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Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity
By susan | April 15, 2008
Several years ago I had a boss who brought in a large wooden plaque and hung it on the wall of the office for all to see. The sign read: “simplify, simplify, simplify.”
One of my co-workers looked up at the sign, bemused, and asked, “shouldn’t it just say ’simplify’?”
The problem with simplicity is that our brains don’t want things to be that simple. So in order to learn simplicity, it seems we have to practice. Remind ourselves three times a day: simplify! Right.
The New York Times is suggesting that people over the age of forty want simplicity in their technology products. I most heartily agree. I also disagree. I believe that all people want simplicity; and it’s mostly the definition that varies from person to person. We love both simplicity and complexity at the same time.
But there’s a tremendous beauty in simplified solutions. One of my favorites is the wind turbine, along with solar panels. Maybe those are not as much fun for some people as building big drilling machines and digging muck out of the ground to run our cars and heat our homes. I believe there’s room for both!
So when I call for simplified technology, or more simple solutions, it’s not that everything always has to be simple. It’s finding out what is simple for whom, and who wants simplicity in what product or solution. That’s where the complexity comes in. There’s also a beauty in that complexity. Otherwise what would we all do for fun?
Topics: customer experience |