Friday, October 19, 2007

It's so easy...

if you listen to John Maeda's Laws of Simplicity.

Law 1: Reduce
The simplest way to achieve simplicity is through thoughtful reduction.
Law 2: Organize
Organization makes a system of many appear fewer.
Law 3: Time
Savings in Time feel like simplicity.
Law 4: Learn
Knowledge makes everything simpler.
Law 5: Differences
Simplicity and Complexity need each other.
Law 6: Context
What lies in the periphery if not the peripheral.
Law 7: Emotion
More emotions are better than words.
Law 8: Trust
In simplicity we trust.
Law 9: Failure
Some things can never be made simple.
Law 10: THE ONE
Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious and adding the meaningful.

John Maeda is one of my heros. Also, Benjamin Bratton might slip in to that category. I sat in on his object as media class tonight and will be attending the rest. In the class, he said one of the most poignant statements of advice I have heard in a while.

Max the Unlikely and Max the Inevitable.

how poetic.

I would love to add this to my rules to live and work by, which I need to publish on this blog any way.

1 comment:

Steve said...

Hi Nina... It's Steve from Novak's class. I'd be interested in hearing more about your rules. I appreciate you listing Maeda's rules and Ben's enlightening "truth".