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Steve Jobs as an Inspiration to Architects and Design

Steve Jobs, you'll be missed. You've inspired not only legions of software and hardware engineers, but architects around the world with your clear and focused passion for design. Here are some reasons why architecture and architects are better off for what he has done for the world.

Jeff Pelletier is the Managing Principal and Founder of Board & Vellum, an architecture, interior design, and landscape architecture firm in Seattle, Washington.
Jeff Pelletier
October 6, 2011

Steve Jobs, as most of you know, died yesterday at the young age of 56. His legacy is enormous and truly has changed the way we use technology. Part of the reason that I've always been enamored with the man is the way he truly prioritized design in an industry that always seemed to reluctantly move in that direction. As an architect, he's been an inspiration to stay focused on clear and beautiful design. Here are a few of the reasons why I think he's impacted me in the architectural sense:

  1. The Apple Store. I love working on retail projects. They're almost like temporary installations where you get to throw a lot of money at impressing the clients and customers and go for broke on achieving high design (OK, most clients have actual budgets). The apple store RE-DEFINED what retail could be. It became a destination. Did you know that the Apple Store in NYC is THE most photographed site in the City? The fact that Apple made great architecture as important as the product said so much about the value of architecture on a company's profits. Retail design has never been the same.

  2. The iPad. Somehow, I've become what seems like a collector of computer hardware these days. While I use a PC and a Windows laptop for my Board and Vellum work (mainly because of AutoCAD and not wanting to run Windows on a Mac for silly reasons), I also have an iMac for my personal use and have an iPhone. My partner Chris uses a MacBook Air and also has an iPhone. But on top of all of that, my favorite piece of technology is an iPad. I love this thing. It allows me to easily carry a piece of useful technology wherever I go. Want to whip out my portfolio to show clients? iPad. Need to quickly take some notes without any paper? iPad. Want to show a client something online without having a big laptop present? iPad. Want to watch Netflix, listen to great music, sort and edit my photos, play a great game...You get the point. The iPad was an invention that everyone thought was superfluous. What they didn't realize was that the DESIGN of the thing changed the way we could work. Brilliant.

  3. The iPhone. This one is THE game changer for me. Suddenly, the future was here. My friend Daniel refers to the iPhone as the "magical phone of the future" and it is. I can now enter my timesheets on the go, pull up maps to find directions, send emails, take quick photos for the blog, and do a myriad of other things. This damn phone changed the game and proved that if you made the phone cool to look at AND so incredibly easy to use that people would buy the thing like hot cakes. The user experience has never been the same and, as a designer, I'm so grateful.

Steve Jobs, you'll be missed. You've inspired not only legions of software and hardware engineers, but architects around the world with your clear and focused passion for design. The world is a more beautiful place because of what you have done.

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