Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
6th out of 19 books
—
11 voters
The Laws of Simplicity: Design, Technology, Business, Life
by
John Maeda
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,...more
Hardcover, 100 pages
Published
July 7th 2006
by MIT Press (MA)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
2,498)
John Maeda's point of view on Simplicity is well established following 10 years of effort at MIT to define it in context of today's acknowledged complexity. It is a very simple book to read and offers a host of "mnemonics" to help the reader remember the 10 laws. I found the most interesting chapter to be the seventh: The Law of Emotion or More Emotions are Better than Less. Maeda offers the thought that everything should be connected to how you feel and encourages readers to be sensitive to the...more
J'ai lu il y a quelques jours un livre formidable de John Maeda, intitulé "The laws of simplicity". L'auteur est enseignant-chercheur au MIT et est spécialiste des sujets liés à l'utilisabilité et au design. Il offre ici en 100 pages brillantes de concision et d'efficacité quelques clés pour "simplifier" l'expérience offerte aux clients. Les lois, très simples sont les suivantes:
Tout ceci paraît basique, évident, pourtant ce ne l'est pas tant que ça. Une lecture indispensable qui permet de prend...more
Tout ceci paraît basique, évident, pourtant ce ne l'est pas tant que ça. Une lecture indispensable qui permet de prend...more
Apr 17, 2010
JennJ
added it
From the MIT Media Lab, Professor John Maeda (who has published a few of my stories on his Simplicity blog) this year published this small volume that summarizes his thoughts on incorporating simplicity into design, technology, and product development. I enjoyed this book not only for the science but from a cultural anthropological perspective - it is thought-provoking to consider how, in this world of hyper-connectivity and technological efficiencies, we as humans often need (crave even) a more...more
Mr. Maeda takes the ambitious mission of explaining simplicity in the book. I've always thought that simplicity is something some people just seem to understand, and others just don't. It's kind of like an eye for something. John Maeda has taken this task to gather many different ways (or laws as he calls) simplicity appears. It's a challenging task, but he has done it really well.
Mr. Maeda introduces in simple way the usual forms of simplicity and gives small introduction how people can try to...more
Mr. Maeda introduces in simple way the usual forms of simplicity and gives small introduction how people can try to...more
Jan 19, 2011
Rafael Bandeira
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Designers, Minimalists, Managers, Entrepreneurs
Recommended to Rafael by:
Franco Marsillac
Shelves:
to-re-read
Good study on what simplicity, both real and perceived, are made of, and what to focus on to achieve it. For product design or business management, or even daily life, good concepts are present in the book to help simplify or better understand the complexity around these.
The book is written in a personal and casual tone, sometimes even funny, that transmits a lot about the author, John Maeda, and gives an enjoyable feeling to follow through, as sounds a lot like a conversation. The small size al...more
The book is written in a personal and casual tone, sometimes even funny, that transmits a lot about the author, John Maeda, and gives an enjoyable feeling to follow through, as sounds a lot like a conversation. The small size al...more
"Simplicity is about the unexpected pleasure derived from what is likely to be insignificant and would otherwise go unnoticed." (2)
"The Pareto Principle is useful as a rule of thumb: assume that in any given bin of data, generally 80% can be managed at lower priority and 20% requires the highest level. Everything is important, but knowing where to start is the critical first step." (14)
"The best designers in the world all squint when they look at something. They squint to see the forest from the...more
"The Pareto Principle is useful as a rule of thumb: assume that in any given bin of data, generally 80% can be managed at lower priority and 20% requires the highest level. Everything is important, but knowing where to start is the critical first step." (14)
"The best designers in the world all squint when they look at something. They squint to see the forest from the...more
2 likes · like · see review
10 laws and a hundred pages to turn complex matters into simple ones…it is so little time consuming and cheap that it would be unreasonable not to read.
Maeda, like many of us, has observed that life, products and technology were becoming increasingly complex and looked for ways to simplify them. The book is then not only applying to design but is a more general essay on making life more comfortable.
The ten laws can easily be understood and in fact it could be explained in a lot less than 100 pag...more
Maeda, like many of us, has observed that life, products and technology were becoming increasingly complex and looked for ways to simplify them. The book is then not only applying to design but is a more general essay on making life more comfortable.
The ten laws can easily be understood and in fact it could be explained in a lot less than 100 pag...more
I loved this book and the concise presentation of powerful ideas. He has collected the principles to drive toward simplicity and makes the case for the power behind simplicity. This can be applied in so many circumstances.
