The Zen of Steve Jobs

A tribute in memory of Apple cofounder Steve Jobs (1955-2011), this graphic narrative is a thoroughly researched interpretation of a well documented period in his life that revolutionized technology and design.

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Steve Jobs impacted so many lives. What few understand is that much of his success was due to collaboration with designers, engineers and the world’s premier thinkers.

In the mid 1980s, Jobs was forced to leave Apple. He then founded NeXT, a computer company in Redwood City, California. Cynical journalists began to question if he had been a one-hit-wonder and NeXT’s computers, though beautiful, experienced disappointing sales. During this difficult time in his life, Jobs discovered his spiritual side through a unique friendship with Kobun Chino Otogawa, a Japanese Soto Zen Buddhist priest. This spiritual relationship ultimately created the foundation behind Jobs’ continued innovative success.

The Zen of Steve Jobs is a reimagining of the friendship between Jobs and Kobun. Kobun emigrated to the U.S. from Japan in the early 1970s. He was an innovator, lacked appreciation for rules and was passionate about art and design. Kobun was to Buddhism as Jobs was to technology: a renegade and maverick.

The story moves back and forward in time, from the 1970s to 2011, but centers on the period after Jobs' exile from Apple in 1985 when he took up intensive study with Kobun. Their time together was integral to the big leaps that Apple took later on with its product design and business strategy.

The Zen of Steve Jobs connects this period in Jobs’ life with key moments in Apple’s history. A section of the book takes place in 1986 at the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center in California. Kobun teaches Jobs kinhin, a walking meditation, and alludes to Jobs’ quest to understand ma, a Japanese design concept apparent today in the simplicity in all iProducts. Since his triumphant return to Apple in 1996, it was evident that Jobs’ experiences with Buddhism played a significant role in his corporate philosophy.

The Zen of Steve Jobs is not only a visual tribute but a look back at an icon whose life shaped the future. Readers will walk away with a better understanding and appreciation of the legacy Steve Jobs left behind.