Blog 3

The Laws of Simplicity

After reading Maeda's "The Laws of Simplicity," I felt that many of the laws stuck with me. One law that really resonated with me was law 1 -- reduce. This law says, "The simplest way to achieve simplicity is through thoughtful reduction." This law means that when you are designing something, you can sometimes make it simpler by simply reducing things that seem unnecessary. Maeda says, "If in doubt, just remove." But he warns us to be careful of what we remove. For example, we would hate to remove buttons on a remote control that are necessary just to make it simpler. But Maeda says that when we can reduce a system's functionality without significant penalty, true simplification is realized. To reduce things to their simplest form, Maeda suggests using SHE : Shrink, Hide and Embody. Shrinking is when we make a large, complex object simpler by reducing the size. This can clear up clutter and confusion for the consumer. Maeda gives the example of the computer long ago weighing 60,000 pounds and occupying 1,800 square feet, can now be packed onto a sliver of metal less than a tenth the size of the nail on your pinkie. Although both objects can have the same power, the smaller one is simpler and easier to withstand. The next step in SHE is to hide. A good of example of "hide" is putting things under menu bars on computers. For example, on my computer right now, I can go down to the menu bar at the bottom left of my screen and pick which application I wish to open, rather than all the applications being right on my desk top. I hate when everything is right on the desktop. It looks chaotic. I like the simplicity of a menu bar. The third step in SHE is to embody. Emody basically means that we have to keep the quality while reducing the clutter and quantity. Maeda says, "Consumers will only be drawn to smaller, less functional products if they perceive it to be more valuable than the bigger version of the product with more features." Thus, with designs, you have to make the product simple, yet still show its value. Or as Maeda puts it, "Lessen what you can and conceal everything else without losing the sense of inherent value." Law 1 really resonated with me because I think reducing things is a great way to make things simpler. I can relate to this myself. I hate to have a messy closet. When my closet is messy, I constantly feel the need to organize it to make it look better. To do this, I frequently go through my closet and get rid of what I don't need (a.k.a Maeda's rule of reducing what you don't need.) This law couldn't make more sense to me, and I think reducing and hiding unnecessary items or visuals is the best way to make everyone's life easier.

The next law that stuck with me was law 2 -- organize. This law says, "Organization makes a system of many appear few." Maeda says that organizing can really help us control how well we present information. To make things more organized, he says we can use SLIP -- sort, label, integrate and prioritize. Sorting is when we find natural groupings among things. Labeling is when we give these groups names. Integrating is when we combine groups that have similarities. Prioritize is when we give the highest priority items the most attention. Grouping things together using SLIP can make things much simpler and your design that much easier to understand. I liked his example of making the I-pod the simplest it could be. I think this law resonated with me because I think it is important to really look at everything you have and to group it in a way that makes sense. I do this all the time when I write journalistic stories. I group themes and ideas that go together, and create a story that makes sense. I think the same can be done for design.

The next law that resonated with me was law 4 -- learn. This law says, "Knowledge makes everthing simpler." This law basically says that anything can become simpler when you learn about it. Maeda says we often try to skip this, and we try to figure things out on our own without learning. But this can be harmful. He says we should try to learn about something before we apply it. He says that learning occurs best when their is a desire to attain specific knowlege. This means, we learn the best when we want to learn about something. (Am I understanding this right?) The challenge of something helps us learn better than the reward. I think this is very true. We should definitely learn something before we try to actually do it. For example, I was a pitcher in high school. Before I could start pitching, I had to learn the basics of how to pitch. I couldn't simply step on the mound and start pitching. I think the same applies for design. To truly make a great design, we first have to learn about the programs we are dealing with (in our case, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, etc.) If we learn these programs first, we will do a better job of using them. I think this law really resonated with me because I think that people overlook how knowledge can help make things simpler. We need to spend more time learning about things so we can use them properly. This law also stuck with me because he talked about "a challenge" being more of a motivator than rewards. I think this to be true. I think people will try harder on something for the challenge rather than the reward -- this can bring me back to my pitching days. I worked really hard at pitching because I found it challenging, not because I wanted to get a district medal at the end of the season.

Another law that resonated with me was law 7 -- emotion. This law says, "More emotions are better than less." In my opinion, this means that too much simplicity can be a bad thing. Sometimes things need to be a little complex, or they will look cheap. Maeda says, "When emotions are considered above everything else, don't be afraid to add more ornament or layers of meaning." He gives the example of when his daugthers email him. Emotions can be better said by using complexity. For example, he says it is better to say, "I LOVE YOU!!!!" rather than "I love you." They send different messages. The "I LOVE YOU!!!" sends a more powerful message. I have found this to be true. When my friends use smiley faces :-) and winks ;), it send a better, easier to understand message. Although these messages are more complex, they are easier to comprehend. Thus, sometimes complexity is needed. This law resonated with me because I agree that sometimes lots of emotion is needed to convey a message. Not everything can be done simply. Which leads me to the fact that I also think law 9 -- failure (some things can never be made simple) -- is true.

I can apply the 10 laws of simplicity to a number of areas in my life. But I think I can especially apply the laws to graphic design. These laws will greatly help me as I do our photoshop, dreamweaver, flash, and illustrator assignments. If I keep these laws in mind, I will better be able to create my designs. I will be able to create designs that are simple yet complicated, intriguing yet easy to use. All ten laws will come in handy as I design my website and other assignments. I am no graphic designer, so I think they will really help me. But outside of design, I think the laws of simplicity can be used in my everyday life. The laws can help me reduce the clutter in my life, priotoritize, and remind me that some things are never simple. These laws are more than just design laws. They are life laws if you think about it!