Dave - very glad you brought this thread back to the principles! You said: > Clarity over simplicity - simple is as simple does. Be clear is > always required, simplicity is not always the goal, but > simplicity CAN aid in clarity
Which I thought was interesting because when I first read Thomas' first point and "Less is more %u2013 much more" comment, I thought about digital products like Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, where less is definitely NOT more. I don't think that a broad "stay simple" principle is useful globally unless all you design for are novice or infrequent users. As you say, however, you can (and should) always be "clear", regardless of how simple/complex you need to make your experience for your audience. Regarding the aesthetics discussion and craigslist ... i've often used craigslist as an example when discussing the principles and characteristics i'm working on (charux.com). I originally described the "aesthetic" principle in my model as "aesthetically pleasing" - but that totally doesn't take into account personal taste and doesn't cover things like craigslist or the Hummer. I eventually changed the description to "aesthetically appropriate". Craigslist's aesthetic is appropriate for the expectations its users have (garage sale, flea market, newspaper listing, etc). It would be interesting to see if it was as successful if it looked as polished as apple.com (for example). - Richard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45640 ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [email protected] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
