Name: The Laws of Simplicity
ISBN: 9780262134729

The Laws of Simplicity

Finally, we are learning that simplicity equals sanity. We're rebelling against technology that's too complicated, DVD players with too many menus, and software accompanied by 75-megabyte "read me" manuals. The iPod's clean gadgetry has made simplicity hip. But sometimes we find ourselves caught up in the simplicity paradox: we want something that's simple and easy to use, but also does all the complex things we might ever want it to do. In The Laws of Simplicity, John Maeda offers ten laws for balancing simplicity and complexity in business, technology, and design -- guidelines for needing less and actually getting more. Maeda -- a professor in MIT's Media Lab and a world-renowned graphic designer -- explores the question of how we can redefine the notion of "improved" so that it doesn't always mean something more, something added on. Maeda's first law of simplicity is "Reduce." It's not necessarily beneficial to add technology features just because we can. And the features that we do have must be organized (Law 2) in a sensible hierarchy so users aren't distracted by features and functions they don't need. But simplicity is not less just for the sake of less. Skip ahead to Law 9: "Failure: Accept the fact that some things can never be made simple." Maeda's concise guide to simplicity in the digital age shows us how this idea can be a cornerstone of organizations and their products -- how it can drive both business and technology.

What Hacker News says

fold_leftAug 2020

Some of you might also be interested in The Laws Of Simplicity by John Maeda

http://lawsofsimplicity.com/

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gregmortonJul 2020

the laws of simplicity - john maeda

on liberty - john stuart mill

meditation for dummies - stephan bodian

on the duty of civil disobedience - henry david thoreau

the bible - (no, I'm kidding :)

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erwinhApr 2020

In Design minimalism should not be confused with simplicity. Which is actually more about being super functional and direct about what you are trying to achieve. John Maeda’s book 10 laws of simplicity define it well. In striving for simplicity you run the risk of oversimplification. So an important element in such a process is always identifying the complexity that you can’t ignore. Simplicity requires a lot of hard thinking that goes un-noticed in the final product or artistic object because its’s been reduced (in a positive sense!) to the essential elements to perform it’s function.

I guess minimalism tries to catch the cool of the real hard work of simplicity by trying to copy simplicity as if it is simply an aesthetic but in the end it turns up empty.

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adrianhowardNov 2012

I don't claim this as any great insight - but I've been finding using 'sharp' or 'precise' as a description useful instead of 'simple' when talking with clients about UX and UI design.

It doesn't cover quite the same ground as 'simple' - but it seems much easier to talk about. Simple is one of those words that means radically different things to different people. Minimal. Easy. Monotone. Etc.

Folk who liked the OP would probably find the book The Laws Of Simplicity by John Maeda of interest http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/laws-simplicity. It's more a series of extended blog-post style essays around simplicity than it is a unifying framework of laws - but I still found it a thought provoking read. Short too ;-)

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mindstuffOct 2009

One thing I've found is that when I, for whatever reason, need to find a new job I tend to settle into particular jobs that aren't really a fit for me. I've suffered with this for the last 4 1/2 years now and I'd like to make a change.

When I got my first software development job it was for a small startup. The pay was meager but the excitement was high. The thrill of possibly creating something so new and innovative made up for lack in pay and prestige. Eventually, that company didn't live up to its promise after almost 2 1/2 years of really, really trying. So in order to pay the bills I next became a high priced .Net contractor.

The pay was great, I nearly doubled my salary overnight, no one looked at me weird when I walked out at 5pm and the workload was a joke compared to the startup. Next, I took a job at a financial based business building their back end infrastructure, another safe job with predictable hours and very descent pay.

But something has changed in me recently. I feel kind of boxed in.

I'm wondering why haven't I waited or tried to get the jobs I really wanted. The job where I'm happy to stay late, work on the project at home, and have pride in telling people what my company does. The answer is I've settled. Partially because I have a family but also because I've been too scared to hold out for that one in a lifetime job.

So here I am wanting to do something about it. But not really sure how. Yes, I could hit the beat, get involved with a recruiter and start another dead end job. But I'm thinking, there must be a better way.

I'd like to digress just a bit and point out one aspect of my career that I'm very proud of. About 2 years ago I started my own project...one that I have worked on in my spare time for about 2 years now. I figured that if I couldn't blossom at my job, I might as well do it on my own in my spare time. Why? Because I truly love to develop cool stuff. My project has become popular, its making money, and has been well received. I even have had a few prominent players in the startup world give me kudos on it and like to hear how things are going. Could this project pay the bills someday, support a small company someday? It sure could. I think that I'm really just unsure on how to take it to the next level. And possibly someone might inquire with me about this (see contact info below).

