Erik Florida

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010

I have been reading the 52 weeks of UX blog. I highly recommend it to anyone involved in web design in any capacity. I was inspired to write a little about the same concept from a recent post on that blog.

A successful user interface (UI) design enables a satisfactory user experience (UX). The end goal is creating the best UX possible, but the problem is when a designer’s sites are so focused on the finish line that they miss the important steps to get there. There are a number of objective UI principles, and Microsoft and Apple have done more to define these than anyone. However, there are also a lot more subjective UI elements. One of the biggest battles that UI designers face is breaking conformity. There is a lot to be said for familiarity when it comes to UX. If the user recognizes the interface and immediately feel comfortable that they will be able to navigate the system, marginal success is immediately achieved. For example, if you are designing a software application to run on Windows, using Microsoft’s own .Net interface and Microsoft’s design principles clearly makes sense. If the user already has a good experience using Windows, creating an application that works just like Windows should be an easy sell to the end-user.

The Web, however, opens many new doors. It also closes others. It is a clean slate in many ways, from a UI design aspect. Design is about creativity in a confined space. Design is not about taking a blank canvas and opening your creative muse to make boundless results. Design is about meeting constraints, conforming to rules and variables and principles. An artist could create a website that would be a visual masterpiece, a true piece of art. But if a user cannot navigate the site to find the information they need, then the site design is a failure.

Simplicity is an important design element to help designers focus on the important elements and constraints of UI design. There is a quote from Leonardo Da Vinci that state “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” This follows the a common sentiment (probably from a quote, but I don’t know the author) when I was in college for electrical engineering. Engineering is about removing everything until you are left with nothing but the solution. Planning your information architecture to determine the most important content, and how different pieces of information should be connected is the first step. Then creating wireframes. At this point there is no art. There is no designs, or logos, or colors, or images. You must make the most simple elements work before you can determine what artistic elements will enhance the UX. Creating an experience for the user starts with creating a comfortable, functional, organized system. No amount of artistic design can compensate for a frustrated user. The end goal is creating the best user experience, but in order to get there, the elements must be broken down into their most simple components and planned and organized.

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