Less is More
There’s an interesting article in today’s Wall Street Journal on Apple CEO Steve Job’s drive to minimize buttons. As most people in the known universe understand by now, Apple’s new iPhone lacks buttons found on other cell phones and, well, almost every other handheld device.
It’s part of Job’s overall design aesthetic - which you could sum up as Less is More.
I was reminded of Less is More a few days ago when a friend sent me a link to a new online ad campaign being run by Volvo. Shortly thereafter, I bumped into the ad campaign’s message again as part of a larger post on the topic on 37 Signals’ blog.
Less is More is certainly a good mantra for Web interface designers. Avoid “Nascar Syndrome” (the tendency to load up an interface w/links and features regardless of how often they’ll be used - hmm, there’s another post in there somewhere…) and focus on a simple, clean design that’s easy to understand.
For those of you who still may be wondering if, instead, More really is More, I submit this for your consideration:
