Simplicity: the ultimate sophistication
In this week’s UIEtips, Joshua Porter (blog) talks about the debate around simplicity and how this will affect each of us as we balance new functionality requests.
“Most designers place simplicity above all else. We value simple things because they do all the things we need easily and none of the things we don’t. Simplicity is harmonious. Even Leonardo Da Vinci said “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” This is one of my favorite quotes, and it plays on the idea that being simple isn’t banal, it’s elegant.
Don Norman recently ignited a discussion about simplicity in his piece Simplicity is Highly Overrated. He observes that although designers treat simplicity as the ultimate goal, many consumers, when faced with a purchase decision, choose complexity instead. He uses examples from shopping in South Korea: people there choose complex, feature-laden electronics and SUVs over simpler ones. Norman says that people choose complexity because they assume a complex product is more capable.”
[…] Nel corso di questa settimana Joshua Porter tratta nel suo blog il concetto di “semplicità ” e l’influenza di questa sulla formazione di nuove richieste funzionali. Egli per sottolineare l’importanza della semplicità all’interno del processo di progettazione cita Leonardo Da Vinci, il quale sosteneva che “la semplicità costituisce l’ultima sofisticazione“, non una caratteristica banale, quindi, ma elegante. […]