“Less, but better – because it concentrates on the essential aspects, and the products are not burdened with non-essentials.   Back to purity, back to simplicity.” Dieter Rams, Design principle number 10.

Over-elaboration is something we humans like to do.  To demonstrate the attention we’ve lavished on the thing we’re making and by extension on the person we’ve made it for, or to show off just how skilled we are.  Or most likely, for both those reasons.

The trouble is the result is very often impractical – even unusable, and difficult to adapt when things change around it.

Keeping things simple is the hardest thing, because that means truly focusing on the other person, the one who has to use it or look after it.