If 2006 was the year that the Web 2.0 and social media reached a zenith and viral video and my space changed how we interact with technology I would submit the meme that has really driven all of this can be reduced to one word. Simplicity.
John Maeda, of MIT gives us ten laws that (if one looks carefully) closely align to who has been most successful in matters of innovation and design thinking. John summarizes that laws as:
Reduce
The simplest way to achieve simplicity is through thoughtful reduction
Organize
Organization makes a system of many appear fewer.
Time
Savings in time feel like simplicty.
Learn
Knowledge makes everything simpler
Differences
Simplicity and complexity need each other.
Context
What lies in the periphery of simplicity is definitely not peripheral.
Emotional
More emotions are better than less.
Trust
In simplicity we trust.
Failure
Some things can never be made simple.
The One
Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful.
John also left us with three keys:
Away
More always appears like less by simply moving it far, far away.
Open
Openness simplifies complexity.
Power
Use less, gain more.
I suspect that many folks might be prone to misinterpret some of Maeda's guidance-such as where he does acknowledge that there is some complexity that is impossible to remove (or it's complexity that shouldn't be removed). He also talks about one of the most important complexities that is onften overlooked, that of time. Something that can make or break the best experiences in both interactive experiences and in service oriented design.
Update, I've notices some recent pushback on the concept of simplicity from folks such as Don Norman (which is eloquently commented on at joelonsoftware.com). For those of us that work with existing services or applications the principles of simplicity sometimes need to be addressed in ways that are different from the current crop of Web 2.0 applications. One prime example, the Office 2007 suite which although still complex embraces many of the principles that Maeda outlines.
37signals' blog has a Fireside Chat with Maeda about his Laws of Simplicity at:
http://www.37signals.com/svn/archives2/fireside_chat_john_maeda_and_diego_rodriguez.php
Posted by: Nate Burgos | December 29, 2006 at 10:37 PM