Message from Dean - May 8th 2007
I am currently testing out a new version of the APF Bridge Component - If you notice any errors within this demo store please drop me a line.
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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
Studio: The MIT Press
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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."
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
I like shopping at amazon because I am always satisfied with the service that I receive. Most of the time I usually get my purchase on the date estimated (sometimes I don't depends if there's a holiday or something) and the books I buy are in really good condition!
Rating:  -
While the book is well crafted, beautifully bound, and looks nice on the shelf I was left feeling somewhat disappointed. To follow Maeda's meme of comparing his ideas with little bits of Japanese culture: the book is a bit like Miso soup -- a tasty prelude to something with real substance.
Rating: -
Maeda deserves credit for limiting the book to 100 pages. Too few authors understand that we don't buy books by the pound, but by the value of their content. Bravo! Also worthwhile is bringing attention to the need for simplicity in design.
However, only the first 3 Laws are well written and are quite excellent. The rest are rather muddled. So a 30-page book would have been even better.
Despite this, I recommend buying the book, just to read the first 30 pages. As someone else said, just manage your expectations.
PS. Somewhat annoying were the numerous references to MIT. To highlight the letters M, I, T in "simplicity", as if there were some correlation, is just silly, especially considering that the Media Lab has been more hype than real contribution to design and media.
Rating:  -
The reviews convinced me to buy this one.
After reading it, I think it's highly overrated. It has 10 "rules", each is true and important, but none of them is new. The problem is that the rest of book, explaining each of the rules, contributes very little.
I'm sorry, but I expect a book to be either insightful, or fun (preferably both). This book just didn't deliver.
Rating:  -
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 even process design.
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