A good design is not only about aesthetic aspects and putting beautiful things in the space. It's about how each element works together in the space.To create a great space, designers apply six basic principles:<ol><li>Proportion</li><li>Harmony</li><li>Balance</li><li>Rhythm</li><li>Emphasis</li><li>Contrast</li></ol>You can change any space to look and feel great when you understand these principles.

Six basic principles of good design

Emphasis is also known as "focal point". A focal point should be something interesting to look at. It should be colourful or texturally and visually appealing. Imagine a huge vibrant painting above the fireplace or a wall in bold paint colour or covered with wallpaper to draw attention to your living room. A room where everything gets equal importance will seem scattered or boring.  You need that anchor to break the monotony of the space.

Emphasis anchors the design and adds interest

Put elements in opposition to each other by their colour, shape, texture, material or scale. This design principle can be achieved in different ways:<ul><li>Pairing light with dark colours</li><li>Small elements with large elements</li><li>Textured with non-textured surfaces</li></ul> High contrast can be achieved through the colour and texture of pillows, light colour from the walls with a dark colour of the furniture, or transparent objects with solid ones.

Contrast gives life and character to a room

Rhythm in design is about creating patterns of repetition and contrast to create visual interest and flow, which moves the viewer's eyes around the space. The design is tied together by duplicating elements, colours, shapes or patterns. For example, you can establish a rhythm by using a colour in the pillows,  picking it up in a painting, and again in a rug.

Rhythm creates flow

Balance is about equalizing the visual weight of objects. Balance creates a feeling of equilibrium, stability and unity. <ul><li>Traditional or formal spaces need symmetrical balance. The space is evenly split into two sides that mirror each other.</li><li>In asymmetrical balance, the visual weights of lines, colours, forms, and textures are balanced without exact duplication. </li></ul>

Balance creates a feeling of stability

<ul><li>Scale relates to the size of objects within a space.</li><li>Proportion is about the relationship between two elements. It's how the object relates to the overall context.</li></ul> An example of a wrong proportion is if you have a large sofa and place a small side table next to it.

Scale and Proportion

Harmony is created when all the elements act together to create a unified composition. They may fit the same theme, aesthetic style or mood.  Each piece seems to belong together in some way, even if it is not identical to anything else. To create unity and harmony in your space, define an aesthetic style. This way, you have parameters of colours, textures, and shapes to create a cohesive atmosphere.

Harmony

When you know the basic interior design principles, you can transform any space to look and feel special.

