Simplicity is the key to a long-lasting experience
Simplicity doesn’t mean empty or white or boring, it’s about saying more by talking less, telling more, showing less, creating more engagement by focusing on what really matters, and most importantly learning about your users first and never.
When do we say the sculpture feels untouched? When an immense amount of work is done. The same is with the design. If you can give your users something they need in a possibly uncomplicated way, this is where you reached brilliance.
How are people striving for simplicity? In many cases, they won’t even bother to try out something if it looks difficult to use. Consumers are more likely to recommend a brand because of its good usability. They just want to have a top product that is not hard to use.
It’s hard to achieve simplicity. Simplicity means an absence of unnecessary elements. It relates to the solution of a problem and reduction of complexity with an emphasis on what’s really important. We need careful planning and coordination of a variety of elements.
“Simplicity is the Key to Brilliance“ Bruce Lee
What is simplicity?
For years, the word “simple” has been used and misused throughout the design world. Simplicity is the state of being simple, uncomplicated, or uncompounded. Simplicity is one of the highest achievements of good design. Simplicity in design means going deep into your user’s minds and using that understanding to design a product that matches your audience’s goals. Simplicity can refer to many things such as clean design, the complexity of the build, intuitiveness of the interface.
In design, simplicity is a parameter for usability. Not every product is simple, it can have many options which are mandatory. What seems obvious to you might not be obvious to your user. Only the user’s perception of simplicity is desirable in every situation and vital for commercial success. Consumers desire integrated software and big data. And at the same time, they want something simple and not complex. That’s making “simplicity” a hard thing to accomplish. Good designers understand complexity before simplifying it. (Mario Maruffi)
Simplicity and long-lasting experience
Leading brands understand the importance of simplicity. Building simplicity into interactions doesn’t mean abandoning complex features and capabilities. Some of the best customer service experiences involve very complicated businesses and customer queries. Communicating directly, clearly, and honestly with your audience leads your product to a long-lasting experience. To make your product valuable you should make offerings convenient and easy to use. Simplifying takes time. The designers invest their time in making customers save theirs.
“Less is more” Mies van der Rohe
Examples of simple products/platforms that became huge:
- iPhone - replacing keyboards and having larger screens;
- Facebook - started with a clean interface, no complicated features;
- Amazon - initially selling books only;
- Google search, Dribbble, Youtube - minimal options, simple design;
- Twitter - only 140 characters in a post or comment;
- Instagram - initially supported only images and private messaging;
- Pizza Pepperoni/Margherita - only a couple of ingredients never get old.
For those and other successful examples of products and platforms that have a simple design, several key principles apply:
5 Principles of Simplicity
- Cut back
- Organize
- Optimize
- Consider the context
- Do not overthink
Simplicity can be applied to any interface, service, text/content, feature, etc. In digital interfaces, the background color has a great effect on the ability to read and distinguish both interactive elements and content. The nature of the content presented in the interface also plays its part.
The legibility of content is focused on how people see it and distinguish elements one from another. So, from this perspective, you deal with how people see the content on the page or screen, distinguish its elements and recognize them. As for readability, it is the next level going deeper into the comprehension of the text content.
People don’t want to spend time thinking, understanding, and analyzing every element or feature or color you believe is important or think looks nicer. Anyone could have designed Nike’s swoosh but that’s exactly what makes it perfect. It’s more difficult to come up with a simple design than a crowded one, because when your aiming for simplicity “details matter” your start with the purpose and before adding any element you must back it up with a hard reason why, then ask again, “Do you really need that element?”. Then ask why you need it.
How effective and powerful can simplicity become?
We as humans ask for choices but quickly get bored of them, we want to get the best with less effort and time spent. By applying simplicity, we will not confuse people. It undermines their confidence. The simpler we can make things, the better the results can be. With simplicity, the designer will avoid unnecessary data, will be focused on the main goal of the product, and will take into consideration the user’s needs. In their turn, users will catch the message easily and will start using the product without time-wasting․
When things are simple, it’s easier to make decisions. Instead of overthinking everything and making things more complicated than they need to be, you’re able to embrace simplicity and allow it to bring you clarity.
Conclusion
Living in a fast-growing world with high techs around, designers should think of better ways to engage consumers. There are many similar products, thus you should design the best ways to differentiate your product from others. In this perspective, simplicity plays a great role to achieve the best design and user goals. Simplicity is to use goal-focused data, not to use shiny colors, start thinking from the user’s point of view, and pay attention to elements and icons. You can use as many options as needed in a clear and accurate hierarchy. Don’t make the decision-making process for customers complicated and complex. Focus on simplicity but not simplistic design and your customers will stick to your product as a result.
Deal with the simplicity of words and sentences, clarity of thoughts, ease of consuming information, and understandable structure of the text blocks. Start with a clear vision/message, and target, and choose your wording carefully, every piece must have a purpose.
The genius of the designer is in making consumers’ journey to the destination easy but in a smart way. The root of “simplicity” is “simple”. Nevertheless, it requires research, planning and effort. Moreover, to understand the psychology of the simple, you need to study all your life, develop empathy and be open to new things.
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”
Leonardo da Vinci
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