The Laws of Semplicity - John Maeda

In my first year of university, we were assigned to read a small book of about eighty pages, and I recall that many of my classmates complained because it seemed unrelated to communication and fashion.

The book was "The Laws of Simplicity" by John Maeda, who, for those unfamiliar with him — as I was at the time, is the individual responsible for creating distractions on all our digital tools.

Although the book may not directly address communication, storytelling, or marketing strategies, if we take a moment to read between the lines, we would be genuinely surprised to discover all these connections.

Nearly six years later, I still value those ten rules.

Every day.

Applied to my marketing strategies.

So I will share only five today ...

semplicity = serenity

John Maeda discusses these rules because he feels overwhelmed by technology and believes it is his duty to remind people and designers of the importance of simplicity, as individuals appreciate designs that make their lives easier.

If you think about it, all those marketing strategies, storytelling, content marketing, user-generated content, and more are merely aimed at SIMPLIFYING YOUR CHOICE. We have so many options that effective storytelling allows us to make decisions more easily and quickly.

RULE N 1 - REDUCE

The simplest way to achieve simplicity is through thoughtful reduction.

Simplicity relates to the unexpected pleasure derived from what seems insignificant and would otherwise go unnoticed: the smaller the object, the more inclined we are to be forgiving when it exhibits unexpected behavior. The simplest way to achieve simplicity is through thoughtful reduction.

RULE N 2 - ORGANIZATION

Organization ensures that a system composed of many elements appears to consist of only a few.

P.S. In the book, Maeda discusses an astonishing method of organization that I swear I will talk about.

RULE N 3 - TIME

Time savings resemble simplicity.

Today, we purchase ways to save our precious time – or we are deceived by those who can create the illusion that the passage of time is not important at that moment.

RULE N 4 - LEARN

Knowledge makes everything simpler.

(Here too, the insights are incredibly interesting, but it would take weeks to discuss them through carousels; let’s grab a coffee to talk about it.)

RULE N 5 - DIFFERENCES

Simplicity and complexity are mutually necessary.

Absolutely my favorite, because it is simple: one cannot grasp simplicity when one has forgotten what its opposite is.

And thinking about it, this is also the reason why reels and short content are so viral: brief, simple, and immediate, in stark contrast to television: complex, imposing, and lengthy.