Thoughts on what I do
This morning I was on my way to work, sat on the train tapping away at some code when an elderly gentleman sat next to me.
At that moment I was completely immersed in what I was doing, in this case trying to figure out why a .json file wasn’t being parsed correctly.
I was getting a direct train but I occasionally change halfway. Distracted by Vim I made the mistake of forgetting which train I was on and got up to change. I quickly realised my mistake and, feeling like a fool, sat back down next to this gentleman who had now taken my previously held window seat.
When I reopened my laptop, the gentleman (who I’ll call Joe) struck up a conversation. He told me that a few months ago he bought a MacBook after many, many years of using Windows.
I asked him why he decided to switch to a Mac after years of using Windows and he told me that his son and daughter-in-law both use Macs and after having a go found them to be more user friendly. That said, he went on to explain that he was still getting used to the OS X operating system.
What was remarkable about talking to Joe was his appreciation of good user interface. He was genuinely excited by OS X and there were times where he dropped to a guilty whisper as he told me something he found particularly brilliant, as if you shouldn’t feel such delight in a user experience.
My motivation for doing what I do is the opportunity to craft experiences that delight. A delightful user interface should not be an exception but the norm.