Laws of Simplicity » 5/differences

Pointing to the Sky

John Maeda — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 10:53:09 +0000

Today I was in Washington DC at the White House as a Trustee of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. It is a simple affair every year with the winners of the National Design Awards and hosted by First Lady Laura Bush. There are many historical pieces of art on display at the White House, but my favorite “things” to look at are the wonderful views from the inside of the First House like the simple and enigmatic Washington Monument. I enjoyed the awkward law5 in my local surrounds of the frill and fine craft of the parlour compared with the stark, skyward facing object not so far away.

The Aesthetics of Failure

John Maeda — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 10:32:47 +0000

While traveling in Asia my tummy and eyes may have eaten too well.

In a small shop in Nishi-Nippori, Tokyo I was treated with the most delicious soba noodles I have ever tasted. As we were leaving, I noted the solid wooden tabletop with cracks that had been mended with large reinforcing pieces of a completely different kind of wood. Perhaps due to the deliciousness of the soba I hadn’t noticed the striking law5 as visually posed, but as I departed it was what screamed out.

Defects are normally stamped out in a six-sigma world. If it ain’t perfect, throw it out. Perhaps as you get older, you are more tolerant of how the world presents its law9-s around you. And maybe it is then you can begin to see the beauty of that which could be dismissed as invalid or otherwise handicapped, to emerge as entirely more relevant than if it were 100.000% perfect.

More Deskpats versus Less

John Maeda — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 00:50:37 +0000

I had promised to add more desktop pattern images over winter break but my break never came. Since I was taking so long, reader/designer Bert Mahoney sent me a few desktop patterns to help me finish this task. My fonts were different so I went and did a few more thanks to Bert’s encouragement.

Desktop pattern for a normal 4:3 aspect ratio screen

Desktop pattern for a 16:9 widescreen

The Third Law time expresses the importance of watching (or at least enjoying) one’s springs.

Desktop pattern for a normal 4:3 aspect ratio screen

Desktop pattern for a 16:9 widescreen

As I am a fan of all forms of education, my favorite Law remains the Fourth Law learn.

Desktop pattern for a normal 4:3 aspect ratio screen

Desktop pattern for a 16:9 widescreen

In the Fifth Law differences I mean to express that if there’s a yin, there’s a yang.

Desktop pattern for a normal 4:3 aspect ratio screen

Desktop pattern for a 16:9 widescreen

Keep your eye off the road to become aware of the Sixth Law context, but try not to forget where you’re going.

PS Bert selected the colors for Law 3 and Law 4 for me in the examples he had sent. That certainly made it easy for me. Not having to think–that’s real simplicity. Thank you Bert!

Crossing the Chasm

John Maeda — Sat, 16 Sep 2006 06:54:29 +0000

Much has been said about Moore’s Technology Adoption Curve and the difficulty of getting consumers to “cross the chasm” to achieve success in the marketplace. Today I was wondering whether the simplest solution to help consumers make the jump across the chasm is to just focus on ensuring that your product embodies simplicity. This may seem like a simplistic answer, but it does help to explain why products with simple operation, simple concept, simple marketing message do manage to succeed.

Perhaps the more question is what happens after the early and late majority adopts the product? Consumers bore of the simplicity of the device and desire more. Complexity is sprinkled over the product to enhance the law7-al attachment to spice up the relationship. Does simplicity pull them in initially for the first date, and then complexity reels them in further to make for a steamy relationship?

Some stay wed to their devices/objects forever; others go looking for a new fling. law5 is a good thing.

The Innovator’s Solution

John Maeda — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 06:38:03 +0000

Change is inevitable, so how do you be in charge or aware of the conditions when it occurs?

Law 5: Differences

John Maeda — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 03:36:11 +0000

Simplicity and complexity need each other.

> Excerpted from Pages 45-46 of my book, The Laws of Simplicity

Nobody wants to eat only dessert. Even a child that is allowed to eat ice cream three meals a day will eventually tire his sweet tooth. By the same token, nobody wants to have only simplicity. Without the counterpoint of complexity, we could not recognize simplicity when we see it. Our eyes and senses thrive, and sometimes recoil, whenever we experience differences.

Acknowledging contrast helps to identify qualities that we desire–which are often subject to change. I don’t personally prefer the color pink, but I do like it as a dash of brightness in a drab sea of olive green. The pink appears bold and vibrant as compared with its dark and muted surroundings. We know how to appreciate something better when we can compare it to something else.

Simplicity and complexity need each other. The more complexity there is in the market, the more that something simpler stands out. And because technology will only continue to grow in complexity, there is a clear economic benefit to adopting a strategy of simplicity that will help set your product apart. That said, establishing a feeling of simplicity in design requires making complexity consciously available in some explicit form. This relationship can be manifest in either the same object or experience, or in contrast with other offerings in the same category—ike the simplicity of the iPod in comparison to its more complex competitors in the MP3 player market.