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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
For anybody in business, design, technology, who has customers in any shape or form, this book is an absolute, 100% must-read. Short, but every single page is action-packed with valuable insight. It's cheap, it's short. Do yourself a favor and pick it up even if you're not convinced.
I can appreciate a book that sticks to the tenants of its content in its execution. John Maeda explores a group of 10 laws of simplicity through approachable anecdotes and a number of acronyms he has developed through his thinking and formulating of ideas. As he notes in the foreword to the book, they start out concrete and get more ambiguous as he moves through them. He is still questioning the idea and our relationship with simplicity and invites the reader to join him in its exploration.
I found this book quite disappointing. I don't disagree w/ the central premise, but Maeda came across as pompous and self-promoting. I am unconvinced of his brilliance, and rather confused by the hype surrounding this book.
This book was simple in the best possible way. It was concise while still presenting powerful concepts.
I think the most important Law from the book was that you shouldn't remove emotion from your designs to achieve simplicity, use emotion as the complex counterpoint to otherwise simple designs. Simplicity can't exist without complexity (a bit of an Incredibles argument), so the real challenge is to strike the right balance.
While I took this out from the library to read it, I think it's a book that deserves a spot in my (and maybe your) bookshelf because it could be such a great reference when struggling to make designs simpler and more clear.
I think the most important Law from the book was that you shouldn't remove emotion from your designs to achieve simplicity, use emotion as the complex counterpoint to otherwise simple designs. Simplicity can't exist without complexity (a bit of an Incredibles argument), so the real challenge is to strike the right balance.
While I took this out from the library to read it, I think it's a book that deserves a spot in my (and maybe your) bookshelf because it could be such a great reference when struggling to make designs simpler and more clear.
This short (100 page) book gives 10 laws and 3 key properties for designing simple systems. Maeda provides a hand summary of the laws and key principles:
Ten laws:
1. Reduce: The simplest way to achieve simplicity is through thoughtful reduction.
2. Organize: Organization makes a system of many appear fewer.
3. Time: Savings in time feel like simplicity.
4. Learn: Knowledge makes everything simpler.
5. Differences: Simplicity and complexity need each other.
6. Context: What lies in the periphery of simplicity is definitely not peripheral.
7. Emotion: More emotions are better than less.
8. Trust: In simplicity we trust.
9. Failure: Some things can never be made simple.
10. The One: Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful.
Three key principles:
1. Away: More appears like less simply by moving it far, far away.
2. Open: Openness simplifies complexity.
3. Power: Use less, gain more.
I fail to see the difference between the laws and principles (maybe Maeda just didn't want 13 laws ;), but other than that, these feel like a good set of principles to keep in mind when designing. They capture many common design dilemmas. For example, systems are often designed for expert and novice users. The "Learn" principle can be used to frame this dilemma. A novice user has no knowledge about your system; an expert user has that knowledge. The system should provide necessary knowledge to the user while not getting in the way of the expert. By reducing the knowledge needed (law 1), possibly by relying on knowledge the user already has (law 4) this dual nature may be achievable. There may still be problems because some complexity is inherent in trying to cater to two user groups (law 9).
The Laws of Simplicity rings true. It is consistent with what I have read of Don Norman's work and with a good deal of what I remember from Jef Raskin's book The Humane Interface. It is also consistent with what I learned in HCI and my own experience.
One nitpick: the book tried to hard to push the associated website. Once at the end would have been enough. I can forgive it that quirk since it was, in general quite spiffy (and shiny, literally; the cover had pretty shiny bits).
Ten laws:
1. Reduce: The simplest way to achieve simplicity is through thoughtful reduction.
2. Organize: Organization makes a system of many appear fewer.
3. Time: Savings in time feel like simplicity.
4. Learn: Knowledge makes everything simpler.
5. Differences: Simplicity and complexity need each other.
6. Context: What lies in the periphery of simplicity is definitely not peripheral.
7. Emotion: More emotions are better than less.
8. Trust: In simplicity we trust.
9. Failure: Some things can never be made simple.
10. The One: Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful.
Three key principles:
1. Away: More appears like less simply by moving it far, far away.
2. Open: Openness simplifies complexity.
3. Power: Use less, gain more.
I fail to see the difference between the laws and principles (maybe Maeda just didn't want 13 laws ;), but other than that, these feel like a good set of principles to keep in mind when designing. They capture many common design dilemmas. For example, systems are often designed for expert and novice users. The "Learn" principle can be used to frame this dilemma. A novice user has no knowledge about your system; an expert user has that knowledge. The system should provide necessary knowledge to the user while not getting in the way of the expert. By reducing the knowledge needed (law 1), possibly by relying on knowledge the user already has (law 4) this dual nature may be achievable. There may still be problems because some complexity is inherent in trying to cater to two user groups (law 9).
The Laws of Simplicity rings true. It is consistent with what I have read of Don Norman's work and with a good deal of what I remember from Jef Raskin's book The Humane Interface. It is also consistent with what I learned in HCI and my own experience.
One nitpick: the book tried to hard to push the associated website. Once at the end would have been enough. I can forgive it that quirk since it was, in general quite spiffy (and shiny, literally; the cover had pretty shiny bits).
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
This book is absolutely delightful! Form embodies content and the style of writing is just spot on. Having just seen Maeda talk, it was as if he was speaking directly to me! The book is pure wisdom and I intent to revisit it often.
For a book about simplicity, it was quite difficult to read. One of the longest 100 pages book I've read.
Though I like the principles, I didn't like the way it was written.
Though I like the principles, I didn't like the way it was written.
Wow. What a piece of garbage. I wonder if I should write a book called the "laws of simplicity" and just deliver a garbled mess like this. Absolutely no respect for the reader's time. Avoid at all costs.