Maeda John. Simplicity

The Laws of Simplicity: Design, Technology, Business, Life.In 2006, Maeda published Laws of Simplicity, his best-selling book to date, based on a research project to find ways for people to simplify their life in the face of growing complexity.John Maeda (born 1966 in Seattle, Washington) is a Japanese-American graphic designer, computer scientist, university professor, and author. His work in design and technology explores the area where the two fields merge. He is the current President of the Rhode Island School of Design.John Maeda’s The Laws of Simplicity is a short (purposely limited to 100 p.) exploration of simplicity in design, business, and life. He presents ten laws and three keys to simplicity (below), accompanied by stories ranging from the usual suspects in design like Apple, Google, and Bang & Olufsen to experiences with zen gardens, smileys and progress bars.
Ten LawsREDUCE. The simplest way to achieve simplicity is through thoughtful reduction.
ORGANIZE. Organization makes a system of many appear fewer.
TIME. Savings in time feel like simplicity.
LEARN. Knowledge makes everything simpler.
DIFFERENCES. Simplicity and complexity need each other.
CONTEXT. What lies in the periphery of simplicity os definitely not peripheral.
EMOTION. More emotions are better than less.
TRUST. In simplicity we trust.
FAILURE. Some things can never be made simple.
THE ONE. Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful.Three Keys
AWAY. More appears like less simply by moving it far, far away.
OPEN. Openness simplifies complexity.
POWER. Use less, gain more.While the book was good as an exploration of whether simplicity can be generalized into a range of situations, it seemed limited by its quick introductory nature and could have been more well-rounded by going deeper into the subject. Additionally, the ten laws, three keys, and handful of abbreviations (SHE: Shrink, Hide, Embody; SLIP: Sort, Label, Integrate, Priorotize; BRAIN: Basics are the beginning, Repeat yourself often, Avoid creating desperation, Inspire with examples, Never forget to repeat yourself) add up a complex set of lists. Towards the end of the book, Maeda critiqued his own writing, and touched on this point of ‘acronym overload’; it was refreshing to see an author recognize the imperfections in his theories.It appears that the site was left stagnant around late 2008 as he moved on to other projects, so the book and site may now serve as a light but engaging starting point for readers newly interested in simplicity, though they’ll have to look for more detailed analysis elsewhere.