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."

前田約翰（John Maeda）

世界知名的圖像設計師、視覺藝術傢、電腦科技專傢，也是麻省理工學院媒體實驗室的教授。

前田約翰在藝術上的貢獻也不容忽視，他得奬無數，例如：美國設計界最高榮譽Smithsonian雜誌的國傢設計奬（2001年）、日本朝日設計奬（2002年）、德國Raymond Loewy基金會奬（2005年）、戴姆勒剋萊斯勒設計奬（2000年）等等。他曾在巴黎、紐約、倫敦、舊金山、東京、大阪等地舉辦過多次個人展覽，深獲好評。他的作品也被紐約現代美術館、舊金山現代美術館、史密森尼機構的國傢設計美術館收藏。

他曾齣版多本與圖像設計相關的書籍。為瞭訓練自己的管理能力，他於2001年重做學生，攻讀MBA，兩年後取得學位。

想對前田約翰及他的作品做更多瞭解，可瀏覽lawsofsimplicity.com網站或他的個人網站media.mit.edu/~maeda。