Transform any space following those 6 principles! Interior Design principles are a crucial part of creating a great design. When you know the basic interior design principles you can transform any space to look and feel fabulous and unique, you can feel how everything feels cohesive, you can feel how everything works in unity! I reveal some rules and tips in the focal point, contrast, textures, balance, harmony, rhythm and other ideas to creating inviting spaces that family and friends will love spending time in! If you’re thinking about renovating or decorating your space this video is perfect for you! I hope you’ll enjoy and use this information to create a comfortable and stylish interior design! Join our Community: https://bit.ly/JoinDSignersCommunity SELECT THE PERFECT COLOR COMBINATIONS FOR YOUR SPACE WITH MY **FREE COLOR COMBINATIONS GUIDE HERE: https://bit.ly/colorcombinationsguide **FREE INTERIOR DESIGN MISTAKES AND HOW TO FIX THEM GUIDE HERE: https://bit.ly/mistsakesguide SELECT THE PERFECT LIGHTING FOR YOUR SPACE WITH MY **FREE LIGHTING DESIGN GUIDE HERE: https://bit.ly/lightingdesignguide SELECT THE PERFECT COLOR FOR YOUR SPACE WITH MY **FREE COLOR GUIDE HERE: https://bit.ly/DScolorguide SELECT THE PERFECT INDOOR PLANTS FOR YOUR SPACE WITH MY **FREE INDOOR PLANTS GUIDE HERE: https://bit.ly/indoorplantsguide **FREE 2 MONTH TRIAL OF SKILLSHARE: http://bit.ly/skillshareDSigners *GET ONE FREE AUDIOBOOK, 2 free Audible originals and a 30-day free trial: http://geni.us/DS_Audible **APPS I USE: FREE 30 DAYS TRIAL OF CANVA: https://bit.ly/DS_Canva FREE 7 DAYS TRIAL OF PHOTOSHOP: https://bit.ly/DS_Photoshop GET 60% OFF ALL ADOBE APPS FOR STUDENTS: https://bit.ly/DS_AdobeStudent My ENTIRE Camera and Recording Equipment: https://amzn.to/3mJCyqe The Music I use in All my videos: http://bit.ly/DSignersMusic *D.SIGNERS AMAZON STORE: https://geni.us/DSignersAmazonStore Art Prints https://bit.ly/2VGcXBO Throw Pillow https://geni.us/hBZB Leather Throw Pillow https://geni.us/8qOq Leather+Cotton Throw Pillow https://geni.us/kQkoS Scandinavian Blanket https://geni.us/k9oPX Smart lighting LED Strip https://geni.us/RNlw2 Smart Lighting LED Bulbs https://geni.us/x09F0Vy Smart Switch https://geni.us/jhsF0 Mid Century Plant Stand https://geni.us/gvzxrx Scandinavian Floor Lamp https://geni.us/1i6AI Vitra Bird https://geni.us/wLhNB Table Lamp La Sphere https://geni.us/9V4e2 Nordic Lamp https://geni.us/CA1xZt Moderni Chandelier https://bit.ly/3hSO8vF OUR SOCIAL MEDIA: - Instagram: @d.signers https://www.instagram.com/d.signers @d.signers_in https://www.instagram.com/d.signers_in - Web: http://www.dsigners.net - Personal Instagram: @zahiracury https://www.instagram.com/zahiracury **SHOP YOUR STYLE: JAPANDI https://geni.us/JapandiStyle Mid-Century Modern https://geni.us/Mid-CenturyModernStyle Scandinavian https://geni.us/ScandinavianStyle Industrial https://geni.us/IndustrialStyle Glam https://geni.us/GlamStyle Contemporary https://geni.us/ContemporaryStyle Rustic https://geni.us/RusticStyle Minimalist https://geni.us/MinimalistStyle Traditional https://geni.us/TraditionalStyle My Office Table Lamp: https://dcorstore.com/collections/lighting/products/nordic-lamp Art Prints: https://geni.us/ozXGsKs Desk Flower pot set: http://bit.ly/KvetinaFlowerVases Table Lamp: http://bit.ly/LaSphereCollection SMALL LIVING ROOM DECOR: http://bit.ly/SmallLivingRoomDS SMALL BEDROOM DECOR: http://bit.ly/SmallBedroom-DSigners SMART BULBS: https://geni.us/KM00 TRY AMAZON HOME SERVICES: http://bit.ly/DSigners-AmazonHomeServices Thanks for watching!

videos

Videos

product

Product & Design

Transform any space following those 6 principles! Interior Design principles are a crucial part of creating a great design. When you know the basic interior design principles you can transform any space to look and feel fabulous and unique, you can feel how everything feels cohesive, you can feel how everything works in unity!

I reveal some rules and tips in the focal point, contrast, textures, balance, harmony, rhythm and other ideas to creating inviting spaces that family and friends will love spending time in!
If you’re thinking about renovating or decorating your space this video is perfect for you!

I hope you’ll enjoy and use this information to create a comfortable and stylish interior design!

Join our Community:
https://bit.ly/JoinDSignersCommunity

SELECT THE PERFECT COLOR COMBINATIONS FOR YOUR SPACE WITH MY 
**FREE COLOR COMBINATIONS GUIDE HERE:
https://bit.ly/colorcombinationsguide

**FREE INTERIOR DESIGN MISTAKES AND HOW TO FIX THEM GUIDE HERE:
https://bit.ly/mistsakesguide

SELECT THE PERFECT LIGHTING FOR YOUR SPACE WITH MY 
**FREE LIGHTING DESIGN GUIDE HERE:
https://bit.ly/lightingdesignguide

SELECT THE PERFECT COLOR FOR YOUR SPACE WITH MY
**FREE COLOR GUIDE HERE:
https://bit.ly/DScolorguide

SELECT THE PERFECT INDOOR PLANTS FOR YOUR SPACE WITH MY
**FREE INDOOR PLANTS GUIDE HERE:
https://bit.ly/indoorplantsguide


