Steve Jobs Report

Steve Jobs was an extraordinary man who didn’t reform to society’s definition of educational status. Jobs was a being who transcended what others called the “norm” and proved that with creative thinking, coupled with an indepth life experiences, success is possible. Jobs created technology that stood out in the 20th century and beyond. Steve Jobs proved that you can stand up against the status quo and succeed. He looked beyond the barriers and did not accept defeat. Steve Jobs was an innovative and creative force behind each of his accomplishments and failures. He didn’t let the world define him or his thoughts. Instead, he knew what he truly desired to do and set forth.

Steve Jobs was born on February 24, 1955 in San Francisco, California. Although his parents were well-educated – Mother was a speech therapist and Dad was a political science professor, they felt that they were not prepared, let alone married , to raise a child. It might be noted that soon after birth of Steve, they got married and had another child. They eventually gave their unnamed child up for adoption.
They did one good deed for him. He was already born with smart and creative genes! His adoptive parents, Clare and Paul worked as accountants and in the Coast Guard, respectively. Since his father was a machinist, he and Steve would spend hours together taking apart and reassembling electronic machinery. That is where his love of electronics came from.

As he engulfed himself in formal education, he only met frustration. It was later learned that he was dyslexic – he read/and or wrote certain letters backwards. Although quite innovative and bright ( his teachers wanted to skip him a grade), the schools’ curriculum did not challenge him enough. As

with any child, when they are not challenged, “other things” begin to take shape, like acting out or
becoming the class clown. From elementary through his first year in college, Steve was very ‘artsy’ to say the least and the traditional classes that he was in, didn’t suit him well. Eventually, becoming very dissatisfied, Steve decided to go on his very own personal journey and dropped out of college; only to return to classes that suited what he had planned for later on in life. He sat in unofficially in creative classes like writing that would prove to be helpful later on.

After taking a job as a video game designer with the top gamers during that time, Atari. Jobs began looking for new territory. With a new found friend, Steve Wozniek, Steve started the Apple Computers. It was not so easy at first. Lots of sacrifices had to be made in order to jumpstart it. Steve had to sell his Volkswagen and Wozniek had to also sell his beloved scientific calculator. This all began in Steve’s family garage. He was just twenty-one years old when he gave birth to Apple Computers. Those two started an revolution amongst the still “young” computer industry by the 1980’s. Computers before then were quite large and cumbersome and were not accessible to the everyday consumers.. He and his partner, Wozniek, changed that scenario by democratizing the technology and making the computers smaller, cheaper and intuitive for the ‘Regular Joe’. The first computers yield their Apple Corporation $774, 000 that first year. When the Apple 2 was introduced three years later, the sales increased by 700% to $139 million.

In 1980, the Apple Computer became a publicly trade company with a market value of $1.2 billion on its first day of trade. As with the success of any good business, there are failures. With Apple’s next products, consumers’ confidence began to fade away as Apple was riddled with design flaws and disappointments.

Another accomplishment of Steve’s is his purchase of an animation company from George Lucas of Star Wars fame. This was named Pixar Animation Studio. Steve believed so whole-heartedly in its success that he invested $50 million dollars of his own money. This studio went on to produced animation films, delighting people of all ages and background, like Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and The Incredibles. The studio eventually merged with Walt Disney Studios in 2006.

After 2004, Steve’s Apple introduced the revolutionary products such as the MacBook Air, the iPod, iPhone and iPad. In 2008, the iTunes became the biggest music retailer in America, with Walmart running a close second.

In conclusion, I believe the Mac and iProduct lines relate to Art and Design/Graphic Arts from the way each of their products were advertised. The iPods lines were advertised as colorful, fun, had a likeable design and easy to use. While the Mac computer lines are well known within the art community for handling art related programs like Photoshop, in a way, some could argue better. Steve Paul Jobs was a man set apart from many men. In 2007, Steve was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He was a very private man who didn’t divulge much information about his personal life, other than he was married with three children. He tried numerous homeopathy regimes to combat this disease, yet it overcame him ten years later and he passed away on October 5, 2011.

Resources

• http://adage.com/article/agency-news/book-jobs-a-student-advertising/230612/?utm_source=daily_email&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=adage

• http://www.biography.com/people/steve-jobs-9354805#awesm=~oEGPn4jK0E6SEX

• http://www.maclife.com/article/gallery/14_best_inventions_steve_jobs