Steve Jobs marked, with his passion for technology, a good part of the world in which we live. The legacy of the founder of Manzana it increases with the passage of time, after his death in 2011 victim of cancer.
Today we’ll take a look at one of his most curious secrets: how writing by hand helped him become a genius. And when we talk about curiosity, it is because today’s world is practically limited to the keys of the telephone or computer.
Less and less, especially after leaving initial education, we dedicate ourselves to writing by hand. The penmanship ends up becoming not only a mess, but also an awkward situation for someone who has spent so much time typing.
But for Steve Jobs, (who was left-handed) writing by hand was a blessing. And even though he didn’t have the best penmanship in the world, he showed a lot about his character.
The importance of a calligraphy course for Steve Jobs
Douglas Crowe of Entrepreneur recalled in an article how Jobs took a calligraphy class at Reed College in 1972.
Jobs said that he had learned “about serif and san serif typefaces, about how to vary the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes a great typeface great.”
“It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can’t capture. I found it fascinating.”
Jobs believed that writing by hand stimulated creativity, as well as giving him a different perspective on any problem he faced.
He considered it part of the diverse experiences necessary for the development of any job.
“Many people in our industry have not had very diverse experiences,” said the father of Apple in his book I, Steve: Steve Jobs in His Own Words. “Therefore, they don’t have enough dots to connect and end up with very linear solutions without a broad perspective of the problem.”
“The broader the understanding of the human experience, the better design we will have.”
Your signature studio
During Jobs’ lifetime, many studies were carried out on his signature. One of them, shared by the portal WriteChoice, He pointed out that his personality was consolidated in its hard edges, as well as in simplified writing, without ornaments or unnecessary lines.
It also showed that he was caustic and forceful with words, very energetic, with a strong and clear vision.
To many, he was simply a man who truly loved his job, who found his passion and followed his heart. Hence, the success he obtained and that continues today, despite his death.