Discount Shopping Online :: Books The Laws of Simplicity (Simplicity: Design, Technology, Business, Life) : :

The Laws of Simplicity (Simplicity: Design, Technology, Business, Life)
by: John Maeda

List Price: $21.00

Amazon.com's Price: $14.28

You Save: $6.72 (32%)
Prices subject to change.

Used Price: $11.81
Third Party New Price: $12.85

Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 650.1
EAN: 9780262134729
ISBN: 0262134721
Label: The MIT Press
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 127
Publication Date: August 21, 2006
Publisher: The MIT Press
Sales Rank: 4639
Studio: The MIT Press

Related Items:

Editorial Review:

Product Description:
Received an Honorable Mention in the Communication and Cultural Studies category of the 2005 Professional/Scholarly Publishing Annual Awards Competition presented by the Association of American Publishers, Inc.

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.'

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- Less is More
The ten laws are:

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

There's a profound statement hidden on page 70: "While great art makes you wonder, great design makes things clear." So well put. The author is a graphic designer, but I think this thought applies to product design, and ... Read More

Rating:

- Helpful guide on how to incorporate simplicity into your product planning
The poet William Wordsworth once wrote, "The world is too much with us." If this was true in the bucolic 18th and 19th centuries when Wordsworth lived, it is even more true today, when every gadget comes with an incomprehensible 100-page instruction manual. Thus, simplifying people's lives with your products and services is a surefire path to business success; it will endear you to your customers forever. In this aphoristic little book, graphic designer John Maeda has distilled all he knows about simplicity into 10 laws and three key ideas. He sprinkles mnemonics, icons and graphics throughout, which you may enjoy if you're a visual learner or find baffling if you're not. If you really like the icons, you can download them from the Web site Maeda put together to complement the book. getAbstract recommends this work particularly to marketing people, product designers and technical writers. Maybe some day your mother ... Read More

Rating:

- Manage your expectations...
If you manage your expectations, this little book can be pleasant, even delightful. But if your interest is for more serious, robust exploration, then look elsewhere.

The title is a bit misleading. The term "Laws" suggest principles that can be universally applied and have been rigorously tested. This book is really more of a set of loosely connected essays about design approaches. The insights are often good, and perhaps helpful, but "laws" they are not. A title like "Reflections on Simplicity in Design" would have been more accurate, and I would have awarded a fourth star if it had been titled more appropriately.

This is really more of a short philosophy book about design, rather than a treatise offering Newtonian-scale laws. But that criticism now made, can this little book be inspiring? Sure.
Is the book overwrought and under-thought? A little.
Does it offer deep exploration? ... Read More

Rating:

- Good Solid Material
The best thing about this book is that it stayed SIMPLE.

It is a quick read, and a good reference source for anyone in the field of design.

Discount Shopping Online Books and Publications

Books : The Laws of Simplicity (Simplicity: Design, Technology, Business, Life)
Books and Publications Average Rating:

Search the web for info about The Laws of Simplicity (Simplicity: Design, Technology, Business, Life)

Discount Shopping Online Books and Publications

Books : The Laws of Simplicity (Simplicity: Design, Technology, Business, Life)Books and Publications Average Rating:

Search the web for info about The Laws of Simplicity (Simplicity: Design, Technology, Business, Life)

Books : The Laws of Simplicity (Simplicity: Design, Technology, Business, Life)
Books and Publications Average Rating: