John Maeda Books

We are increasingly recognizing that simplicity equates to sanity, rebelling against overly complicated technology and cumbersome manuals. The iPod has made simplicity fashionable, yet we often find ourselves in a simplicity paradox: desiring user-friendly products that can also perform complex tasks. John Maeda presents ten laws for navigating the balance between simplicity and complexity in business, technology, and design, advocating for achieving more by needing less. As a professor at MIT's Media Lab and a renowned graphic designer, Maeda challenges us to rethink what "improved" means, suggesting it doesn’t always require adding features. His first law, "Reduce," emphasizes that not every technological addition is beneficial. Features must be organized sensibly (Law 2) to prevent user distraction. However, simplicity shouldn't be pursued for its own sake. Law 9 acknowledges that some elements may never be simplified. Maeda’s concise guide illustrates how simplicity can be foundational for organizations and their products, driving both business and technology. We can learn to simplify without compromising comfort and meaning, ultimately achieving the balance described in Law 10, "The One," which states that simplicity involves subtracting the obvious and adding the meaningful.

Lessons for a new generation of leaders on teamwork, meetings, conversations, free food, social media, apologizing, and other topics.

John Maeda is one of the world's preeminent thinkers on technology and design, and in How to Speak Machine , he offers a set of simple laws that govern not only the computers of today, but the unimaginable machines of the future. Machines are already more powerful than we can comprehend, and getting more powerful at an exponential pace. Once set in motion, algorithms never tire. And when a program's size, speed and endlessness combine with its ability to learn and transform itself, the outcome can be unpredictable and dangerous. Take the seemingly instant transformation of Microsoft's chatbot into a hate-spewing racist, or how crime-predicting algorithms reinforce racial bias. How To Speak Machine provides a coherent framework for today's product designers, business leaders and policymakers to grasp this brave new world. Drawing on his wide-ranging experience from engineering to computer science to design, Maeda shows how businesses and individuals can identify opportunities afforded by technology to make world-changing and inclusive products while avoiding the pitfalls inherent to the medium.