Broth is to Cereal as …
How We ThinkChris Baskind sent me a link to his interesting post on interface guru Don Norman’s article Simplicity is Overrated. I had been asked for my opinion on Norman’s article in the past, but never gotten around to doing it until now.
I don’t disagree with Don. Simplicity really is highly overrated. But complexity is highly overrated as well. The relationship flips when one becomes dominant, and the other becomes subjugate. This is why the fifth Law of differences exists — because simplicity and complexity are two sides of a coin. With only one, and not the other, the world becomes a less interesting place.
Don’s most recent book on Emotional Design epitomizes his later-life realization that there might be something unscientific called “beauty” that can trigger positive and necessary emotion-s. One way to look at it is that there can be an internal-beauty and an external-beauty to an object. We can think of the internal as representing the rational elegance of an object; the external can represent the irrational emotive power of an object. The internal reality is closer to an objective truth; the external reality is closer to the subjective truth. In essence, external-beauty is a kind of deception that can be done well (subjective truth) or poorly (subjective falsehood).
All outcomes of capable artists or designers manifest as “illusions” — whether that illusion be sensorial or purely conceptual. The correct combination of patterning and colors can make a large person look thinner; strategic placement of makeup can make a person look ten years younger. Whenever we play with reality we are always cheating a bit for the sake of making ourselves, or others, feel better. If you are a person that sees the world as needing to be red or blue–not purple, chocolate or vanilla–not chocolatey, wet or dry–not damp, true or false–not both … it will not be easy to accept the goodness of a positive lie. And I’m fine with that as well.
Simplicity, as expressed by LOS, is a set of methods for lying about the complex world. Another way to look at it is that LOS is a way of coping with the complex world. Thus I like to think of simplicity as a kind of life-preserver for managing the complex world around us, that is likely only to get more complex in the future.
In essence, Don’s telling us that both simplicity and complexity are important which … can … seem … a bit … confusing … and as a statement is complexity itself. So the world makes sense. 2007 is almost upon us. And we we can continue to think out loud about our wonderfully complex world with the lens of simplicity.
6 Responses to “Complexity is Highly Overrated”
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a big factor, i think, is that it is easier to sell complexity than simplicity. but once the product comes home, the benefits of simplicity become more clear. i remember it being said that the two biggest problems when developing software are:
a. not listening to your users
b. listening to your users
complexity, in the name of extra features can be tangibly shown to a prospective customer. i mean, for most folks, more is more… it’s much harder to demostrate that a product may do less, but do it better…
in addition, simplicity has gotten a lot of press - and when this happens, there will be those who try to balance that - which is a good thing in many respects - still, despite the attention simplicity gets, the larger problem today still seems to be that things are overly complexx….
I liked the dichotomy of your (a) and (b). Designing products isn’t simple at all
. For launching a product, simplicity can be good; but as you point out, for sustaining a product it often loses value as a selling point as I describe in my chasm post. Best wishes for 2007, John
Yup. The two of us are actually in agreement (Maeda & Norman). As I said on someone else’s blog, but on this issue:
The important point is to distinguish between philosophy and sales. From a philosophical point of view, simplicity is to be sought after. John Maeda’s book on Simplicity is wonderful: take it as a bible.
But. (There always is a “but.”) But John is not involved with day-to-day selling. My point was that there is a gap between what we would prefer to have as our design philosophy (Maeda’s “simplicity”) and what people actually base their purchase decision on.
I argue that on the whole, the market place says it wants simplicity, but buys things that are more complex. Why? Because they perceive that complexity equals power. Simplicity equals, well, less power. And despite what people say they prefer, when it comes to the actual purchase, they want more power for their money.
Worse, simplicity often costs more. Would I pay more money for something that looked simpler? Yes, I would - but most people would not.
And yes, my statements are oversimplified generalizations. One can always find contradictory examples. But please, not the iPod and its competition. Here, what people fail to recognize, is that the iPod is a system: licensing, a website, downloading to computer, downloading to player, the player itself, and the DRM that forever ties you to the iPod and iTunes. Yes, it is a brilliant player, but the real brilliance is Apple’s understanding of the total system experience. Many competitors come close on the player. Nobody comes close on the entire system.
Conclusion: Simplicity is complex.
Don Norman
[…] Complexity is Highly Overrated 04Jan07 Complexity is Highly Overrated: ” […]
So how is a designer to create a product that satisfies a philosophical desire for simplicity yet delivers the power (complexity) required for a viable product?
I’ve been working on this for a number of years, leading product development, and do not feel as though I have all the answers yet. As Don said, simplicity is complex. However, here are a few of the behavioral elements that have worked for me (IMHO).
First, refocus business and engineering people off features and onto goals of the user. This advice is consistent with many others who are proponents of so-called goal oriented design.
Second, question every assertion. Why is a particular feature indispensable in the opinion of Customer Service, Engineering, or Sales (each of which has their own biases)? Does it support the goals of your typical user profile? (Remember that 50% of all users are below averge
Not a great way to make friends, but people should understand your motivation.
Third, reinforce good behaviors in operants, those behaviors that support your philosophy of simplicity. Use this to counterbalance the bruised egos caused by your relentless pursuit of simplicity. It will decrease friction on future product developments where the simplicity is important.
Finally, constantly inspire others to do better and keep it simple (related to above) through servant leadership. Pick a task in the product development process and do it yourself with excellence, demonstrating simplicity. If there are other weak areas/disciplines, create straw man examples that illustrate a better way but are less than perfect (so that the owner of that process area will be inspired to take your straw man and do better).
The feedback loop (product sales, market share) has a long delay, so be patient.
Darrell McCauley
P.S. Interesting note on EMBODY (I’ve created many straw men for Marketing): The April 2007 issue of Harvard Business Review suggests that it takes years for a simplicity message to be effectively delivered (Quality Is in the Eye of the Beholder).
Talking about simplicity so much, makes it very complex:). I think simplicity is a product of very complex procedure and that is it. In otherhand simplicity is somethnig that just IS. Simplicity is a way of life, it is a way of thinking. I think that simplicity is in nature of mankind itself (eat, sleep, reproduce) but in this times we think we need more complex products to feed our brains. Have you seen one year old kid playing with two plastic cups?… Its amazing what you can do with them… endless options, and how happy he is.