**FREE 2 MONTH TRIAL OF SKILLSHARE: http://bit.ly/skillshareDSigners
*GET ONE FREE AUDIOBOOK, 2 free Audible originals and a 30-day free trial: http://geni.us/DS_Audible

**APPS I USE:
FREE 30 DAYS TRIAL OF CANVA:
https://bit.ly/DS_Canva

FREE 7 DAYS TRIAL OF PHOTOSHOP:
https://bit.ly/DS_Photoshop

GET 60% OFF ALL ADOBE APPS FOR STUDENTS:
https://bit.ly/DS_AdobeStudent


My ENTIRE Camera and Recording Equipment:
https://amzn.to/3mJCyqe

The Music I use in All my videos:
http://bit.ly/DSignersMusic

*D.SIGNERS AMAZON STORE: https://geni.us/DSignersAmazonStore
Art Prints https://bit.ly/2VGcXBO
Throw Pillow https://geni.us/hBZB
Leather Throw Pillow https://geni.us/8qOq
Leather+Cotton Throw Pillow https://geni.us/kQkoS
Scandinavian Blanket https://geni.us/k9oPX
Smart lighting LED Strip https://geni.us/RNlw2
Smart Lighting LED Bulbs https://geni.us/x09F0Vy
Smart Switch https://geni.us/jhsF0
Mid Century Plant Stand https://geni.us/gvzxrx
Scandinavian Floor Lamp https://geni.us/1i6AI
Vitra Bird https://geni.us/wLhNB
Table Lamp La Sphere https://geni.us/9V4e2
Nordic Lamp https://geni.us/CA1xZt
Moderni Chandelier https://bit.ly/3hSO8vF


OUR SOCIAL MEDIA:
- Instagram: 
@d.signers
https://www.instagram.com/d.signers
@d.signers_in
https://www.instagram.com/d.signers_in
- Web: http://www.dsigners.net
- Personal Instagram: 
@zahiracury
https://www.instagram.com/zahiracury


**SHOP YOUR STYLE:

JAPANDI
https://geni.us/JapandiStyle

Mid-Century Modern
https://geni.us/Mid-CenturyModernStyle

Scandinavian
https://geni.us/ScandinavianStyle

Industrial
https://geni.us/IndustrialStyle

Glam
https://geni.us/GlamStyle

Contemporary
https://geni.us/ContemporaryStyle

Rustic
https://geni.us/RusticStyle

Minimalist
https://geni.us/MinimalistStyle

Traditional
https://geni.us/TraditionalStyle

My Office Table Lamp: https://dcorstore.com/collections/lighting/products/nordic-lamp
Art Prints: https://geni.us/ozXGsKs
Desk Flower pot set: http://bit.ly/KvetinaFlowerVases
Table Lamp: http://bit.ly/LaSphereCollection

SMALL LIVING ROOM DECOR:
http://bit.ly/SmallLivingRoomDS

SMALL BEDROOM DECOR:
http://bit.ly/SmallBedroom-DSigners

SMART BULBS:
https://geni.us/KM00

TRY AMAZON HOME SERVICES:
http://bit.ly/DSigners-AmazonHomeServices


Thanks for watching!

Welcome to D.Signers! A space where we are really passionate about design. We strongly believe that a good space can improve our lives and for that we are here to help you every step of the way to design your space, by sharing tips, trends and ideas with you and to inspire you to create a comfortable and stylish atmosphere.

I'm Zahira Cury, Architect and interior designer, founder of the Online Design Magazine "D.Signers" that has more than 4 million followers on Instagram (@d.signers @d.signers_in) and thousands of readers in our blog www.dsigners.net 

I’ve been on social media for a long time, sharing daily design inspiration through @d.signers and now I decided to create a personal space here on YouTube to share with all of you really relevant information about interior design from a professional point of view but explaining in a very easy way.

If you want to be part of our design community don't forget to subscribe and to turn on the notifications bell!

Get inspired!

D.Signers

TOP 6 Interior Design Principles for Home Decor

<ul><li>The first website was published in 1991. It was exclusively text-based and the start of a digital revolution.</li><li>There was no such thing as a high-speed internet connection, so websites needed to be built for slow connection speeds so most of them looked like walls of text.</li><li>Later versions of HTML allowed for more complex designs, but are still very basic compared to today.</li></ul> Takeaways for today's websites: Large media files, heavy graphic design, and excessive animations can all contribute to higher bounce rates when load speeds aren't as fast as we want.

