Minimalism (eBook)

Foreword 7
Preface 9
Who Should Read this Book? 10
The Structure of this Book 10
Acknowledgments 12
Contents 13
Part I: Designing for an Age of Complexity 18
Chapter 1 Minimalism: Introduction and Synopsis 19
1.1 Motivations for Minimalism in HCI 20
1.1.1 Machine Beauty = Power + Simplicity 20
1.1.2 Reduction-Give Up or Gain? 21
1.1.3 Minimalism: Borrowing the Extreme from the Arts 22
1.2 Minimalism in a Nutshell 23
1.2.1 Four Notions of Minimalism, Their Relationship, and Design 23
1.2.2 An Example Analysis Using Notions of Minimalism 24
1.2.3 Minimalism, Products, and Processes 27
1.3 Defining the Scope of Minimalist Terminology 28
1.3.1 Minimalism-Mathematic Minimalism 28
1.3.2 Minimalism-Linguistic Minimalism 29
1.3.3 Minimalism -Documentation Minimalism 30
1.3.4 Minimalism-Folk Minimalism 31
1.4 Finding a Minimalism for Interaction Design 32
References 33
Part II: Defining Minimalism 35
Chapter 2 In Search of ‘‘Minimalism’’- Roving in Art, Music and Elsewhere 36
2.1 Minimalism in the Arts 38
2.1.1 Rauschenberg, Klein and Newman: Birth of Minimal Painting 38
2.1.2 Reinhardt: Art-as-Art 40
2.1.3 Stella: To See What Is There 43
2.1.4 Radical Minimalism and Post-Minimalist Painting 45
2.1.5 Judd, Andre, Flavin, and Morris: Minimal Objects 46
2.1.6 LeWitt: Minimal Structure in Minimalist Sculpture 50
2.1.7 Post-Minimalist Sculpture 52
2.1.8 Minimal Art: Art as Art or Cooperative Sense-Building? 53
2.2 Minimalism in Music 55
2.2.1 The Origins of Minimal Music 56
2.2.2 Terry Riley 57
2.2.3 La Monte Young 59
2.2.4 Philip Glass 61
2.2.5 Steve Reich 63
2.2.6 Summarizing Minimalism in Music 65
2.3 Minimalism Found Elsewhere 66
2.3.1 Literary Minimalism: Roots in Hemingway, Archetype in Carver 66
2.3.2 Minimalism in Architecture 69
2.3.3 Minimalism in Typography 71
2.4 Homing in on Minimalism: Summarizing the Art perspective 73
2.4.1 Minimality of Means 74
2.4.2 Minimality of Meaning 74
2.4.3 Minimality of Structure 75
2.4.4 Use of Patterns 75
2.4.5 Involvement of the recipient 76
2.4.6 The Minimalist Perspective and Criticism 76
References 76
Chapter 3 Minimalism for Interaction Design: a Proposal 80
3.1 Meanings of Minimalism in HCI-A Transfer from the Arts 80
3.2 Defining Four Notions of the Minimal for Interaction Design 82
3.2.1 Minimal Functionality for User Interfaces 84
3.2.2 Minimal Structure for User Interfaces 85
3.2.3 Minimal Architecture for User Interfaces 85
3.2.4 Minimal Composition for User Interfaces 87
3.2.5 A Minimalist Terminology for the Design of Interactive Systems 88
3.3 Summary 90
References 91
Part III: Rethinking Minimalism 94
Chapter 4 Minimalism, Industrial Design and HCI 95
4.1 Following the Roots in Industrial Design 95
4.2 Standards in Interaction Design and Minimalism 98
4.3 HCI Lore and Minimalism 103
4.3.1 Rules of Noble Metal and Minimalism 103
4.3.2 Interface Guidelines and Minimalism 105
4.3.3 Discussion 106
4.4 Summary 106
References 107
Chapter 5 Minimalism, Simplicity and Rules of Design 110
5.1 Deep Design: Causes of Clutter and Excise 111
5.2 Visibility of Interface Elements 114
5.3 Access Structure 116
5.4 Minimalism and Consistency 119
5.5 Minimalism and Conceptions of Design 122
5.6 Minimalism and Simplicity 124
5.6.1 Limits of the Notion of Simplicity 125
5.7 Revisiting the Four Notions of Minimalism 129
References 131
Part IV: Applying Minimalism 135
Chapter 6 Detecting the Minimal 136
6.1 Functional Minimalism 136
6.1.1 Cutting Edges 137
6.1.1.1 Discussion 139
6.1.2 Apple GarageBand (i-Series 1) 139
6.1.2.1 Description 139
6.1.2.2 Discussion 142
6.1.2.3 A Minimal Assessment 144
6.1.3 The CommSy Community System 144
6.1.3.1 Description 145
6.1.3.2 Discussion 148
6.1.3.3 A Minimal Assessment 150
6.1.4 Word Processing 151
6.1.4.1 StarOffice 4 Kids 151
6.1.4.2 Evaluating Multiple Interfaces 152
6.1.4.3 Discussion 155
6.1.5 Refining the Notion of Functional Minimalism 156
6.2 Structural Minimalism 158
6.2.1 Remote Controls 158
6.2.1.1 Discussion 161
6.2.2 The Palm Handheld 161
6.2.2.1 Description 162
6.2.2.2 Discussion 164
6.2.2.3 A Minimal Assessment 165
6.2.3 Minimal Access Structures for Mobile Communication 166
