In response to the posting about high producers who use low-tech tools, FCW Editor in Chief John Monroe suggests that the key is the simple design of the user interface. He loves the iPod and yellow sticky notes, both of which he considers the perfect marriage of form and function.
There is too much needless complexity in the world, he argues. Technology, which was supposed to make our lives easier, has taken a wrong turn. In 20 years we've gone from the simplicity of MacPaint to Photoshop. While the first fostered a creative explosion, the second gave birth to an industry of how-to books and classes. And such complexity is commonplace, Dr. John Maeda [an associate professor of design and computation at the M.I.T. Media Lab and an award-winning graphic designer] says. Despite the lip service paid to "ease of use," "plug and play," and "one-click shopping," simplicity is an endangered quality in the digital world, he adds, and it is time to break free from technology's intimidating complexity.
It's a balancing act between "simple and easy to use" on the one hand and "full-featured with a learning curve" on the other.
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