Stepping back for simplicity

I played basketball daily for years and years. Before making a pass, I would instinctively blur the entire scene. I’ve always thought it was a little odd, but ironically, it helped me to see the court better. I’ve since come to find out that this tactic is a desired approach when a simpler view is sought, and applies to much more than basketball.

At the end of the second law in The Laws of Simplicity, there was mention of something that stood out to me: a “blurred approach” to design.

Groups are good; too many groups are bad because they counteract the goal of grouping in the first place. Blurred groupings are powerful because they can appear even more simple, but at the cost of becoming more abstract, less concrete.

Working within the details can isolate decisions. Sometimes a decision is best made from a different perspective—a broad or abstract (even blurred) perspective. It’s often good to take a step back and determine if what you see as a whole feels right.

The best designers in the world all squint when they look at something. They squint to see the forest from the trees—to find the right balance. Squint at the world. You will see more, by seeing less.

I was seeing the forest from the trees; that’s why I would blur the basketball court. And that’s why I often get a better view of a design from standing at the doorway of my room. Sometimes, it’s the simple view that helps the most. “It [simplicity] feeds the mind’s natural hunger to solve puzzles and to find the right gestalt.”—John Maeda