Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Simplicity is Highly Overrated

"Simplicity Is Highly Overrated" by Donald Norman

1. Identify the thesis statement of this essay.
"Because the people want the features. Because simplicity is a myth whose time has past, if it ever existed."

2. Identify at least 3 points the author uses to support that thesis.
a. Something that looks so simple won't sell because when given the choice, people will take the item with more functions, the item that looks like it does more and is worth the money. People won't buy something that looks so simple when they can buy something for the same price with more functions.
b. When people ask for simplicity, they really mean to ask for something that looks expensive and looks complex but it easy to use.
c. Purchase decisions are influenced by feature lists. Norman means that even if people realize they won't use most of the functions on a given product, they will still choose it over something very simple.

3. If you were to write an essay on the same topic, but with an opposing argument, what would your thesis be?
People are less likely to buy overly complex-looking products that are, in reality, relatively simple.

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