Living with Complexity

Don Norman, author of The Design of Everyday Things, challenges the common complaint that technology should be simpler. In this 2014 talk, listed under TED Talks and based on the ideas in his book Living with Complexity, he argues that we don’t really want simplicity: simple tools are not up to the task, and our tools need to match the complexity and richness of our lives.

The problem, Norman says, is not complexity but bad design, which complicates things unnecessarily and confuses people. Good design can tame complexity. Even simple things such as salt and pepper shakers, doors and light switches become complicated when we have to deal with many of them, each slightly different.

He describes managing complexity as a partnership. Designers have to make things that tame complexity, and users have to take the time to learn the structure and practise the skills, just as we learned to read, write, drive and play sports. The good life, he concludes, is complex, rich and rewarding, but only when it is understandable, sensible and meaningful. Patterns such as progressive disclosure and chunking are practical ways to make complex interfaces understandable.