Early 1990s: Antiquity

<ul><li>Web design has evolved both in terms of structure and appearance.</li><li>Designers began using table-based layouts to organize content, allowing for greater flexibility and creativity.</li><li>Graphical design elements also quickly grew in popularity.</li></ul> Takeaways for today's websites: The development of table-based design was vital in the evolution of web design and a move toward non-linear page structure. Page structure remains critical when thinking about navigation and content as it determines how the user experiences and interacts with a site.

Mid-1990s: The Middle Ages

Flash was introduced in 1996 and opened up a world of design possibilities. Design elements were enhanced with animations, tiled background images, neon colours, 3D buttons, splash pages, and other multimedia. Flash was the entry into visitor-focused design. Takeaways for today's websites: Flash was a game-changer but would not stick around forever. Today's norm is to use alternative methods such as CSS and JavaScript animations.

Late 1990s: The Renaissance

Usability and flexibility in web design mark the early 2000s. CSS was the coding language that allowed developers to store visual rules in files separate from HTML, separating content and style. As a result, CSS made websites easier to maintain, more flexible, and quicker to load. Takeaways for today's websites: It has become easier for people to scan websites looking for the information they need. A few best practices include intuitively placed information, visually accentuated links, and straightforward navigation.

Early 2000s: The Enlightenment

This period of web design started with the birth of Web 2.0. Features of this period include the growth of multimedia applications, the rise of interactive content, and the advent of social media. Design became about content, and content about search engine optimization. The user was at the centre of design, and selling products became a secondary function. Takeaways for today's websites: Thinking about your website in terms of SEO is still a top priority for most thriving business websites. SEO demands content, and content largely became the focus of web design during this era.

Mid- to Late-2000s: The Industrial Revolution

<ul><li>Today, web design has firmly established itself as an irreplaceable component of every good marketing strategy.</li><li>In terms of modern aesthetics, minimalism is the preferred choice with sparse content, flat graphics, simpler colour palettes, and big and bold visuals. UX has taken centre stage and given way to design features such as infinite scrolling and single-page design.</li><li>Mobile web is a key step in the evolution of web design. Websites are structured to accommodate the growing number of mobile web users, including a mobile-first approach.</li></ul>

2010 to Now: The Modern Era

Learn about how web design has evolved over the past 20+ years, and see how websites have grown into the fully formed experiences they are today.

marketingandsales

Marketing & Sales

A Look Back at 30+ Years of Website Design

Material You signals a radical new way to think about design for the entire tech industry. Material You explores a more humanistic approach to design, celebrating the tension between design sensibility and personal preference, and not shying away from emotion.

Material You Design

We’ve been seeing motion everywhere: flickering typography swooshes that mutate until it comes together to form the name of a brand that wants to reflect its dynamism; squishy shapes wiggle and buoyant logos bob to hint at a devil-may-care, cheerful personality.In 2022, motion cannot be an afterthought. Instead, it will become the centrepiece of a project, a lens through which designers start viewing the infinite possibilities of crafting a brand story that is far more dynamic than static images designed to warp and move.

2022 Design Trends: Motion Design

This trend points at an understated intention of moving away from the hi-def, ‘perfect’ image, a sentiment that perhaps is rooted in the recent renaissance of film photography. This style feels new although it’s old. This drive to create an imperfect image definitely has something to do with the slow revival of film, the very feel of the medium which is frankly unmatchable, and the space it creates for honest mistakes.While specific details like light leaks and fish-eye lenses might be left behind, the broader trend itself is highly adaptable, and will stand the test of time.

The 90s Are Back: Retro Age In 2022

There is something about amorphous, squidgy blobs and shiny liquids in 3D and digital art that seemed very on-trend over the past year. Sugar-coloured, cushiony structures popped up <a href="https://www.itsnicethat.com/news/reece-owen-ryan-vautier-sarah-blomey-bimini-bon-boulash-gay-times-cover-digital-221121">on magazine covers</a>, and hypnotic, <a href="https://www.commarts.com/project/29301/the-tide-identity">elastic-band-like liquids</a> shimmered and pulsated in a kind of tranced rhythm. Leaning on a sense of randomness and abstraction, these fluid and glinting organic shapes – with no sharp angles or edges in sight – shift and move like aquatic creatures, in ways that defy logic and any notions of gravity.

