Visual information is everywhere. We are constantly immersed in a flow of visual data that reshapes our social and inner world. Companies and individuals are competing to conquer the public’s scarce attention by inventing distinctive visual formats to stand out from the crowd. How can designers, inventors, and product managers create designs that are quick to process as well as meaningful, unique and memorable in an age characterized by constant information overload?
The answer is to think aesthetically. Research insights at the intersection between cognitive science and art studies demonstrate that our minds can effectively process visual complexity by using aesthetic pleasure and judgement as a guide. Analysing the work of great artists and designers from the perspective of how our mind appreciates beauty, Elegant Design identifies actionable aesthetic strategies that will help you to design products and user experiences that are useful, beautiful and meaningful.
Preface Introduction The age of aesthetics Elegant decisions The art of simplicity Getting started 1. The Simplifying Machine Impressions Simple minds What do you see is what do you get? Understanding as pattern recognition The joy of guessing: ambiguity and emotions in understanding The role of aesthetic pleasure in understanding Too good to be true Creativity Lab: how the mind simplifies reality and compresses information 2. Beauty as Effective Complexity There is no recipe for creativity The hidden workflow of the creative process How does it feel? The roles of emotions in aesthetic experience When good is good enough? Beautify as effective complexity Strategies for effective complexity Conclusions: the necessity of art Creativity Lab: handling complexity in design Part One: Search for Unity Strategies 3. Subtract Details The art of concision The case for abstraction Subtracting the obvious, adding the meaningful Small talks The science of brevity Conclusions Creativity Lab: subtracting details from your design without loosing meaningful performance 4. Symmetry Blood, sweat, and tears: what goes up, can't go down The invention of the point of view: symmetry in art Managing symmetry: checks and balances The science of symmetry Conclusions Creativity Lab: how to handle symmetry and asymmetry in your design 5. The Power of Grouping A stroll down the memory lane The power of grouping in art: seeking as creating What is your product? The danger of cognitive inertia and the wonders of creative categorization The science of grouping Conclusions Creativity Lab: Effectively grouping information in your design 6. Split Lizards, infinite lawns, and the invention of the hypertext The devil is in the detail The ergonomics of simplicity: the NEST thermostat The science of split Conclusions Creativity Lab: how to design effective information layers and hierarchy Part Two: Push for Variety Strategies 7. The Power of the Center May the force be with you The power of the center in art: equilibrium as dynamic tension The power of obsession: how extreme focus can make your business thrive (or die) The science of split: the eye of the beholder Conclusion Creativity Lab: identifying attention-structuring centers in your design 8. Emphasize An umbrella on four wheels Emphasize in art Think different: emphasize in design and management The science of emphasizing Creativity Lab: how to make your design stand out by harnessing the power of emphasis 9. Remix Mission Impossible Metamorphosis or the Nature of Change What's your story? A chairman walks into a lab The science of remix Conclusions Creativity Lab: effectively reshuffling your design to search for novelty 10. Contrast and Balance Chess and balance Present, tense Lost in transition The science of contrast Conclusions: keep on moving Creativity Lab: How to creative effective visual weight dynamics 11. The Swinging Mind Black holes and supernovas: navigating the design continuum The critical role of granularity in design When good is good enough: the swinging mind Design as persuasion Creativity Lab: everyday exercises to cultivate a swinging mind Conclusion Index
Luca Iandoli is Associate Dean for Global Programs and Research and a professor in the Department of Computer Science at St. John’s University. Luca was a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at the MIT Center for Collective Intelligence and served as associate professor at the University of Naples Federico II, Italy, and as visiting professor at Stevens Institute of Technology, USA. His research focuses on collective intelligence, interaction design, and product aesthetics. Giuseppe Zollo is Professor of Business and Management at the University of Naples Federico II, Schools of Engineering and School of Architecture, Italy. With a background in architecture and information science, Giuseppe’s research focuses on complex systems, organizational learning and sense-making. His intellectual interests span from cognitive studies on art appreciation to history of science and technology.
Reviews for Elegant Design: A Designer’s Guide to Harnessing Aesthetics
By exploring the tensions between simplicity and complexity, Luca Iandoli and Giuseppe Zollo, have masterfully developed a set of methods explaining the basic concepts of design through the analysis of art and psychological theories, leading to their application to produce innovative product design. * Yvette Chaparro, Parsons School of Design / The New School, USA *
