donald a.

norman
[email protected]
T h e Way I S e e I t

Simplicity Is Highly Overrated

“Why can’t products be simpler?” cries the reviewer I’m old enough to remember when a steering wheel
in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the was just a steering wheel, the rearview mirror just a
local newspaper. “We want simplicity,” cry the people mirror. These steering wheels were complex control
befuddled by all the features of their latest whatever. Do structures with multiple buttons and controls, includ-
they really mean it? No. ing one volume control for music and another for the
But when it came time for the journalists to review telephone—and I’m not even mentioning the steering
the simple products they had gathered together, they column’s multiple stalks. The rearview mirror had two
complained that the devices lacked what they consid- controls, one to illuminate the compass, and the other
ered to be “critical” features. So, what do people mean simply labeled “mirror”; when pressed, a red light
when they ask for simplicity? One-button operation, of appeared. A rearview mirror with an on-off switch? The
course—but with all of their favorite features. salesperson didn’t know what it did either.
I recently toured a department store in South Why such expensive toasters? Why all the buttons
Korea. Visiting department stores and the local markets and controls on steering wheels and rearview mirrors?
is one of my favorite pastimes whenever I visit a country Because they appear to add features that people want
new to me; what better way to get to know the local to have. They make a difference at the time of sale,
culture? Foods differ, clothes differ, and in the past, which is when such features matter most.
appliances differed, whether kitchen utensils, garden- Why is this? Why do we deliberately build things
ing tools, or shop tools. that confuse the people who use them?
I found the traditional “white goods,” refrigerators Answer: Because the people want the features.
and washing machines, most interesting. The store obvi- Because the demand for simplicity is a myth whose
ously stocked products of the Korean companies LG and time has passed, if it ever existed.
Samsung, but also merchandise from GE, Braun, and Make it simple, and people won’t buy. Given a choice,
Philips. The Korean products seemed more complex than they will take the item that does more. Features win over
the non-Korean ones, even though the specifications simplicity, even when people realize that features mean
and prices were essentially identical. “Why?” I asked my more complexity. You do it too, I’ll bet. Haven’t you ever
two guides, both of whom were usability professionals. compared two products side by side, feature by feature,
“Because Koreans like things to look complex,” they preferring the one that did more? Shame on you! You are
responded. It is a symbol: Complexity indicates status. behaving, well, like a normal person.
But while at the store, I marveled at the advanced The complex, expensive toaster? I’ll bet it sells well.
complexities of all appliances, especially ones that used What really puzzles me, though, is that when a
to be quite simple: for example, toasters, refrigerators, manufacturer figures out how to automate an other-
and coffeemakers, all of which had multiple control wise mysterious operation, I would expect the result-
dials, multiple LCD displays, and a complexity that ing device to be simpler. Nope. Here is an example:
defies description. Siemens recently released a washing machine that, to
Once upon a time, a toaster had one knob to control quote its Web site, “is equipped with smart sensors that
the degree of toasting—that was all. A simple lever low- recognize how much laundry is in the drum, what kind
ered the bread and started the operation. Toasters cost of textiles the laundry load comprises, and if it is heavily
people

around $20. But in the Korean store, I found a German or lightly soiled. Users only have to choose one of two
toaster for 250,000 Korean won (about $250). It boast- program settings: hot and colored wash, or easy-to-
ed complex controls, a motor to lower the untoasted clean fabrics. The machine takes care of the rest.”
bread and to lift it when finished, and an LCD panel with Hurrah, I said, now the entire wash can be auto-
cryptic icons, graphs, and numbers. Simplicity? matic, so there need be only two controls: one to
After touring the store, my two friendly guides and choose between “hot and colored wash” and “easy-
I stepped outside, where two new automobiles were to-clean fabrics,” the other to start the machine. Nope.
on display: brand-new Korean SUVs. Complexity again. This washer had even more controls and buttons than

© ACM 1072-5220/07/0300 $5.00

About the Author   Don Norman wears many hats, including cofounder of the Nielsen Norman Group, professor at
Northwestern University, and author; his latest book is Emotional Design. Some of the material in this column is from his forth-
coming book, The Design of Future Things (in preparation). He lives at www.jnd.org.

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Yes, we want simplicity, but we don’t want to give up
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point was that features sell. Those who espouse “simplic-
ity” are often far removed from actual product sales and
Association for Computing Machinery
distribution. These arguments and my response can be
Advancing Computing as a Science & Profession
found at jnd.org/dn.mss/simplicity_is_highly.html. F
www.acm.org

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