Blog 3

Law 1- Reduce
From recent experience I have seen this law at work, especially the “HIDE” part of the “SHE” acronym. This summer my parents got a new TV with surround sound that required a complex setup. There is a specific order of buttons that need to be pushed for each function, including power for the cable, audio and TV, and if done incorrectly it wouldn’t work. I thought about how much easier it would be if I could just push power and everything would turn on. On page 5, Maeda says, “remote controls for audio/video equipment are notoriously confusing.” From my example above I would completely agree. He also says that now the approach of very few buttons is no longer as popular as before since “visible features (i.e. buttons) attract buyers.” However, I would prefer a more simplistic method put forth by “HIDE” in order to manage my own expectations. I liked Cassie Tegeler’s example of “HIDE” found in the menu bars on a computer. I hadn’t really thought about my computer being simple by having all of its applications in one place. The same could also hold true for the creation of folders to organize documents on a computer. If I just have all of my documents in the “Documents” folder, it seems like a huge unorganized list. But if I create folders based on year, class, or subject, I can hide individual files and make it appear simpler. I also thought Maeda had an excellent point about the “EMBODY” part of “SHE.” Many times I tend to buy things cheap if I don’t care much about the quality or how long it will last me, but other times I have the view that Maeda suggests when he says, “Thus the perception of quality becomes a critical factor when making the choice of less over more.”

Law 3-Time
This law really resonated with me because I would say that on the whole I tend to be a very impatient person. Many of the examples the author gave were ones that I saw in my daily life. The example he gave of the “progress bar” on page 28 was the one I most related to. When I find myself downloading things or waiting for things to load, I rely heavily on the “progress bar.” I am even more satisfied when a time estimate is provided. That way if I know that I it is going to take half an hour, I can do something else with my time and not waste it while waiting for whatever it may be to load. As I go throughout my days I spend time waiting for classes to begin, for my meals to cook and for various other things that seem so complicated and stressful. When I am surprised by less waiting time than I anticipated I feel as though my day has become a bit simpler. I now have more time and can relax a little. However from reading this chapter I realized that I don’t always need to be concerned with how to make the wait shorter, but how to “make the wait more tolerable.” This is one basic element involved in simplicity in design, business, technology and life. I also liked the point that Cassie brought up about waiting chopping up our day, or that it seems to interrupt the flow of things. I would say that when I am not expecting to have to wait for something, and end up doing so, I become annoyed and stressed about how this seemingly simple task has been complicated.

Law 6-Context
I was intrigued by this law and especially Maeda’s argument that “nothing is something.” I have the mindset that most people have, in which we attempt to fill up the empty space. I try to keep my room organized and clean it once a week, but as the week goes on, my clothes end up on the previously clean floor and my desk becomes filled with books and other things I collect each day. Another example would be my desire to fill up my white walls in my room with posters, artwork and other things to make the room seem more full. However, I was focusing on filling the empty space rather than embracing it. It was interesting to see “nothing” in the eyes of a designer as Maeda says, “On the other hand, a designer would choose to do their best to preserve the emptiness because of their perspective that nothing is an important something…When there is less, we appreciate everything much more.” I also liked Maeda’s point about being “comfortably lost.” I tend to be a controlled person and do not often choose to be directionless. If I am faced with the unknown and possibility of being lost I become uncomfortable. However Maeda talks about the need for a balance between being lost and found. He states, “Complexity implies the feeling of being lost; simplicity implies the feeling of being found.”

Like both Cassies said, I can see these ten laws of simplicity applying to my life in general. I am not going on to do anything with design, but that doesn’t mean these ten laws don’t apply to me. From the three laws I chose that resonated with me, I was able to find ways in which I have the seen how the laws can change the way I view certain tasks. For example, earlier I said how I have always been impatient with time but now have learned that I can aim to make waiting more tolerable, rather than try to make it shorter. I usually will not be able to control when I have to wait, but I can control how I treat the experience. I could look at all ten laws and find ways in which they could help me approach situations differently. Cassie Tegeler also brought up a good point in saying that these ten laws of simplicity will be of help in all the projects we have for this class.