Our generation is the iGeneration … thanks to one genius

Our generation is unlike any previous. We have grown up in a time of relative world stability in a country that is alone in the world as power. We have grown up in a region of the world that relies dominantly on white collar jobs. We are the first to grow up in a world with computers and more importantly, the first to grow up with a device that puts the entire world at our fingertips.

As a comparatively proactive and docile generation, we have been described as one of the first generations since the Baby Boomers to be brand-loyal and responsive to the behavior of companies.

We put our collective faith in those who lead our favorite marque, and by extension, we put our collective wants, superficial though they may be, in our brands as well. It is this point that I wish to expand upon.

As a brand-loyal generation, we are disposed to having our sources of inspiration spring from the companies and products with which we chose to surround ourselves. We chose to elevate the humble computer from its dull grey box origins to the piece of modern art (specifically high tech functionalism). And the man who chose to head this design revolution? Steve Jobs.

Look at the modern conveniences that surround us. Bets are that at least some of them were influenced directly by the design guru of Cupertino. (If not, they are probably dull, bulky, and completely unintuitive.)

See, the one thing Steve Jobs was good at was putting the human element back into technology. No longer was technology relegated to closets and the space under desks. These machines were things to be proud of, to show off, and to admire. And with this new found design philosophy, our generation found a fountain of inspiration that could rival Old Faithful.

We decided that no longer should the majority of products be monochrome. Nay, they should be sleek and congenital. Steve Jobs dared to propose the idea that companies should not only be responsible for their products, but they should be responsible for how their consumers use them.

Apple spent years figuring out how an object the size of an iPod sits in someones hand, and then changed its basic design to make it comfortable to hold for hours on end, regardless of what one is doing.

Jobs influenced the way our generation viewed the world around it. Because of him, we believe that everything can be pleasing to the eye, that the average company is responsible for its products behave in the hands of the average consumer.

In the midst of one of the worst political, economical, and quite possibly fundamental crises that this country has ever experienced, we found inspiration in our daily objects, those little metallic boxes that accompany us everywhere. The backbone of our generation was derived from the far-reaching vision one man—Steve Jobs.