Zen Artistry in the Modern World

 

The Apple iPhone

Few companies are so closely identified with the strategy, vision and aesthetic tastes of one person.  Apple is one such company and is a direct reflection of its co-founder Steve Jobs.  Throughout its history, Apple has a long history of approaching product
design by paying close attention to detail.  This is reflected in a striving for perfection in both product design as well as looking at entirely new ways to make products more user friendly and useful.  For Steve Jobs, one way to accomplish this was to have
end-to-end software and hardware control for every product that Apple makes.  Taking an integrated approach was a central tenant to Apple’s basic design philosophy.  
 

   We do these things not because we are control freaks.  We do them because we want
   to make great products, because we care about the user and because we like to take

   responsibility for the entire experience rather than turn out the crap that other people make.  

 

Innovation and the Smartphone Concept
On January 9, 2007, Apple CEO, Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone at the Macworld convention at the Moscone Center
in San Francisco, California.  In his presentation, Jobs described the iPhone as a three-in-one device that included music, phone and a mobile Internet connection.  It is the principle of convergence made practical.  Every once in awhile a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything…  Today we’re introducing three revolutionary products of this class.  The first one is a widescreen iPod with touch controls.  The second is a revolutionary mobile phone.  And the third is a breakthrough Internet communications device.  Are you getting it?  These are not three separate devices, this is one device, and we are calling it iPhone.  
    
The iPhone then and now is designed as a multimedia platform that can support a whole host of applications, including
(but not limited to):
 

•    Voice communication
•    Mobile Internet Access
         •    Specialized apps.

•    Text Messaging and Email
•    News and Information
•    Music playback and storage
•    GPS 
•    Camera and photography
•    Weather

•    Gaming

•    Specialized hearing/pairing enhancements

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Technical Design Features

The iPhone is built around the device's multi-touch screen, including a virtual keyboard and buttons.  It utilizes both Wi-Fi and cellular 4G connectivity.  The iPhone runs on Apple's iOS mobile operating system.  The introduction of the Apple iPhone redefined mobile telephone connectivity.  It decidedly raised user expectations in terms of what a phone could do.  The iPhone (and equivalent smart phones today, have fundamentally changed how people interact with the world.   Apple has created an entire digital media ecosystem.  While the iPhone was once managed and synced by the Apple’ iTunes media store, this platform has been subsequently replaced by dedicated apps such as Apple Music, Apple TV, and Apple Devices for different operating systems. 
This, in turn, enables the iPhone to be highly personalized when it comes to software applications.  
 

The iPhone Design Philosophy  

Zen artistry had a profound influence on Steve Jobs, and this influence directly shaped the design philosophy behind the development of the Apple iPhone.  Aesthetics in design should be as important as the product’s function.  Zen artistry comes into play with its emphasis on simplicity in design, clean lines and an intuitive user interface without clutter.  The early iPhone models featured a single home button.  Steve Jobs often quoted Leonardo da Vinci’s who once said “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication,” a principle very much in line with Zen artistry.  Apple’s abiding philosophy in both the iPhone, iPad and other such devices is that they should be simple to the touch, display clean lines and exercise a less is more quality.
 

A second important design principle is that aesthetics in design should be as important as the product’s function.  
Isaacson (2011) makes the point that at most companies engineering tends to drive design.  The engineers set forth their specifications and the design team comes up with cases and displays that will accommodate them.  At Apple, it’s often just the opposite.  Design drives the engineering.  For chief designer, Joni Ives the most important aspect to the iPhone experience

is the display screen.  The iPhone’s ergonomic design and high-resolution graphics should be simple and attractive.  

All applications should defer to the screen. 

 

The Zen Influence

Zen art uses negative space (Ma 間) to create balance and draw attention to what matters.  Apple’s product design and even marketing reflect this: lots of white space, clean typography, and clear visual hierarchy.  The iPhone display screen mirrored this philosophy — simple icons, ample spacing, and focused layout. The iPhone is, in many ways, an embodiment of the Japanese principle of Shibui (渋い) — simple, subtle and unobtrusively beautiful.  Steve Jobs didn’t just adopt Zen as an artistic practice

— he embedded its principles into Apple’s DNA.  The iPhone is not just a piece of technology; it’s a reflection of a Zen-influenced philosophy that form and function can come together to create something deeply human. Since the introduction of the Apple

iPhone, other companies have introduced alternative versions to the iPhone’s basic design.  As the expression goes, “imitation

is the sincerest form of flattery.”  Smartphone manufacturers like Samsung, Google and Huawei to name only a few, have

introduced their own version of smart phone design.  The iPhone (and smart-phones in general) have become an integral part

of today’s digital lifestyle.​

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