Gooey Blobs and Liquids in 3D Art

Techniques and ideas born in the 1890s, and seen again in the heady years of the late 90s, became recurring themes across commercial and personal projects. With misty gradients and grainy, tactile textures, the aesthetic pull of the medium was hard to escape: one cursory scroll on Instagram and it pops up in <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CRoT1-OBosU/">posters</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CGIDH_tB5Dk/">album covers</a> and endless <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CUkxeHwLAR6/">editorial illustrations</a>.The complexity of these typefaces draws on the beauty of the eccentric graphics of the 60s and 70s, and its contemporary update, which makes it more than just a revival

A Nostalgic Resurgence

If there ever was a visual riposte to uncertain, challenging times that manifested through the reflective microcosm that is the world of design, then the recent rise in the use of dramatic, eye-searing colours was definitely it. Intense gradients and blazing hues showed up across <a href="https://www.wktokyo.com/en/work/play-new">advertising campaigns</a>, <a href="https://www.musicfrommemory.com/release/6971/various-artists/heisei-no-oto-japanese-left-field-pop-from-the-cd-age-1989-1996">album</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CNX2SpmB7CN/">book covers</a>, <a href="https://www.pentagram.com/work/2021-film-independent-spirit-awards?rel=discipline&rel-id=1">identity systems</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CNtAEPkB0Tz/">editorial</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CTwWHVqgiwC/">design</a> that made it almost impossible for the viewer to look away.

Intense, Retina-searing Colours

From gooey blobs in 3D art to posters and album covers drenched in intense, eye-searing colours, some trends had a big 2021. Here, we explore how they might change and evolve in 2022 and shed some layers that will (probably) get left behind.

mindfulness

Mindfulness

artsandculture

Society, Arts & Culture

Five design trends set to visually shape 2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Law 5: DIFFERENCES

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

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

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

<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

<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

<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."

books

Books

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."

John Maeda

The Laws of Simplicity

Designing a landing page can be daunting. If it’s not your area of expertise, making your landing page look the part becomes time-consuming and frustrating—even expensive, particularly if you need a designer to do the heavy lifting for you. Many marketers struggle for hours, days, or weeks because they’ve been told design is one of the most significant factors when it comes to landing page performance.

The Landing Page Of Your Website

Conversion Intelligence is about combining your marketing expertise with machine learning so you can make informed decisions based on the latest available data—and get the most conversion bang for your buck.

Conversion Intelligence

For our design analysis, we looked at 36,928 English language page variants active between March 2019 and March 2020. As it turns out, design may not be as impactful—or as worthy of stressing about—as you may think. Our results showed copy has twice the relative importance compared to design.

Results Of The Testing

We analyzed our data using a total image of the page, not by looking at each attribute. We believe it’d be interesting to investigate design further—based on each visual element—to provide you with more specific design insights.Tools like Smartbuilder allow you to create the perfect page and section components based on your industry, audience, and campaign goals in just a few minutes. It also provides AI insights and recommendations to help you launch higher-converting landing pages.

Expanding Your Research

Our analysis clearly shows design isn’t the main driver for page performance, but we’re not saying design doesn’t matter. A great lookin’ page will still improve your conversion rate—just probably not as much as you might think. If you really want to boost your conversions, we recommend focusing on perfecting your copy to capture the audience you’re targeting.

Design Matters, but Copy is Key

Should you spend more time optimizing the design or the copy on your landing pages? We analyzed data from 36,928 page variants to find out.

writing

Reading & Writing

Copy or Design: What's More Important to Your Landing Page Success?

Accelerated work experiences or AWEs include any work format that compresses productive activity in time or space to deliver a result much faster than would otherwise be possible. 
Popular methods include pomodoros, hackathons, design sprints, Scrum sprints, rapid prototyping sessions, design thinking crash courses, and Startup Weekends, among others.

Accelerated Work Experiences

As work has become ever more digital, distributed, and asynchronous over the past few decades, we have basked in our newfound freedom. Now we can work anywhere, anytime! And thus we find ourselves working everywhere, all the time. 
The splintering of the experience of work into a million tiny pieces has made us stressed out, frazzled, and distracted. It has robbed us of many of the inherent pleasures of work: the bliss of deep concentration, the satisfaction of starting and finishing something in one sitting, and the fulfillment of working shoulder to shoulder with peers.

