Simplicity’s
Big Comeback JEREMY PERKINS
New York Times 2013
New York Times Today
University of Illinois 2013
University of Illinois Today
Qualities
The new normal
Generous white space
Hidden navigation
One message at a time
Mandatory
scrolling
How we got here
The comeback
The web used to be simple
Then screens got bigger
Responsive? We have a problem
Death to the sidebar
Death to the sidebar
Usability
Changing expectations
Device usage, time spent 2010–14
source: Sta,sta
The downward scroll
Usability change #1
Shorthand
Usability change #2
Make way for interface
Logo = home
Then Now
Magnifying glass = search
Hamburger = navigation
Consumable content
Usability change #3
Active Facebook users 2008–15
source: Sta,sta
Mobile broadband subscriptions 2007–14
source: Sta,sta
source: Rolling Stone
Focal points: good
Focal points: bad
Ingredients
Rich content
source: Simply Scratch
A focus on content
Great photos, videos, copy
Flexible content types
Education at Illinois
A university example
“Good design is
as little design as possible” Dieter Rams
Dieter Rams
“Back to purity,
back to simplicity”
Thank you
@iFactoryBoston @perjeremy