My design philosophy is simple. And it’s really very applicable as a life philosophy. Almost without exception, you’re better off just doing less.
When deciding how many colors to use, how much content to put in a design, how many data points to illustrate, how many words in a headline, how many paragraphs in a blog post, how much to say in answer to an interview question, how long to speak during dinner conversation…the answer is less.
Just do less.
Less than your boss says, less than your client says, less than your dinner companions are doing…less than your instincts might suggest, maybe.
Just do less.
One way to do less, in addition to just consciously deciding to, is by using the technique I describe with my incredibly handy acronym KWYRWTS. Pretty awesome acronym, right?!? You’ll never forget that! Seriously, though, it stands for Know What You Really Want To Say. Narrow the focus, get to one idea whenever possible. And express that idea – using words, objects, colors, etc. Once you’ve expressed that idea, you’re done. So STOP!
Just do less.
Another way is to spend less time doing and more time listening and thinking (these are a couple of those things you want to do more of.) Listening (to your clients, colleagues, dinner companions, yourself…) and thinking (about what they’re saying or the challenge you’re trying to solve) will allow you to get to KWYRWTS, getting you closer to the solution.
Just do less.
This is not about being lazy and working less. In fact, you’ve probably heard the quote, often misattributed to Mark Twain or Hemingway, but really from French mathematician Blaise Pascal:
I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time.
It takes time to edit, to strip away, to communicate well by eliminating the chaff. Doing less requires more effort, but it’s time well spent.
Just do less.
Why? Because less is more. LOL. Yes, I just said that. But seriously, less is focused, less answers one question at a time, less gives your audience the chance to hear you and absorb your answer to their challenge. Less is memorable. More is noise.
Just do less. (Have I said that too many times?)