The Logic Of AWEs

A MESA is a 5-day, intensive work sprint delivered on behalf of a client, usually a large company or other organization. MESA Co. gathers 12-16 participants (which they have found to be just the right number) in beautiful, often exotic locations around the world, seeking to create the ideal environment to focus on and solve a complex problem that the organization is facing. 
The participants are split more or less evenly between employees of the client company, and outside experts and makers, who offer outside perspectives and hands-on skills.

The MESA Method

Here is the basic premise: the world is only getting more complex. This means there will be fewer and fewer proven solutions to problems. What we need is not a new and better solution, but a method for creating solutions quickly, in response to changing conditions.
At the same time, the most talented people are increasingly mobile, picky, and in demand. It is going to be ever more difficult to tie them down with full-time employment.

The Premise Of MESA

The only way to solve the world’s most complex challenges is by working with the best in the world. 
And the only way to do that is to keep the time commitment short, remove every obstacle to them creating value, and create an environment and a team where they can do the best work of their lives.

The Best In The World

The goal is to create a brief, but very intense working environment where a small group of carefully chosen participants can build something tangible to advance a mission or cause that they care about. 
The method takes advantage of rapid prototyping tools, software-as-a-service, and modular templates to build something real and functional that embodies the knowledge and experience of everyone at the table. This prototype is used not just to demonstrate the viability of a solution, but to build consensus around a new direction for the company.

Blending Man And Machine

The client is a “problem owner” responsible for an important challenge that they can’t solve on their own. Perhaps their main product is no longer resonating with a younger generation of consumers. 
Their marketing channels are outdated and obsolete, but they are afraid to cannibalize them with new ones. They could be tasked with revitalizing a product line in the face of major technological shifts. Or it could be a social mission, meeting the needs of an underserved population under tight budgetary constraints.

The Problem Owner: The Client

Day 1 is a “download day” dedicated to getting all the relevant information out of everyone’s heads and “out on the table.” This includes the external participants, who were chosen for their specialized expertise in the industries, markets, and technologies thought to be most relevant.On Day 2, the carefully worded “mission” is unveiled, drawing on the discoveries from the day before to frame the problem owner’s problem as an inspiring, yet feasible challenge. The second half of the day is spent generating a small set of ideas to prototype.

The Structure Of MESA: Download And Mission Day

Day 3 is for prototyping, which includes small groups writing copy, making mockups or landing pages, building demos, or producing short videos or presentations to demonstrate the viability of the ideas from the day before. 
It is on Day 3, once people have to start making real tradeoffs in the making of the product, that the real constraints arise.

Prototyping

Day 4 is focused on more advanced prototyping, taking the most viable prototypes to a basic level of functionality. The leader pushes to bring the fidelity of the prototype as close to reality as possible, including real code and functional backends whenever possible.
The further toward reality it moves, the more hidden constraints and priorities will come to the surface.

Advanced Level Prototyping

Day 5, the final day, is focused on wrapping up loose ends and preparing the final presentation. MESA Co. is adamant that the final deliverable cannot be just a presentation (or a report or briefing), but rather the presentation is a vehicle for delivering and explaining the prototype that was created. 
The presentation is ideally made to senior leaders of the company, or other stakeholders who will demand a high level of rigour. This is what creates a real sense of urgency and meaning around the deadline, and brings out the “productivity magic” of the last two days.

The Finale

Where MESA shines is not in the explicit – the rules, structures, schedule, checklists – but in the tacit, the subtle, and the sublime. 
They have found a way to use these subtle touches not just to create a memorable experience, but to produce results that more heavy-handed methods can only dream of.

The Magic Is In The Details

The table represents the intersection of pleasure and commitment. The pleasure of family and friends sitting together and sharing a meal in the evening. And the commitment of getting down to business, of giving everything you have to the task at hand.Tables and the meals we eat on them are enveloped in rituals. From the way the table is set, to how the food is served, to how people sit and prepare themselves for eating, to how the food is actually eaten. Hundreds of these small rituals give us prescribed behaviours that we know will lead to the outcome we’re after – getting fed.

