The Laws of Simplicity: Design, Technology, Business, Life

Maeda, John

ISBN 10: 1531881491 ISBN 13: 9781531881498

Publisher: Brilliance Audio, 2016

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 ?nd 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 rede?ne the notion of improved so that it doesn t always mean something more, something added on. Maeda s ?rst law of simplicity is reduce. It s not necessarily bene?cial 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: 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 sacri?cing 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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Review

-- Susan Salter Reynolds, "The LA Times"

--Rob Forbes, Founder, Design Within Reach

-- Bruce Nussbaum, "BusinessWeek's" blog "NussbaumOnDesign"

--Andrea Ragnetti, Board of Management, Royal Philips Electronics

" Keep it simple, Stupid" is an old piece of advice, so much so that it's often abbreviated as the " KISS principle." But it's advice that's often ignored, and MIT Professor John Maeda aims to change that. . . . Designers and marketers will find Maeda's book both interesting and useful...." -- "New York Post"

" FINALLY, a book about simplicity that is not too academic to read.... At the book's heart is the Shinto belief in animism, the spirit in all objects. Nicholas Negroponte, one of Maeda's mentors, once told him to become a lightbulb, not a laser beam. This he has done; all this and more." -- Susan Salter Reynolds, "The LA Times"

" Technology and life seem to be getting more complicated, yet two great success stories, Google and the iPod, both provide the antidote of simplicity. In "The Laws of Simplicity," John Maeda uses humble prose to provide an accessible guide, business and life, observing the principle: 'Simplicity equals sanity.'" -- David Smith, "The Observer"

" John Maeda's new book, "The Laws of Simplicity," is simply terrific. It's exactly 100 pages, the illustrations are brilliant and the 10 Laws of Simplicity (plus Three Keys) are a canon to design one's entire life, much less specific products, services or business models. The subtitle is: Design, Technology, Business, Life." -- Bruce Nussbaum, "BusinessWeek's" blog " NussbaumOnDesign"

" I planned to skim/sample John Maeda's book, then decide to endorse it--or not. I quickly found myself mesmerized--and thence the only issue was deciding what were the strongest words I could muster in support of "The Laws of Simplicity," The book is important; and Maeda has made an absurdly complex subject--simplicity--approachable and usable. Bravo! I hope the people who design the products I'll acquire in the next ten years take this book to heart." --Tom Peters

" If brevity is the soul of wit, simplicity is the soul of design. John Maeda uses the concept of simplicity to get at the nature of human thought and perception while drawing out tangible applications for business, technology, and life in general. "The Laws of Simplicity" is thoroughly optimistic, entertaining, and erudite, just as you would expect from Maeda. It is also the most compelling 100 pages of design writing I have read this year." --Rob Forbes, Founder, Design Within Reach

About the Author

John Maeda joined Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in 2013 as Design Partner, where he works within KPCB's ProductWorks program helping entrepreneurs and portfolio companies to build design into their company cultures. From 2008 to 2013 he was President of Rhode Island School of Design and before that was Associate Director of the MIT Media Lab. In 2008 Esquire magazine named Maeda one of the 75 most influential people of the twenty-first century. He is the author of The Laws of Simplicity (MIT Press, 2006) and other books.

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