Keep it stupid-simple

I’m not the biggest fan of acronyms, but the KISS principle of ‘Keep it simple, stupid’ (a design principle noted by the U.S. Navy in the 1960's) is one that I’ve appreciated since the day I first heard it, and an approach I’ve taken to creative problem solving ever since.

When designing digital user interfaces and experiences, regardless of platform (be it mobile, web, TV or wearable etc.) the less your user is required to think, the better. The fewer options you give them and the fewer actions you require, the fewer decisions they need to make and the easier it is to guide them to the intended result (be it making an inquiry, purchase or reservation etc.).

“explain it to me like I’m a two year old”

We are purposefully simplifying our experiences, which could also be described as ‘dumbing them down’. Like Denzel Washington’s character in the movie Philadelphia says repeatedly, “explain it to me like I’m a two year old”. Basically, a user interface needs to be ‘a no-brainer’.

I was recently suggesting the principle, and it occurred to me, that maybe it shouldn’t be ‘keep it simple, stupid’, but rather ‘keep it stupid-simple’.

So, keep it stupid-simple, stupid.