I recall stopping by the local computer store in the spring of 1984 to view this new thing from Apple called the Macintosh. Having been in the publishing business for nearly a decade, I stared in wonder as my colleague moved the mouse, clicked on graphics you immediately recognized, and seemingly—like magic—a mind-blowing, elegantly designed page appeared on the screen. My immediate thought: Publishing is forever changed!

Eight years and many Macs later, Journey was born, and my life’s work will be forever influenced by the innovations of Mr. Jobs. Innovations that encouraged us to follow our dreams and never say never.

Thanks, Steve.

Steve Jobs embodied both passion and excellence, to love what you do and to pursue it fully. That simple principle has shaped my design career and, in many ways, my life.

My first computer? Apple IIc. My roommate was monochrome green with envy … Steve Jobs put the “u” in computer. Or at least the “me.”

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I bought my first Macintosh after it was introduced in 1984 at practically a single-digit serial number. A few years ago, I started buying Apple stock. So on more levels than I can say, thank you, thank you, thank you, Steve.

I have Steve Jobs to thanks for my compulsive “Apple+Z” thoughts each time I make a mistake. Jobs well done.

His life is the stuff of legend; his legacy is among the mythical. You taught us that the imagination is real. Thank you, Steve.

After leaving the world of typewriter+whiteout, I basically grew up on a Mac. Thank you, Steve, for never living inside a box. In doing so, you gave the rest of us wings too.

The first computer I ever touched was an Apple II. I was 5 and, at that age, almost everything filled me with awe and curiosity. And so this beige box of blinking, beeping, bewildering puzzles was in many ways just par for the course.

Sadly, that sense of awe dwindled as I became an adult, but it comes roaring back whenever I stare into a Macintosh and create something new or hold a recently unveiled Apple device. Or, for that matter, get choked up over computer-animated cowboys. Steve Jobs gave us wonder, and for that I’m grateful.

Steve Jobs: where beauty, form and function meet.

There is no desk in my life that hasn’t held a Mac.

I used to think that my Discman was the best thing that ever happened to me. You mean I can listen to 12 songs, over and over again, while running? Yeah, it skips every 30 seconds, but this is awesome. At the time, I couldn’t imagine anything better. And then Steve Jobs rocked my world with the iPod.

That moment taught me to never settle for anything in life, because sometimes you can’t even begin to conceive what God (or in this particular case, Apple) has in store.

Apple, perhaps single-handedly, made it cool to be nerdy. Every one of us at Journey is deeply indebted to Steve Jobs for that.

It’s rare that someone you never met changes your world in such a way that you can’t imagine daily life without him. Thank you, Steve, for your creative thinking. You’ve truly inspired a generation.