The Tyranny of Complexity

Good design is as little design as possible. Dieter Rams articulated this in 1970 and we have spent the last five decades systematically ignoring him.

The modern web is a baroque catastrophe. Modals stacked on tooltips, animations that serve only to demonstrate the developer's capability, gradients where a single line of colour would do.

The Problem with "Less But Better"

The phrase is deceptively simple. "Less" does not mean fewer features — it means fewer unnecessary features. "Better" is not subjective aesthetic preference — it is a rigorous standard of function, durability, and honesty.

When we strip away the decorative and attend only to what a thing must do, something extraordinary happens: the object becomes permanent. It transcends trend.

"Good design is as little design as possible — less, but better — because it concentrates on the essential aspects, and the products are not burdened with non-essentials."

This is the standard I hold my own work to.