and there won't be many more like him in our lifetime.
The most innovative and forward thinker of our generation. I love everything that apple produce, and would miss his keynote speeches they were all gems. And, finally my thoughts and prayers goes to Steve's family who lost a husband and a father.
I don't own any Apple products, but I still admired the hell out of Steve Jobs as a pioneer, designer and engineer.
"but I was deeply inspired by the creative, irreverent, outside of the box spirit that drove the early Apple... "
His qualities are universally admired, which is quite a thing.
It's difficult to capture how much he has changed the way we live through his genius; it is just too huge.
He revolutionized how we think about technology -- Steve Jobs was the guy who came up with the concept of a home computer (his computer in a box with Wozniak), it is as fundamental as that. He democratized technology, and harnessed it to serve the common man.
We've been Mac owners since 1989, and Apple people even before then, and feel gutted at his passing.
Steve Jobs is irreplaceable.
My condolences to his family and friends.
(in case anyone is interested there was a lovely interview on CBC's The Current this morning with a close friend of his:
http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2011/10/06/the-loss-of-steve-jobs/)