Before all you designers start throwing rocks, hear me out. We need better design. The trouble is, artful decoration is masquerading as design.

Here’s what I mean. I shouldn’t have to figure out what your cute icon stands for. I shouldn’t have to fumble around trying to find the navigation. Just because it looks nice doesn’t mean it’s designed well.

The art of the stupidly simple

Imagine that guy in the rusted out El Camino. You know, the guy with the kid standing on his lap and the dog hanging out the driver’s window while he’s steering with one hand and opening your app on his phone with his other hand.

I’m no advocate of distracted driving. But your app needs to be so stupidly simple that even this knucklehead in this situation can figure out how to use it.

The art of less

Design is less about what you’re adding, and more about what you can take away. Let’s call it Less Design.

The thing about Less Design is that it’s not as easy as decorating. It takes more thought. More discipline. That’s why we need great designers. To help us create something that’s beautiful in its efficiency. Its simplicity. Something elegant and meaningful. We need Less Design.

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