Monthly Archives: November 2007

Getting to Less part 2: Critically refocus

(Back to part 1) Getting to Less is all about helping designers decide what to keep and what to throw out of their designs. Whether you’re designing software, websites, products or cities, you need to choose what to include and … Continue reading

Posted in Design theory, Simplicity | 2 Comments

Simplicity: The humble vernacular kitchen timer

Just twist and go. No low-contrast LCD display. No instruction booklet. No learning curve. No fiddly buttons. No modes. No batteries. No battery cover to snap off or lose. No battery changes. No weedy digital beep-beep-beep. £3 delivered. This is … Continue reading

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Getting to Less part 1: How to keep what you need and chuck what you don’t

Simplicity is becoming an increasingly important trend in design. As life becomes faster-paced and we’re deluged with more choices, more information and more stuff, users and consumers are demanding that designers do the heavy lifting of making things more focussed, … Continue reading

Posted in Design theory, Simplicity | 1 Comment

Too much information

You’d have to get up pretty early in the morning to put one over the system management software that comes with the Acer Aspire 9300. A jack has been plugged in! A jack has been unplugged! Do you think I … Continue reading

Posted in Simplicity, Software design, Usability | 3 Comments

Crisis? What crisis? UK banks websites’ responses to the HMRC child benefit data loss

Yesterday, the chancellor of the exchequer, Alistair Darling, made a statement to Parliament that HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) had lost two data discs containing the personal details of 25 million UK citizens, including in many cases their banking details.The … Continue reading

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