Apps as Expressions of Style

I choose apps like I choose my outfits. Different styles for different moods, situations, and mediums of expression.

Just like in fashion, some trends come and go, and some are timeless.

Some pieces remain versatile and attached to us as staples, and some are exciting at a moment in time, but don’t adapt well to all contexts.

Similar to apps with bold and expressive designs, some styles stand out and excite us, but are impractical in our day to day.

Over time, we realize the best technology is invisible. It is what we use the most because we do not have to think about it, and it is just integrated in our lives.

Just like that white t-shirt, good pair of jeans, or little black dress we wear over and over again, some apps are those basics that we don’t think much about, but never really go away. They adapt to every context, and we know we can go back to them because they just work.

The apps that are more extravagant and bold may not be a part of our basics, but can be used to create peak experiences at different points in time.

But style is also about identity. We attach ourselves to our style, because it is a way to shortcut communication with others about what we like and are about. Style communicates visually, and apps do the same though design. Each app has its own style, with its own set of associations and identities we attribute to them.

When I use Apple Notes I feel like a minimalist. When I use Notion I feel like a productivity nerd. When I use Obsidian I feel like an intellectual indie hacker. When I use MyMind I feel like a mindful guru. When I use Evernote I feel like an old school dad.

All of the above are note apps, but what I feel and psychologically embody while using them is different.

While much of it has to do with brand, much of the brand is about fashion and style. Each brand interprets trends (i.e. features) differently, and expresses them differently through its style of (i.e. design).

Choosing Apps Like We Choose Our Shirts

The reason why I like this analogy is partially because I love fashion as much as I love apps (so why not talk about them both?), but also because I love to imagine a world in which we can pick apps just like we pick the shirt we wear every day.

I believe in a future in which the internet is more open, and in which the cost of switching from one app interface to another decreases. I believe we will own our data, store it across different databases (some blockchains, some not), and import different records to different interfaces to enjoy a broader diversity of experiences. 

That matters because if we consider life to be a series of experiences, then wouldn’t it be more interesting to diversify our app experiences?

We spend a lot of time in apps, so it might be worth considering.

With the cost and complexity of building new apps decreasing, I see a world in which we can create more apps, and not less.

And I am excited to try them all - or at least more of them.