http://4webit.com/blogit/ en-us 40 Synap Software comments <p style="float:left"><img src="http://synapsoftware.com/images/reduceremote.png" alt="" /></p> <p>I love <a href="http://www.designinginteractions.com/chapters/4">this</a> photo &#8211; &#8220;Understanding how to use a remote is made easier by a friend&#8221; &#8211; as an example of the power of reduction to make something easier to understand and give people a better experience. Take away all the stuff people don&#8217;t need and suddenly instead of fumbling around feeling stupid, they easily start doing what they want.</p> <p>Also, the instructions are written directly on the remotes. The friend didn&#8217;t write seperate notes on a piece of paper saying &#8220;press the up and down arrows on the slim remote to change volume&#8221;. Instead, the friend wrote directly on the remote: &#8220;Volume&#8221;. Similarly, seperate &#8220;help&#8221; files and manuals for software need to die. There are better alternatives such as inline prompts and making a design so obvious and activity-centered that people do not need help files.</p> Mon, 18 Jun 2007 10:01:00 EDT <a href="/blogit/articles/2007/06/18/simplification-by-reduction">Great Visual of Simplification by Reduction</a> <a href="/blogit/articles/2007/06/18/simplification-by-reduction">Great Visual of Simplification by Reduction</a>