Embracing constraint

Refresh LX, Lisbon, Portugal, 21st September 2012

For many designers total freedom is far from ideal. We need an idea or a brief, but with that come inevitable constraints. Understanding and embracing these constraints is key to finding a simpler way to manage complexity in the websites we build. With less freedom and fewer resources, we have to make smarter decisions. In this practical talk, Simon will look at why we should impose limits, with a focus on making sense of the constraints we're given, why we should apply constraints ourselves, and how constraints can be a core feature in our work.

Transcript

1. Embracing constraint
2. 1024 x 768
3. 4:3
4. 16:9
5. 1920 x 1080
26. Having complete freedom is possibly the worst way to start any project.
27. Given constraints
28. With less freedom and fewer resources, we have to make smarter decisions.
29. Why impose limits?
30. Simplicity and complexity
31. Less is more. Simple is be er. Right?
41. We don’t design web pages. We design systems.
48. Constraint is key to understanding complexity. Increase constraint and you create an ordered system; do that inappropriately and you create the conditions for catastrophic failure; remove constraint and the system is chaotic. Dave Snowden, The 5 C’s of Complexity
49. Content as constraint
50. The constraints we know, and the constraints we’ve yet to encounter.
52. Unleash complexity in orchestrated phases, and increase power gradually.
53. Constraints as selling point
58. We design to communicate, and we seek emotive responses.
61. delight / emotion / surprise systems / constraint / restraint simplicity / complexity / focus context / reduction
62. Thanks Simon Collison @colly