Simplicity is a feature

New contract, new Windows machine, fresh install of Open Source software (from the OpenDisc project, if only I'd remembered the DVD…).

I went to download Sumatra PDF reader, and came across this blurb:

“Simplicity has a higher priority than a lot of features.”

From whence comes the title of this blog entry: Simplicity is a feature. I like it. I'm sure it's been said ten thousand times before. But I like it.

As I may of rambled before, one of my favourite articles is The Dao of Web Design on A List Apart. It's kind of timeless, a sign of a good article. And it's basically about using the medium for what it is, from which springs a simplicity. This happens all the time building web sites, where the HTML is simplified to the semantics of the situation, and the CSS is simplified into elegant rules that cover all manner of visual permutations.

I'm sure most people have come across this in their own work: a process of reduction to the heart of the matter. Graphic designer Bruce Mau illustrated this point, and here's my very sketchy and rusty interpretation of the simple creative result being preceded by a storm of chaos:

To finish off this referential entry:

“Perfection is attained, not when no more can be added, but when no more can be removed.“
Antoine de Saint Exupéry