The Meaning Of MESA: A Table

There is a deeper purpose to these rituals that is easy to miss: they imbue the entire experience with significance. They make the process of getting calories into our bodies much more than the sum of its parts: an affirmation of our values, a time of connection with the people we love most, a reminder of what really matters at the end of a hectic day.

The Purpose Of The Ritual

MESA seeks to reintroduce and translate some of these rituals to the world of work. But not just for nostalgic purposes. It recreates them from the ground up, focusing them like a laser on one thing: producing results. It is a reinvention of the rituals that once bound us together in a shared purpose, working toward a common cause, but adapted to the modern context.

Adopting For The World Of Work

The experience begins with the venue. MESA Co. very carefully chooses locations that support the results they are trying to produce. The venues almost always have a “wow factor” to inspire the participants with an environment that stimulates all the senses. Entering the venue as a group and seeing the meticulously laid out table gives you a sense of the gravity and importance of the mission you are about to undertake.

The Venue

The table is, of course, central. It is laid out with precise measurements down to the centimeter, in order to put people just close enough to work together, while giving them enough space to work. Each place at the table has a name on it, like a wedding where every seating assignment is carefully chosen. The setting includes just the essential materials needed for the week, often including a notebook, pen, and bag. Even the color scheme is chosen with intention, often purposefully clashing with the client’s official colors to avoid the “business as usual” attitude.

The Colours And The Shapes

Every element in the space is chosen with intention: the chairs are comfortable for long hours of sitting and working; bags are collected in a central location so they don’t get in the way; the food is prepared simply and to avoid afternoon crashes; there are no clocks, giving the experience a sense of timelessness. There is a “Leave Me Alone” wall – a grid of pockets with participants’ names on them, where everyone is asked to leave their phones to remove the temptation.

No Clocks

The real purpose of all these decisions and rituals is to change participants’ behavior, away from the counterproductive habits we’ve developed, and toward a more focused way of working that is rarely possible in a distraction-filled workplace. As you find yourself in an environment purposefully free of the usual triggers and hooks, with a full staff dedicated to protecting you from every distraction or discomfort, your creativity is unleashed. People respect rituals more than rules, because rituals give us something meaningful in return for our compliance.

Rituals Not Rules: Changing The Context

Coming back to the everyday world, I’ve begun to notice a phenomenon everywhere: as soon as one person in a group takes out their phone or computer, everyone else is much more likely to do so as well. It only takes one person to check out for the atmosphere of human presence to start being sucked out of the room, like an airplane cabin with a punctured window. And once that air is gone, it’s very hard to bring people back.A quick glance at your notifications seems so harmless, but it communicates something unmistakable to others: there is somewhere you’d rather be, mentally if not physically.

The Real World: Everyday Problems With Notifications

I believe that people naturally want to focus, but only if that focus will be protected and respected. They want to give their best, but only if that effort will be put to good use. As the idealism of wanting to do a good job collides with the fragmented reality of modern schedules, we become resigned, gradually coming to resent the environment that seemingly won’t allow us to excel. What I see among MESA participants is a sigh of relief, followed by an unbelievable explosion of creative energy.

A Place To Focus

For years I’ve written on this blog about new ways of working that allow people to bend time, space, and the human mind to their advantage. How do I have

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Creativity

Introducing the MESA Method: Creating the Ideal Work Experience - Forte Labs

Historically, design has been an afterthought in the business world. It applied only to aesthetics and resulted in companies creating solutions that failed to meet their customers' real needs. Early examples of human-centric design:<ul><li>In the early 1900s, Charles and Ray Eames practised "learning by doing", exploring a range of needs and limitations before designing their famous Eames chairs.</li><li>In the 1960s, dressmaker Jean Muir considered how her clothes felt to wear and how they looked to others.</li></ul> Both developed a deep understanding of their users' lives and unmet needs.

