Simplicity Is Not the Answer
jnd.org
Simplicity Is Not the Answer
1–10 of 18 posts
Re: Simplicity Is Not the Answer
#2I've read the article a few times, and I'm still not sure what point the author is trying to make. However, this quote from the article appears to neatly contradict the title (if that faithfully represents his premise):
How do we manage complexity? We use a number of simple design rules.
Re: Simplicity Is Not the Answer
#3I've read the article a few times, and I'm still not sure what point the author is trying to make. However, this quote from the article appears to neatly contradict the title (if that faithfully represents his premise): How do we manage complexity? We use a number of simple design rules. Perhaps simplicity is the answer.
I haven't decided yet, but I think he's trying to say that we're confusing simplicity with usability.
I don't agree with that. One look at the iPod and I'm convinced.
Re: Simplicity Is Not the Answer
#4If my cellphone only had one button it certainly would be simple, but, umm, all I could do would be to turn it on or off.
Not really. It could be voice enabled. Press the key, Say New Number, Say Name, Say Digits, Say Save. Press the key, Say Call XYZ.
Re: Simplicity Is Not the Answer
#5If my cellphone only had one button it certainly would be simple, but, umm, all I could do would be to turn it on or off. Not really. It could be voice enabled. Press the key, Say New Number, Say Name, Say Digits, Say Save. Press the key, Say Call XYZ.
Actually my phone only has one button and it is still one of the most capable phones ever made. In fact, I'm writing this on my phone with a single button.
Re: Simplicity Is Not the Answer
#6A better article on the same topic:
http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2006/0...
Re: Simplicity Is Not the Answer
#7If my cellphone only had one button it certainly would be simple, but, umm, all I could do would be to turn it on or off. Not really. It could be voice enabled. Press the key, Say New Number, Say Name, Say Digits, Say Save. Press the key, Say Call XYZ.
Actually my phone only has one button and it is still one of the most capable phones ever made. In fact, I'm writing this on my phone with a single button.
but it probably has a touch screen, making it possible to display lot of buttons at the same time.
one physical button != one button
Re: Simplicity Is Not the Answer
#8Simplicity is subjective. Any given interface may feel simple to some users while complex to others. The objective of interface design shouldn't be to make things "simple" for the sake of it. The objective of interface design should be to allow the highest number of users to achieve the goals they have, while keeping in mind how frequently they want to achieve that goal. Iconography, for example, works pretty weel for frequent tasks, but it may fail when the user is only doing a given task once in a blue moon. When in doubt, and in the spirit of pursuing objectiveness, split A/B testing works pretty well.
Re: Simplicity Is Not the Answer
#9I've read the article a few times, and I'm still not sure what point the author is trying to make. However, this quote from the article appears to neatly contradict the title (if that faithfully represents his premise): How do we manage complexity? We use a number of simple design rules. Perhaps simplicity is the answer.
I haven't decided yet, but I think he's trying to say that we're confusing simplicity with usability . I don't agree with that. One look at the iPod and I'm convinced.
Which iPod? My old 3G was a usability nightmare.
Re: Simplicity Is Not the Answer
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
I haven't decided yet, but I think he's trying to say that we're confusing simplicity with usability . I don't agree with that. One look at the iPod and I'm convinced.
Which iPod? My old 3G was a usability nightmare.
I haven't used that, sadly. First one I bought was the nano.