’How the hell does this thing work? It’s only got one button!‘

As an Apple aficionado myself, it’s always a source of fascination to learn the reasons behind other fans’ love for the brand.  Some are drawn in by the branding, all sleek and minimalist; others admire the build quality.  For Tom, a graphic designer from England, it’s all about the design.

“As a graphic designer, Apple has had a huge influence on my life,” says Tom.  That’s big praise and it got me thinking.  If I consider all the times I take my iPhone from my pocket each day, to check the weather for the weekend, to make sure my boss has paid me, or to book a train ticket to visit my friends, it really adds up.  Maybe Apple has a huge influence on my life too?

Back in the early days, Apple products perhaps didn’t have the variety of applications and use they do today, but they were still hugely ground-breaking.  Take Tom’s first Apple purchase, a 3^rd generation iPod Touch.  “How the hell does this thing work?  It’s only got one button!” was his first impression.  The idea that this small gadget could store all that music and operate with just one button and a touch screen really was news.

Each new release has seen technology pushed further; concepts that would have seemed fanciful a decade earlier are now in the palm of everyone’s hand.

Tom has been an Apple loyalist since the day he opened his iPod Touch 3.  “Since then, I have had an iPhone 3GS, iPhone 6S Plus, iPhone XS Max, iPhone 13 Pro Max, iPad Pro 12.9in 2017, MacBook 12in 2017 and finally the iMac 24in 2021,” he recalls with a smile.  

It was school where Tom first took note of what Apple was producing.  His eye for design admired the perfect packaging of their products; the way they sat perfectly in the moulded plastic tray, the smooth feeling of the box sliding out of the outer sleeve.  “Everything about Apple products works seamlessly.  That has had a massive impact upon my designs,” Tom muses.

“I’d love to be able to thank Steve Jobs for every crazy idea he made work and become a huge part of our lives.”  I think many of us would, Tom.  Let’s face it, if it were not for Steve Jobs and Jony Ive, our work at Grid Studio would never have been possible.

We’re like Tom in many ways.  We love aesthetics and clean designs.  We love to find the art in functional products.  Because what Apple creates is never just functional.  It’s always an incredible blend of function and design; the way a petrol head lusts after a Ferrari is pretty similar to how we feel about Apple.  That may seem crazy to some, but to us, it makes perfect sense!  And if you’ve read this far, I’m guessing perhaps you feel the same too.

And Tom’s first buy from Grid Studio?  “I’ve purchased my very first iPhone, the 3GS and I cannot wait to hang it on my wall!”