Madea’s background coming from both computer science and design is especially intriguing to me. As I sit on the technical side of things I am often fascinated by the design world. The more I learn and observe I see many corollaries between the two worlds. I was able to see the...more
Madea’s background coming from both computer science and design is especially intriguing to me. As I sit on the technical side of things I am often fascinated by the design world. The more I learn and observe I see many corollaries between the two worlds. I was able to see the...more
33 pages into this book, I remember why I couldn't finish it the first time I attempted to read it. It reads too much like a personal account of the topic without enough data to back up the claims made. I find that they are made too casually to be convincing. His principles at time may seem like common sense, but I think that begs for a bit more research and data to back up the statements.
To be fair, he says that this is a personal exploration of the topic, and he will wait much later in his lif...more
To be fair, he says that this is a personal exploration of the topic, and he will wait much later in his lif...more
well, i was hoping for much more philosophy. turned out to be mostly about product design.
also, the register was often annoyingly sort of oprahish. explaining to the reader why certain objects make them feel certain emotions, with the implication that if you follow these instructions and buy objects satifying the following guidelines, you'll soon be feeling better emotions.
that said, i actually really liked most of the 10 laws, and just wish that in the exposition he'd had more examples about bu...more
also, the register was often annoyingly sort of oprahish. explaining to the reader why certain objects make them feel certain emotions, with the implication that if you follow these instructions and buy objects satifying the following guidelines, you'll soon be feeling better emotions.
that said, i actually really liked most of the 10 laws, and just wish that in the exposition he'd had more examples about bu...more
If this book was supposed to make me a better designer, it failed. It's a collection of thoughts on design taken from a more abstract/holistic point of view. This wouldn't be a bad idea in itself, if only these reflections were a little more insightful. For some (most?) of them I failed to read between the lines. Example: What good is to explain how the TAB key works and how powerful it is in organizing data? Or forcing gratuitious acronyms upon your readers and pretending they'd remember them?...more
2 likes · like · see review
I can't argue with the premise, or many of the conclusions and advices... but I felt a familiar feeling creeping into my brain as I read this, the same feeling I used to get while reading my intro psych textbook back in college: the "well, duh" response. Good as a refresher, and probably always good as a reminder to anyone who makes anything (especially in the age of information glut, which the book is clearly designed to address), but I didn't find any earthshaking new ideas about simplicity an...more
Великолепная книга!
И близко не ожидал, что дизайн занимает такое большое пространство в нашей жизни. Такое моё восприятие возможно из-за того что я логик, а дизайн и логика это как два противоположных полюса. Но тем не менее рискну предположить, что эта книга очень сильна в своей тематике. «Законы простоты» та книга, которую следует прочитать всем, кто причастен к создании и воплощению в жизнь услуг, товаров, и прочих ценностей. Читать просто обязательно! :)
И близко не ожидал, что дизайн занимает такое большое пространство в нашей жизни. Такое моё восприятие возможно из-за того что я логик, а дизайн и логика это как два противоположных полюса. Но тем не менее рискну предположить, что эта книга очень сильна в своей тематике. «Законы простоты» та книга, которую следует прочитать всем, кто причастен к создании и воплощению в жизнь услуг, товаров, и прочих ценностей. Читать просто обязательно! :)
This book is a manual for how to go about simplifying designs. The principles are generic enough to be applicable to many aspects, but I found the ideas to be most suitable to Product Design, but that's probably because of my current mindset. If any aspect of your work involves design, this is a must read. I'll likely pick up a hard copy and keep it on my desk for reference, as I said this book is a reference manual.
I like Maeda, I have one of his old design books. This one started off well enough but quite soon I began to feel it wasn't really aimed at me. Maeda has a great capacity for summarising and shrinking information into simple, digestible phrases, but I couldn't help thinking with The Laws Of Simplicity he was shaping aesthetics and technology into metaphors aimed at middle managers looking for the latest self-help book.
Jul 26, 2010
Dave Emmett
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
designers
Recommended to Dave by:
Cheryl Chung
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 th...more
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 th...more
The terseness of this book appealed to me a lot -- just 100 pages. Its written in simple language and organized well. The author lays down 11 principle/laws of simplicity and connects them as one progresses reading this book. Some really good quotes are included in relevant places. However the second half of the book begins to look like a drag. Nevertheless ends on a strong note. I guess it has atypical structure of "self-help" books.
Verdict: Worth a read, if you have couple of hours to spare.
Verdict: Worth a read, if you have couple of hours to spare.
I'm not a designer, or a programmer or even much of a business person in my mind so maybe that is why I feel the book was somewhat loss unto me. There are definite applications for designing products, esp. tech products. The book moves towards a much more philosophical commentary on simplicity and I'm not sure if I can buy into it.
Main idea: subtract the obvious and add the meaningful. Applicable to writing, some product design and most likely coding.
Simplify by:
Law 1: reducing thoughtfully whic...more
Main idea: subtract the obvious and add the meaningful. Applicable to writing, some product design and most likely coding.
