A Philosophy of Restraint

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Simon Collison Refresh Edinburgh | July 2012 A philosophy of restraint

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Why call it a philosophy?

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Design is messy

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We design to communicate, and we seek emotive responses.

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

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A design aesthetic?

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

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www.foodsense.is

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www.guardian.co.uk

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www.webdesignerwall.com

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Systems

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

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www.bbc.co.uk/gel

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www.bbc.co.uk/gel

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• 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

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Embrace constraints

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

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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

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

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Exercising restraint

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Responding to the problem in the simplest way possible.

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

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Simplicity and complexity

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Less is more. Simple is be er. Right?

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Unleash complexity in orchestrated phases, and increase power gradually.

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• 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

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Between the lines

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

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Environment Experience Others Me Instruction Interaction

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The Arrival, by Shaun Tan

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

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Aﬀordance & typography

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

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www.ﬂightcardapp.com/

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www.typekit.com

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é é www.secondandpark.com/

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• 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

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Distraction

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www.bbc.co.uk

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www.icelandair.com/

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www.jetblue.com/

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• 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

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Focus & context

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

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www.thebolditalic.com/ www.gregorywood.co.uk /

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• 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

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Audit

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

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• 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

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A ﬁnal pause

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

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www.colly.com/

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• 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

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This is my philosophy

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

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Thanks Simon Collison @colly