John Maeda

John Antonelli

John (Global Head Maeda, Computational Design and Inclusion Automattic Inc.)

Ten laws for balancing simplicity and complexity in business, technology, and design are revealed in a guide that explores the question of how improvement can be defined so that it does not always mean adding something more.

The Laws of Simplicity

Selena Yang

In the beginning of life we strive for independence, and at the end of life it is the same. At the core of the best rewards is this fundamental desire for freedom in thinking, living, and being

I’ve learned that the most successful product designs, whether simple, complex, rational, illogical, domestic, international, technophilic, or technophobic, are the ones that connect deeply to the greater context of learning and life.

use blur to aesthetically group and simplify complexity

ranging from the Impressionist paintings by Monet and his hazy clouds of tiny brushstrokes, to the stylized images of flowers by artist Georgia O’Keeffe. Soft-edged representations have an allure of mystique, and are thus inviting in nature. Similarly, the third phase of the iPod control is desirable because it blurs all controls into one image of simplicity.

sometimes the most simplest thing to reduce complexity is to organize things into categories with a grid as the framework

The tabular form of viewing data is by no means rocket science, but it is a rare sort of visual magic that always works...“What program do you use?” is a question I often get about the slides I use to present my work. I have concluded that the proper answer to the question is to counter-suggest the ask- ing of a diΩerent question, “What principle do you use?” The plain, unadorned horizontal and vertical gridding of information lacks sex appeal, but it is the one sure thing in the vocabulary of graphic design

Ericson Luciano

Ambience is the proverbial "secret sauce" to any great meal or memorable interaction.

Sometimes there are instances of overkill, such as the titanium-clad laptop I own-I'm unlikely to need titanium's strength to shield myself from a bullet. But I enjoy the personal satisfaction that a higher quality material is used instead of an inferior plastic. The upside of materialism is that the way something we own feels can change how we feel.

Radimir Bitsov

The author presents ten principles of simplification by accompanying them with very clear examples. The book itself feels that it has been structured according exactly to those principles which serves well as a good reference of how simplicity can be achieved in practice.

Xavier Roy

Ten excellent principles to guide designs.

Elizabeth Garza

Had some interesting points on simplicity. I enjoyed the writers writing style more than the actual content though.

The Laws of Simplicity

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