The Laws of Simplicity

World renowned graphic designer and one of Esquire’s 75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century, John Maeda gives the 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. Apple 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.