So now that you know a bit about me, I'd like to take a chance at something. First I'm going to spell out what kind of developer I am, how I think, how I feel about the things I've experienced in my career as a developer. These would be the same attributes I'd look for in a developer I'd like to work with, hire, or just connect up with. These things would be the kind of attitude/philosophy in a company I'd like to work for or in any company that I would like to create. So, if you think that I'd be somebody that you'd like to work with, then contact me at the e-mail below and I'd be happy to send you my resume and the current project I founded. I only ask that you keep my information confidential. I'm still employed atm so...

So here I go, a manifesto. Here I'm going to try and outline a few of my philosophies, the things I want from the people I work with and what I expect from people who work with me.

1. Simplicity is the golden rule for me. I've worked with some really brilliant people and I find one thing in common with most of them. They don't write code that is maintainable nor do they create software that is very usable. Usually its filled with so much complexity either no one wants to touch it or in its complexity breaks frequently. These are the types of developers that can predict about 100 scenarios which might happen and code just about every solution to each one of them leading to over architected, bloated code. These people's code tends to be about 10 times longer than developers who believe and live by simplicty. Developers who code with simplicity in mind build solutions to problems as they arise, who pride themselves in writing an application with as little lines of code as possible and ones in which you never hear they've crashed. These are the winning individuals in my mind.

2. I love programming. I love building things. Its such a creative process that I most of the time feel like an artist.

3. I like dreamers. I like people who when asked what they did this weekend they tell you they built and deployed an instance of the Tornado webserver and are now hosting their personal website with it. Who get excited that they can then reboot the server from their IPhone. And oh yeah, they also are a professional MS developer by day who have never forayed into the realm of unix before. What I'm getting at is I like to be around/work with people who are interested in all paradigms and languages, people who are not afraid to try something totally out of the realm of their comfort level to see if they could discover a better way to do things. And by the way, these people also read books like K&R for fun like its the history book of their profession even though they have no need to write a line of C code on any daily basis.

4. I can not stand managers who think SharePoint is the next coming. Sharepoint is the biggest, and I mean biggest, piece of crap I've ever developed for. The fact that businesses fall in love with it defies me and I do not ever want to work with it ever again. People tell me I can make a ton of money advertising myself as a Sharepoint guru and I make the point that that experience is never going on my resume.

5. I like developers... ...that can code some server side (PHP, C#, Python), jump to some JavaScript to tie the client with the server code, can write some clean html, who know that you can now use the HTML5 Doctype, likes to keep their css tight, loves jQuery, likes to dabble in some ActionScript on the weekend, writing Flash purely in code, likes to learn Python for its elegance, decides to forgo using an ORM because tweeking the SQL is much more fun (and more efficient), like to write a Restful webservice to store their address book, likes to use REST over WCF, hates writing a Proxy Class library to go with WCF, who have realized how great MacBook Pros are and divides half their time in Windows and the other half in OS X.

6. I'd really like to change the world. I'm not interested in writing applications anymore that help a company track its finances nor data mine some mind numbing data, nor create a process that runs a report at 2am every night. I'd like to write an app that helps match donors with charities, helps people interact with one another, helps people organize their lives and make them feel connected to the world. I want to build applications that change peoples lives, makes them feel wanted, makes them feel important and gives them a sense that they are not alone. I want to write applications that entertain, play movies and music, make music, display art, and make art.

7. I like to work on many projects and not all of them have to do with my current job. I believe an employer should allow its developers to take a bit of work time and develop their own personal projects...and yes, pay them for it. This sounds crazy, right? Well it just so happens that one of my work projects inherited about 50% of its code from my personal project that I've spent 2 years writing on my own time. It helped me build a better product, faster and under budget. Not only can personal projects enrich your developers it can benefit your work projects too. I also believe that developers should share their personal project with the rest of the group in monthly seminars. We do need some academia in the workplace, just look at Google for a good example.

8. Like to read books like... Coders at Work, The Laws of Simplicity, Web Form Design: Filling in the Blanks, and The Universal Principles of Design. Loves to read Hacker News! Who love sites like Reddit, Hulu (The Office), YouTube, GitHub, StackOverflow, and a myriad of software blogs.

If any of this interests you, or maybe you need somebody like me on your team I'd love to hear from you. Maybe you might just have that "Dream Job" I'm looking for.

mindstuff8[at]gmail[.]com

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ivankiriginMay 2008

Thinking about how to achieve simplicity is actually quite complex. It doesn't happen easily.

I liked John Maeda's book, Laws of Simplicity http://weblogs.media.mit.edu/SIMPLICITY/

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