Simplify by:
Law 1: reducing thoughtfully whic...more
John Maeda's short, direct essays on the "laws of simplicity" as he defines them, are from a technical viewpoint (both design and technology), but accessible, fresh, and thoughtful. The most engaging ideas for me, as a writer, concerned the role of design in discerning "clarity" (of thought, product, purpose) and that essence within art (what is moving, unexpected, transcendent, beautiful perhaps) that is fundamental to the human spirit, a luminous "reason" for living. This is a likable book tha...more
I first read this book when I was working with Microsoft wth a mission to "cut the clutter" in corporate communications and to make a complcated and complex matrix of communication into something more seamless, powerful and impactful. The thinking in this slim volume informed everything I did and has sat on my desk as a "bible" ever since. In fact I often carry it around with me.
This is an interesting look at how design affects products in the world. Since I have more experience with the technology side of the equation, I found the book interesting in its views that the points about how design drives different technology. It is a short read, with interesting conclusions about the struggle to find the right balance between simplicity and complexity in the world.
This is a sort of "Zen and the art of Being Simple." It's not full of practical advice, but more of a thought-process and style that you should apply to everything to make it simple. Some good underlying principles for those who are designers or who need to communicate ideas, but quite lacking in practical application.
Amusing book for a limited audience I think.
Amusing book for a limited audience I think.
Jul 01, 2011
Michel
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommended to Michel by:
Designers, Comm pros, and also parents and teachers
Omg, do I wish I'd read this book way back when!
It contains everything I learned the hard way, and quite a few I didn't learn any way.
And how long did it take him to distill his subject to the 'substantific marrow'? Every chiseled sentence quotable…
For my part I will say this one out loud every morning: "Simplicity is substracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful".
It contains everything I learned the hard way, and quite a few I didn't learn any way.
And how long did it take him to distill his subject to the 'substantific marrow'? Every chiseled sentence quotable…
For my part I will say this one out loud every morning: "Simplicity is substracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful".
Captivating set of principles that while don't explicitly tell you "how to make something simple," do provide the context for you to think about simplicity yourself. More of a self-help for simplicity than a tomb on actually making anything, I found it captivating and quick to read. I'll be thinking about everything in this book on every new project I start from now on.
This book is pretty short, yet the author filled it with several informal ramblings, which means the amount of good content in the book is pretty small. I expected something a little more professional or academic from an MIT professor. This book is just a rough and loose outpouring of unrefined ideas, which the author admits to in his introduction. I'm not a fan of books written with blog-style prose and quality. However, because he stated that it was his purpose to put out some rough ideas I am...more
I still think three stars should mean "It was okay." It was exactly that - okay. Interesting ideas, some good arguments, but the writing wasn't all that great. I was slightly annoyed by the cumbersome acronyms and found it sad that their inclusion in a book about simplicity wore me out a little. I appreciated the bit about needing complexity to appreciate simplicity. I felt like Dr. Maeda was trying a little too hard with his writing style. I'm not sure if he can apply his "trust the water" teac...more
I was completely underwhelmed by John Maeda's 'Laws of Simplicity'. I feel that he 'oversimplifies' life and the value of efficiency and efficacy with acronyms/mnemonics for how to simplify life. I didn't get a sense any deeper reasoning to his statements beyond the obvious/common sense. Not a book that I would recommend to any of my friends.
El libro es una gran clase en sentido común, que irónicamente como su reflexión sobre la simplicidad y complexidad es impresionante irónica pues el sentido común es el menos común de los sentidos.
muy recomendable para cualquier persona sobre todo aquellas que se encuentran mas metidos en áreas creativas como la ciencia, el arte etc.
muy recomendable para cualquier persona sobre todo aquellas que se encuentran mas metidos en áreas creativas como la ciencia, el arte etc.
Didn't expect to be disappointed by this book but was proven wrong. There are good nuggets throughout the book but it's overall incoherent, conflicting and hand-wavy. It's ironic that the list of the ten rules of simplicity has both verbs and nouns which makes it hard to parse. Not good design.
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.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
![Designing Interactions [With CDROM] by Bill Moggridge](http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348241331m/258476.jpg "Designing Interactions [With CDROM] by Bill Moggridge")
John Maeda [MY-ay-da] is a world-renowned artist, graphic designer, computer scientist and educator whose career reflects his philosophy of humanizing technology. For more than a decade, he has worked to integrate technology, education and the arts into a 21st-century synthesis of creativity and innovation.
Maeda's early work redefined the use of electronic media as a tool for expression by combini...more
More about John Maeda...
Maeda's early work redefined the use of electronic media as a tool for expression by combini...more
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious and adding the meaningful.”
—
64 people liked it
More quotes…
Jan 19, 2011 08:13am