Finally, we are learning that simplicity equals sanity. We're rebelling against technology that's too complicated, against DVD players with too many menus, and software accompanied by 75-megabyte "read me" manuals. The iPod's clean gadgetry has made simplicity hip. But sometimes we find ourselves caught up in the simplicity paradox: we want something that's simple and easy to use--but also does all the complex things we might ever want it to do. In The Laws of Simplicity, John Maeda offers guidelines, ten laws for balancing simplicity and complexity in business, technology, and design--for needing less and actually getting more.

Maeda--a professor in MIT's Media Lab and a world-renowned graphic designer--explores the question of how we can redefine the notion of "improved" so that it doesn't always mean something more, something added on.

Maeda's first law of simplicity is "Reduce." It's not necessarily beneficial to add technology features just because we can. And the features that we do have must be organized (Law 2) in a sensible hierarchy so users aren't distracted by features and functions they don't need. But simplicity is not less just for the sake of less. Skip ahead to Law 9: "Failure: Accept the fact that some things can never be made simple." Maeda's concise guide to simplicity in the digital age shows us how this idea can be a cornerstone of organizations and their products--how it can drive both business and technology. We can learn to simplify without sacrificing comfort and meaning, and we can achieve the balance described in Law 10. This law, which Maeda calls "The One," tells us: "Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful."

前田约翰（John Maeda）

世界知名的图像设计师、视觉艺术家、电脑科技专家，也是麻省理工学院媒体实验室的教授。

前田约翰在艺术上的贡献也不容忽视，他得奖无数，例如：美国设计界最高荣誉Smithsonian杂志的国家设计奖（2001年）、日本朝日设计奖（2002年）、德国Raymond Loewy基金会奖（2005年）、戴姆勒克莱斯勒设计奖（2000年）等等。他曾在巴黎、纽约、伦敦、旧金山、东京、大阪等地举办过多次个人展览，深获好评。他的作品也被纽约现代美术馆、旧金山现代美术馆、史密森尼机构的国家设计美术馆收藏。

他曾出版多本与图像设计相关的书籍。为了训练自己的管理能力，他于2001年重做学生，攻读MBA，两年后取得学位。

想对前田约翰及他的作品做更多了解，可浏览lawsofsimplicity.com网站或他的个人网站media.mit.edu/~maeda。