Transcript

1. Simon Collison Refresh Edinburgh | July 2012 A philosophy of

   restraint
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3. Why call it a philosophy?

4. Design is messy

5. We design to communicate, and we seek emotive responses.

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8. To delight someone is to give them a small lesson

   in seeing the world as something good. Frank Chimero, designer
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10. A design aesthetic?

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

12. www.foodsense.is

13. www.guardian.co.uk

14. www.webdesignerwall.com

15. Systems

16. We don’t design web pages. We design systems.

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18. www.bbc.co.uk/gel

19. www.bbc.co.uk/gel

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22. • 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

23. Embrace constraints

24. Having complete freedom is possibly the worst way to start

    any project.
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26. 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

27. • Make sense of the constraints you’re given • Look

    for constraints you yourself can apply • Make constraints a feature or selling point

28. Exercising restraint

29. Responding to the problem in the simplest way possible.

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33. • Immerse yourself in the subject • Design responses first,

    not a website • Discover what can be put to one side • Avoid misplaced vernacular and cliché

34. Simplicity and complexity

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

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47. Unleash complexity in orchestrated phases, and increase power gradually.

48. • 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

49. Between the lines

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

51. Environment Experience Others Me Instruction Interaction

52. The Arrival, by Shaun Tan

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55. • Anticipate mental models • Reveal only what is necessary

    • Let users find their own stories • Embrace serendipity • Trust users to make sense of things

56. Affordance & typography

57. An affordance is a quality of an object, or an

    environment, that allows an individual to perform an action.

58. www.flightcardapp.com/

59. www.typekit.com

60. é é www.secondandpark.com/

61. • 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

62. Distraction

63. www.bbc.co.uk

64. www.icelandair.com/

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66. www.jetblue.com/

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74. • 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

75. Focus & context

76. Put the extraneous to one side. Focus on the task

    in hand, or add greater emphasis to stories.
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80. www.thebolditalic.com/ www.gregorywood.co.uk /

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84. • 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

85. Audit

86. A timely audit can prevent catastrophic failures, and shine new

    light on what you’ve learned.
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91. • 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

92. A final pause

93. Don’t launch. Instead, sit with your work, think about it.

    Sieve it down and give it space.
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98. www.colly.com/

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100. • 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

101. This is my philosophy

102. delight / emotion / surprise systems / constraint / restraint

     simplicity / complexity / focus context / reduction

103. Thanks Simon Collison @colly