The history of design thinking

The term "design thinking" was coined in the 1990s by David Kelley and Tim Brown of IDEO, with Roger Martin. Design thinking is an ideology supported by a process.<ul><li>The Design thinking ideology states that a hands-on, user-centric approach to problem-solving will lead to innovation, differentiation, and competitive advantage.</li><li>The design thinking process defines the hands-on, user-centric approach in six distinct phases.</li></ul>

Design thinking definition

The overall flow of the framework<ol><li>Understand</li><li>Explore</li><li>Materialize</li></ol> Within the larger framework are 6 phases:<ol><li>Empathise: Research what your users do, say, think, and feel.</li><li>Define: Combine your research to identify where your users' problems exist, then highlight opportunities for innovation.</li><li>Ideate: Brainstorm a large range of crazy ideas that address unmet user needs.</li><li>Prototype. Build actual, tactile representations of a subset of your ideas to help find what works and what does not.</li><li>Test: Return to your users for feedback.</li><li>Implement: Your solution should touch the lives of your end-users.</li></ol>

The design-thinking framework

<ul><li>The user-centred process starts with user data, creates design artefacts that address real user needs, then test those ideas with real users.</li><li>It leverages collective expertise and establishes a shared language and buy-in from your team.</li><li>It encourages innovation by exploring multiple avenues for the same problem.</li></ul>

The advantage of the framework

The design-thinking framework should not be seen as a step-by-step recipe for success. Instead, it should be used as scaffolding to support you. Take the framework and tweak it as needed. <ul><li>Each phase should be iterative and cyclical, not linear. Only when the wireframes are prototyped can you get a real representation of your design. Then you can assess if your solution really works.</li><li>Repeat phases: It can be necessary to do an exercise within a phase several times to get to the desired outcome.</li></ul>

Flexible framework

The nature of design thinking makes it scalable. The guide created can be used regardless of expertise, and mitigate the range of design talent while increasing the probability of success. Design thinking applies to product design as well as societal, environmental, and economical issues.

Scalability - think bigger

Collection of Top design frameworks adopted by world’s leading brands for product and user experience innovation

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Design Frameworks

Historically, design has only been used to touch up a product’s aesthetics. It resulted in solutions that failed to meet customers’ needs. Design-thinking remedies this by approaching products from a human-centric viewpoint.

What is design thinking and why should you care? History and background plus a quick overview and visualization of 6 phases of the design thinking process.

Discover the world of business and economics.

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Design Thinking 101

Questions we ask ourselves when we're about to enter the world of work or start a business.<ul><li>How do I make myself employable?</li><li>How will I find my dream job?</li><li>What skills am I lacking?</li><li>How should I deal with clients?</li><li>What are people more interested in - my technical ability, or how I think?</li></ul> The mindset you need to start a creative business and keep it going is the same you need to tackle any new creative challenge.

The mindset required to start a creative business

If you intend to start your own studio, don't. Not yet. First benefit from other's who have done it before you. Find out about their successes and failures. Learn from their mistakes.<ul><li>Get a job. Gain experience from being around other professionals. Make yourself indispensable by showing how you add value to the company. Think about how to improve processes, add services and find new areas of revenue.</li><li>Be a thinker. Think about the writing, user experience, and the project's overall impact.</li><li>Be a sponge, not a Hoover. Ask questions, listen to the answers, and put them into practice.</li></ul>

Prepare yourself (You don't know everything just yet)

When the time is right, start small. This will allow you to take risks and learn what works. <ul><li>Do your homework. Write a thorough business plan. It is a valuable guide that forces you to think about where your work will come from. Make an effort to understand a profit & loss sheet, planning pipeline and cashflow forecast.</li><li>Plan to grow. Write an operation's manual to detail who does what and how often. Plan all the roles a bigger agency will need, then do them all yourselves.</li><li>Find 'your way'. Establish what your studio's vision is.</li></ul>

Start small, but plan for growth

<ul><li>Hire the best you can. People are your most valuable resource. When the time arrives, hire the best people you can afford. Each recruit should fit your values and bring something new with them. If there are people you admire but they're not a good fit for your team, find ways to collaborate with them.</li><li>Create a new normal. Always push boundaries and then adjust to the new normal.</li><li>Never (ever) stop learning. Don't assume things will always stay the same. Actively push change and be curious and experimental in your approach.</li></ul>

Embrace change

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there are two main types of dropdowns: those used for navigation and those used in forms. We look at the Form variant: <ul><li>Dropdown types and variations</li><li>Dropdown styles</li><li>Dropdown states</li><li>What the placeholder should say</li><li>When not to use a dropdown (and when to)</li><li>Native dropdowns</li><li>Accessibility checklist</li></ul>

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Copy or Design: What's More Important to Your Landing Page Success?

Jenny Whitney