Have you ever played Pictionary? Does the phrase “Baby Fishmouth” mean anything to you? If you’re confused, Pictionary is a fun game that’s like charades except with drawing instead of gestures. The other team has to quickly guess what you’re saying from just your doodles. No speaking or text allowed.
People hate playing Pictionary with me. Imagine that.
It’s not for the reason you think. My drawings aren’t finely illustrated Rembrandt masterpieces. In fact, they’re pretty childlike and crude. If you play the game you’ll find that the most successful players are the ones who draw the simplest shapes. Quickly, with no regard for beauty. And it works.
Why people fear simplicity in design
People recognize the beauty of simplicity in their lives. Sometimes it’s in a simple black and white sign pointing the way toward the Queensbound N train. A simple black dress that can go to the coffee shop and the opera with the right accessories. A sign that tells you what you’re supposed to do no matter what language you speak:
We love this kind of simple design when we’re out in the world or browsing the internets. But when it comes to developing visuals for our own stuff, we start worrying that it’s “too simplistic.” Maybe it’s even (gasp) “too obvious.”
We like to think that our thing is more intelligent, more complex, more creative and involved than all the other stuff out there.
There’s nothing wrong with loving your content and feeling like it’s unique and special. In fact, I hope you do (bring it on). The thing is, when you’re developing a container (package, web site) or visuals (presentation, book cover, logo), you need to direct the focus to your content, not stop the flow to admire a complex design.
Do not fear simple
Simple is your friend. The job of a good book cover, logo, or icon is to be obvious. It’s purpose in life is to communicate the basic idea of your content in seconds. I mean that literally. You have a few seconds to make an impression on a viewer. Viewers don’t like to think, they want obvious.
This is why, when you do a search on stock image sites, you find a lot of the same kind of stuff. That’s a good thing. It means a lot of people have already figured out how to communicate an idea that you put into keywords. Why are you going to mess with that and make people work to decipher your “more creative visual solution?”
Great design is simple. Simple won’t make you look dumb. It will bring to light the intelligent material hidden behind it.
Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify. – Henry David Thoreau
A child of five would understand this. Send someone to fetch a child of five. – Groucho Marx
“Too obvious” indeed!
I already spend more time than I'd like to admit feeling confused. I crave obvious.
It's true though…it's harder for me to deliver obvious–after all, I'm unique and special and awesome.
I think this explains why I keep having this conversation with friends:
“She's so beautiful”
“Why don't you tell her she has a great smile?”
“Naaaah, too obvious.”
“Too obvious” indeed!
I already spend more time than I'd like to admit feeling confused. I crave obvious.
It's true though…it's harder for me to deliver obvious–after all, I'm unique and special and awesome.
I think this explains why I keep having this conversation with friends:
“She's so beautiful”
“Why don't you tell her she has a great smile?”
“Naaaah, too obvious.”
[...] Simplicity is more afraid of you than you are of it. | Sparky Firepants: Inside the Pants [...]