A philosophy of

Simon Collison Refresh Edinburgh | July 2012

restraint

Why call it a philosophy?

Design is messy

We design to communicate, and we seek emotive responses.

To delight someone is to give them a small lesson in seeing the world as something good. Frank Chimero, designer

A design aesthetic?

Minimal, lots of white space... and clean. Right?

www.foodsense.is

www.guardian.co.uk

www.webdesignerwall.com

Systems

We don’t design web pages. We design system s.

www.bbc.co.uk/gel

www.bbc.co.uk/gel

• Build a foundation for complexity • Devise a holistic approach for all projects • Devise a detailed project-specific system • Invest time in flexible pa ! ern libraries • Prepare for all eventualities

Embrace constraints

Having complete freedom is possibly the worst way to start any project.

Constraint   is key to understanding complexity. Increase constraint and you create an ordered system; do that inappropriately and you create the conditions for catastrophic failure; remove constraint and the system is chaotic. Dave Snowden, The 5 C’s of Complexity

• Make sense of the constraints you’re given • Look for constraints you yourself can apply • Make constraints a feature or selling point

Exercising restraint

Responding to the problem in the simplest way possible.

• Immerse yourself in the subject • Design responses first, not a website • Discover what can be put to one side • Avoid misplaced vernacular and cliché

Simplicity and complexity

Less is more. Simple is be ! er. Right?

Unleash complexity in orchestrated phases, and increase power gradually.

• Good systems bear the weight of complexity • Embrace new methods for organising data • Find simplicity in the data flows • Don’t be afraid of obvious approaches • Release power gradually

Between the lines

Don’t underestimate humans. They can fill in the blanks.

Environment Experience Environment Others Me Instruction Interaction

The Arrival, by Shaun Tan

• Anticipate mental models • Reveal only what is necessary • Let users find their own stories • Embrace serendipity • Trust users to make sense of things

Affordance & typography

An affordance is a quality of an object, or an environment, that allows an individual to perform an action.

www.flightcardapp.com/

www.typekit.com

é é www.secondandpark.com/

• Understand the power of a ! ractiveness • Create obvious opportunities for interaction • Avoid unnecessary fakery and over-texturing • Don’t “iCal” the skeuomorphics • Use web type responsibly

Distraction

www.bbc.co.uk

www.icelandair.com/

www.jetblue.com/

• Use a clear hierarchy • Look for obvious clashes or fussy extras • Remove or lessen the impact of distractions • Avoid dozens of competing pa ! erns • Don’t disguise calls to action

Focus & context

Put the extraneous to one side. Focus on the task in hand, or add greater emphasis to stories.

www.thebolditalic.com/

www.gregorywood.co.uk /

• Design with context and tell the story • Allow users to focus • Split complex tasks into manageable chunks • Don’t compromise primary areas • Remove distractions at key times • Forms can always be simplified

Audit

A timely audit can prevent catastrophic failures, and shine new light on what you’ve learned.

• Add breathing space to your schedule • Make regular audits a part of your process • Be honest about shortcomings or failures • Never be afraid to rethink and rework

A final pause

Don’t launch. Instead, sit with your work, think about it. Sieve it down and give it space.

www.colly.com/

• Sit with your ‘finished’ work for some time • Stand back from it, find new perspectives • Seek valued opinion and feedback • Find things to throw away or reduce • Launch only when you are ready

This is my philosophy

delight / emotion / surprise systems / constraint / restraint simplicity / complexity / focus context / reduction

Thanks Simon Collison @colly