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Confusing Simplicity with Clarity

This comment struck me as profound. It’s a rebuttal to Aaron Levie’s recent FastCompany article, “The Simplicity Thesis,” where Levie argues for “the radical simplification of everything.” All credit to Mr. Nathan Shedroff for the following points.

Mr. Levie, like many, I’m afraid you’ve confused simplicity with clarity. Nobody wants a simple life with few choices—especially those preconfigured by others. None of Apple’s products are simple in any way. [What] we want and what Apple’s products deliver is a tremendous amount of functionality, and the ability to customize the experience, but in an exceedingly clear way.

Simple is a life where you have few options. It’s a map that only has the most obvious information on it—one that makes no allowances for unforeseen circumstances (like a road under construction). Simple is “one size fits all” and “any color you want as long as it’s black.” Simple delivers little or no context and answers that don’t fit our lives.

Clear is a path to a new destination that doesn’t delete every landmark or context that might help orient us and, thus, get us there. Clear is alternate views that allow those of us who are visual, spatial, readers, or more comfortable with speech to learn, search, make, and understand in ways that make more sense than the “average.” Clear isn’t eliminating features from systems but arranging them to be found and available JUST when they’re needed in a context that is natural and “obvious.”

There really isn’t anything simple about Square, for example—not in the backend technology, the ecosystem, the partnerships, nor even the front-end. What makes it appear simple is that it is so CLEAR (and obvious to many, though not all) that we think it’s simple and even natural. It is neither and THAT is the magic.

I’d love to hear Levie’s response to this perspective.

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Character

I found this passage in a seven-year-old notebook of mine. I didn’t write it, and I don’t know who did, but it’s spot on.

Character can be defined as a description of a person’s attributes, traits, or abilities. These are the things thats make each and every person special and unique. You and I are not born with good character, but we are born with the ability to build it. It is how we act in front of others just as much as it is how we act in solitude that determines the character we have. Nobody has fully mastered the art of self-control; this is what makes good character such an admirable thing, and earns those who have it respect.

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Why I’m Paying for Espresso

Espresso, the web editor from MacRabbit, has become one of my favorite applications. I’ve been demoing it for weeks, enjoying its usability and charm, and now I’m ready to buy the full version.

I’m blogging about this trivial bit of history because I love the way Espresso got me to upgrade. I’m about to pay $79, not for any new functionality or features, but for the ability to save my documents without a ten-second delay.

You see, the only impediment Espresso puts on free users is that it forces you to wait about ten seconds every time you want to save your work. You click save, and this drop-down is revealed:

The actual animation of the circle is much more elegant than this gif allows, but you get the idea. It’s a subtle reminder that you’re using something that was built with care by people who respect you and, at the same time, still like getting paid.

Freemium models aren’t easy, but, in my eyes, Espresso is employing theirs well, while teaching me a lesson about creativity, mutual respect, and the power of pause.

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The 75 best startup tools, featuring Visually, Slideshare, Basecamp, Dropbox, and Quipol

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