Simplicity is about the unexpected pleasure derived from what is likely to be insignificant and would otherwise go unnoticed.
Fragility is an essential counteracting force to complexity because it can instil pity— which by coincidence also occurs in the word SIMPLICITY!

Reduction by the SHE Method: Shrink

The simplest way to achieve simplicity is through thoughtful reduction. 
When in doubt, just remove. But be careful of what you remove.

Law 1: REDUCE

EMBODY-ing quality is primarily a business decision, more than one of design or technology. The quality can be actual, as embodied by better materials and craftsmanship; or the quality can be perceived, as portrayed in a thoughtful marketing campaign. 
Exactly where to invest— real or believed quality— to get maximum return is a question with no single definitive answer.

Reduction by the SHE Method: Embody

Organization makes a system of many appear fewer.
To do it: 
<ul>
<li>SORT: Write down on small post-it notes each datum to be SLIP-ped. Move them around on a flat surface to find the natural groupings.</li>
<li>LABEL: Each group deserves a relevant name. If a name cannot be decided upon, an arbitrary code can be assigned such as a letter, number, or colour.</li>
<li>INTEGRATE : Whenever possible, integrate groups that appear significantly like each other.</li>
<li>PRIORITIZE: Finally, collect the highest priority items into a single set to ensure that they receive the most attention.</li>
</ul>

Law 2: ORGANIZE

Simplicity and complexity need each other. 
Understand the duality in the world around you.

Law 5: DIFFERENCES

<ul>
<li>Some things can never be made simple.</li>
<li>There’s always an ROF (Return On Failure) when you try to simplify— which is to learn from your mistakes.</li>
<li>Deeming something as complex or simple requires a frame of reference.</li>
</ul>

Law 9: FAILURE

Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful.
<ul>
<li>Key 1: AWAY More appears like less by simply moving it far, far away.</li>
<li>Key 2: OPEN Openness simplifies complexity.</li>
<li>Key 3: POWER Use less, gain more.</li>
</ul>
LIFE - Technology and life only become complex if you let it be so.

Law 10: THE ONE

Shrinking the time of a process can sometimes only go so far, and so an alternative means to “saving” time is to hide its passage by simply removing time displays from the environment.

Law 3: TIME

What lies in the periphery of simplicity is definitely not peripheral.
This law emphasizes the importance of what might become lost during the design process. That which appears to be of immediate relevance may not be nearly as important compared to everything else around. Our goal is to achieve a kind of enlightened shallowness.

Law 6: CONTEXT

Our society, systems, and artefacts require active engagement in care, attention, and feeling— the business value may not be immediately apparent. But the fulfilment from living a meaningful life is the ROE (Return on Emotion).
A certain kind of more is always better than less— more care, more love, and more meaningful actions. I don’t think I need to say anything more really. More emotions are better than less.

Law 7: EMOTION

The opportunity lost by increasing the amount of blank space is gained back with enhanced attention on what remains.
There is an important tradeoff between being completely lost in the unknown and completely found in the familiar. Too familiar can have the positive aspect of making complete sense, which to some can seem boring; too unknown can have the negative connotations of danger, which to some can seem a thrill.

The Paradox Of Lost And Found

Knowledge makes everything simpler. Learning occurs best when there is a desire to attain specific knowledge.
To teach:
<ul>
<li>BASICS are the beginning.</li>
<li>REPEAT yourself often.</li>
<li>AVOID creating desperation.</li>
<li>INSPIRE with examples.</li>
<li>NEVER forget to repeat yourself.</li>
<li>REPEAT-ting yourself can be embarrassing, especially if you are self-conscious.</li>
<li>AVOID-ing desperation is something to target when learning is concerned.</li>
<li>INSPIRATION is the ultimate catalyst for learning: internal motivation trumps external reward.</li>
</ul>

Law 4: LEARN

<ul>
<li>In simplicity we trust.</li>
<li>The goal of LEAN BACK is to achieve relaxation as the desired state.</li>
<li>Overconfidence is usually the enemy of greatness, and there’s little room for personal ego when pleasing a customer is the true priority.</li>
<li>The more a system knows about you, the less you have to think. Conversely, the more you know about the system, the greater control you can exact.</li>
</ul>

Law 8: TRUST

When all features that can be removed have been, and a product has been made slim, light, and thin, it’s time for the second method: HIDE the complexity through brute-force methods.
Hiding complexity through ingenious mechanical doors or tiny display screens is an overt form of deception. If the deceit feels less like malevolence, more like magic, then hidden complexities become more of a treat than a nuisance.

Reduction by the SHE Method: HIDE

<ul>
<li>REDUCE - The simplest way to achieve simplicity is through thoughtful reduction.</li>
<li>ORGANIZE - Organization makes a system of many appear fewer.</li>
<li>TIME - Savings in time feel like simplicity.</li>
<li>LEARN - Knowledge makes everything simpler.</li>
<li>DIFFERENCES - Simplicity and complexity need each other.</li>
<li>CONTEXT - What lies in the periphery of simplicity is definitely not peripheral.</li>
<li>EMOTION - More emotions are better than less.</li>
<li>TRUST - In simplicity we trust.</li>
<li>FAILURE - Some things can never be made simple.</li>
<li>THE ONE - Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful.</li>
</ul>

The 10 Laws: Recap

The book presents laws that the author has created for simplifying our life, and the things we may work on, or design.

Ten laws of simplicity for business, technology, and design that teach us how to need less but get more. 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. We can learn to simplify without sacrificing comfort and meaning, and we can achieve the balance described in Law 10. This law, which Maeda calls "The One," tells us: "Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful."

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Books

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Product & Design

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Society, Arts & Culture

Ten laws of simplicity for business, technology, and design that teach us how to need less but get more.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. We can learn to simplify without sacrificing comfort and meaning, and we can achieve the balance described in Law 10. This law, which Maeda calls "The One," tells us: "Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful."