Type 2 (due March 31)

John Maeda is a graphic designer, artist, and computer scientist who's work is known internationally. He is responsible for the development of many innovative, interactive motion graphics seen on the Internet. He has received high honors for his graphic design work in the US, Japan, and Germany. He is currently the president of the Rhode Island School of Design.

In Maeda's book The Laws of Simplicity, he explores the relationship between simplicity and complexity. He lays down ten "laws" to obey when deciding how simple/complex something should be. Some of his explanations were a little confusing to me, but the laws themselves seem very helpful. I found that these laws were the most interesting and insightful:

1. Reduce: The simplest way to achieve simplicity is through thoughtful reduction
5. Differences: Simplicity and complexity need each other
10. The One: Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful

Links:
Laws of Simplicity
Brief biography on Maeda
TED Talks: John Maeda