Ockham’s Razor

I had never heard of “Ockham’s Razor” until I bought “Universal Principles of Design” by William Lidwell, Kritina Holden & Jill Butler. It’s #66 of “100 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach through Design.” The book is concisely written and clearly illustrated — a great reference for your library. I’m a bit fuzzy about who William of Ockham was, other than a friar who lived in the 14th century (how do they keep track of all that stuff?). Mayhaps he was also the local barber, known for his close shaves?

Anyway, the upshot is simplicity is preferred to complexity. Einstein is quoted: “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” Coming from him, you pay attention! Graphically, the concept it illustrated by the brilliant Yamaha Compact Silent Electric Cello, and by Google’s interface, one of my favorites. In fact, I consciously try to emulate it on designfluence.org web pages, so let me know how I’m doing!