6.2.3.1 Description 167
6.2.3.2 Discussion 169
6.2.3.3 A Minimal Assessment 170
6.2.4 HyperScout: Enhancing Link Preview in the World Wide Web 171
6.2.4.1 Description 172
6.2.4.2 Discussion 175
6.2.4.3 A Minimal Assessment 176
6.2.5 Word Processing 176
6.2.5.1 Description 179
6.2.5.2 Discussion 181
6.2.6 Refining the Notion of Structural Minimalism 182
6.3 Architectural Minimalism 186
6.3.1 Building Blocks 186
6.3.1.1 Discussion 188
6.3.2 Apple Automator (i-Series 2) 189
6.3.2.1 Description 189
6.3.2.2 A Minimal Assessment 191
6.3.3 SketchUp 192
6.3.3.1 Description 192
6.3.3.2 Discussion 194
6.3.3.3 A Minimal Assessment 195
6.3.4 Apple iPod 196
6.3.4.1 Description 196
6.3.4.2 Discussion 198
6.3.4.3 A Minimal Assessment 199
6.3.5 Web 2.0 200
6.3.5.1 Analysis 202
6.3.5.2 Discussion 203
6.3.5.3 A Minimal Assessment 204
6.3.6 Word Processing 205
6.3.6.1 Analysis 205
6.3.6.2 Conclusion 207
6.3.7 Refining the Notion of Architectural Minimalism 208
6.4 Compositional Minimalism 210
6.4.1 Old Buildings Learn 210
6.4.2 A Sticky Story: The Post-it Note 213
6.4.2.1 Discussion 214
6.4.3 E-mail 214
6.4.3.1 Description 215
6.4.3.2 Discussion 217
6.4.3.3 A Minimal Assessment 218
6.4.4 PowerPoint 219
6.4.4.1 Description 219
6.4.4.2 Discussion 221
6.4.4.3 A Minimal Assessment 222
6.4.5 WikiWikiWebs 222
6.4.5.1 Description 223
6.4.5.2 Discussion 225
6.4.5.3 A Minimal Assessment 226
6.4.6 Word Processing 227
6.4.6.1 Description 227
6.4.6.2 Discussion 228
6.4.7 Refining the Notion of Compositional Minimalism 229
6.5 Reflections on the Four Notions of Minimalism 232
6.5.1 A First Assessment of Suitability for the Analysis of Products 232
6.5.2 Design Advice 233
References 236
Chapter 7 Designing the Minimal 249
7.1 Process Matters 250
7.2 A Direct Approach: Reduction as a Design Activity 253
7.2.1 The Minimal Design Game 255
7.2.2 First Experiences 257
7.2.3 Discussion 258
7.3 The Indirect Approach: Changing the Process 258
7.3.1 Scoping Reduction 259
7.3.1.1 Functional Reduction 259
7.3.1.2 Structural Reduction 259
7.3.1.3 Architectural Reduction 260
7.3.1.4 Compositional Reduction 260
7.4 Defining Scope: Using Personas 261
7.4.1 Personas and Notions of Minimalism 261
7.4.2 Reduction and the Use of Personas 264
7.5 Defining Use: Scenario Techniques 265
7.5.1 Scenarios and Notions of Minimalism 266
7.5.2 Scenario-Based Design 268
7.5.3 Reduction and the Use of Scenarios 269
7.6 Defining Architecture: Small Steps and Agile Methods 271
7.6.1 Simplicity in Software Engineering 272
7.6.2 Minimalism in Agile Development 273
7.6.2.1 Feature-based Negotiation and Design in Agile Methods 276
7.6.2.2 Walking Small Steps: Interaction Design and Agile Development 278
7.6.2.3 Agile Reduction 279
7.6.3 Reduction in Agile Methods 281
7.7 Defining Growth: Using Values in Design 282
7.7.1 Values in Software 283
7.7.2 Case Study: CommSy-Designing with Values 285
7.7.2.1 Functional and Structural Minimalism 286
7.7.2.2 Architectural Minimalism 287
7.7.2.3 Compositional Minimalism 288
7.7.3 Sharing Explicit Values in Communities of Interest 289
7.7.3.1 Techniques Developed and Analyzed 291
7.7.4 Reduction in Value-Based Development 292
7.8 Engineering Simplicity? A Reality Check 294
References 298
Part V: Reflections on Minimalism 306
Chapter 8 Minimalism Revisited 307
8.1 The Minimal Perspective on Design 308
8.2 Minimalism as an Analytic Tool 310
8.3 Minimalism as a Constructive Tool 314
8.3.1 A Minimalist Design Method: The Minimal Design Game 314
8.3.2 Indirect Minimalism in Existing Methods 315
8.3.2.1 Minimalism through Focus on User Scope 315
8.3.2.2 Minimalism through Focus on Tasks 315
8.3.2.3 Minimalism through Iterative and Agile Development 316
8.3.2.4 Minimalism in Application Growth 316
8.4 Refining the Definition of Minimalism 318
8.4.1 Functional Minimalism Revisited 318
8.4.2 Structural Minimalism Revisited 319
8.4.3 Architectural Minimalism Revisited 322
8.4.4 Compositional Minimalism Revisited 324
8.5 Implications of a Minimalist Standpoint for Design 325
References 326
Chapter 9 Minimal Aesthetics 328
References 334
Chapter 10 Unconnected Ends 336
References 338
Chapter 11 Conclusion 339
Index 341