Software is the newest art form
Fashion, food, architecture... and now pixels.
I was in a recent conversation where people were talking about their favorite types of art: painting, architecture, photography...
I blurted out “Oh for me, that’s software. I fucking LOVE beautiful software.”
(I know how bougie that sounds. This isn’t a value judgment — just an observation about how any discipline that blends form and function evolves. While I’m a techno-optimist, you don’t need to be one to see the pattern.)
The earliest era of the existing functional arts / crafts — furniture, clothing, food, architecture — were essentialist. They just checked off the basics. Furniture must be usable. Clothing must keep you warm. Dining must nourish you. Architecture must shelter you.
Since the medieval era, these forms have become increasingly a blend of form and function; and in some cases form for its own sake. Increasingly inventive, and in some cases utterly breathtaking.
In the modern era, we’ve taken these to incredible heights: materials science in furniture, impossible fabrics and designs in clothing, molecular gastronomy in fine dining, 3D printing in building... these sort of third-wave developments either redefine the boundaries of utility, or strike emotional chords (or both).
More modern forms of art / craft went through similar waves. Photography started with taking a picture of your family, then iconic photo shoots blended form and function, and now we have breathtaking possibility (HDR photography, DSLR-quality photos in your iPhone). Automobiles went from “it will get you from point A to B” to the rise of beautiful, powerful European vehicles… to breathtaking innovation both in the form of modern EVs and luxury supercars.
All of these forms eventually reach a natural steady state:
The barriers to entry have collapsed: anyone can 3D print, invent flavors, or shoot professional-grade photos on their phone.
A new hierarchy emerges: the elite know each other’s work (Michelin-starred chefs, Ferrari engines, bespoke clothing...). Luxury develops its own set of tells.
Or to quote Ratatouille:
We’re similarly speedrunning this with software:
1940 – 1990: the engineering era (get it working)
1990 – 2020: the usability era (form + function)
2020+: the breathtaking era (functional art)
In the last few years we’ve started seeing the rise of truly beautiful software (a non-exclusive list of examples: Linear, Notion, Mercury visually; Ramp, Cursor, Superhuman in reinventing intuitive workflows; Rippling, Zapier in ambitious architecture). I think this is just the initial wave. All these companies were formed in the last ~10 years.
It’s pretty clear to me that software is making that leap from functional → form + function → art form.
As with all functional art forms, the frontier is defined by software that expands what’s possible, and by software that makes you *feel*. And every so often… you find one that does both.