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Complexity is the new simplicity

Posted by Matt Davies on December 4th, 2005.

Creative designer and founder of Attitude Design. View our Graphic Design Portfolio.

http://attitudedesign.co.uk

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Leonardo Da Vinci once said that “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”. This is the common and most accepted view amongst many designers. “More is less” and “keep it simple” are phrases that I hear on a regular basis by fellow designers. However it is my estimate that this way of doing things is about to change. If we consider the latest trends in fashion and in architecture we will discover that since the millennium we have gone back through time in order to be “modern”. The 80’s styles became popular but soon gave way to the 70’s which then gave way to the 50’s. Trends are going back in time at lightening speed.

Now many fashion designers are gathering inspiration from the Victorian era. This has started to be shown in the “William Morris” inspired graphics we see appearing on T-shirts and flash portfolios. Topshop is a great pioneer of this new complex way of designing things. Why, we may ask, are we looking back to eras in which our great, great grandparents lived? I believe it is partly because we, in this modern era, have lost the “sophistication” that Leonardo once spoke of. Today we are in a plastic, concrete, mass produced environment.

“Character” is something the products we manufacture, the clothes we wear, the furniture we buy, the music we listen to, etc, do not have. I am of course thinking about Mr average, not Mr designer. So it is my belief that we will go back to looking at bespoke and character filled design. Not this manufactured, simplistic, plastic stuff we all use today. This trend change, which has started already will obviously filter through to webdesign. What are your thoughts on this, Reader? Let fadtastic know.

( 8 so far )

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I think it really makes sense. And if we continue to travel back in time, we will soon encounter styles from 1700, which is kinda nice, with lots of details:

http://www.spilberk.cz/IMAGES/c/1700.gif

Tor Bollingmo
December 4th, 2005
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Once this 50’s trend is over I expect to see a divide between ultra-minimal (maybe fully text based sites based around typography) and baroque/romantic styles. We’ll have to wait and see.

Andrew Faulkner
December 5th, 2005
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The character you speak of is -in my opinion- nonexistent. Nowadays, everybody is ‘hip’. The T-shirts everyone is wearing are just all look-a-likes, the sites too. (even you got a neat star in your header ;) )
http://www.latimes.com/features/lifestyle/la-ca-trend9oct09,0,6606886,full.story?coll=la-home-style
a nice article about trend-spotting.

Peter Briers
December 5th, 2005
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This is an interesting topic. I am one that likes to keep things simple, I’m sure a lot of us do in one way or another.

But if a product has a function, then I feel it’s aesthetic design should suit it’s physical design, nothing more nothing less.

However I still feel in terms of architecture, and illustration were particular designs are meant to be decorative that it is good inspiration to look back into the past, and add character to each of these elements.

For product design though I like to stick with the bauhaus concept, form follows function.

Gavin
December 6th, 2005
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oh goodness
know who Herbert Marcuse is? Being both a designer and philosophy major gives me the insight to be able to back up this post (which was wonderful!) with a framework of thought. He talked about the plasticity and commerce-based design a lot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Marcuse
and
http://electron.cs.uwindsor.ca/~renau1x/fivephilosophers/marcuse.html

Phil Renaud
December 6th, 2005
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I do agree to some extent Gav, but you must accept that, for example, a hand carved Victorian lamp holder, holds way more character than the average lamp you buy in Ikea. I recon that society will want this character again, bespoke and by skilled craftsmen. Anybody else see this trend coming?

Matt
December 6th, 2005
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I agree Matt. I think what I would like to see, and may have already seen. Is a more efficient use of character over a distributed space.

For example victorian design may have a lot of character, and while I like that in itself, as a whole design it’s too much for me.

However to take certain parts of Victorian culture and apply it sparingly to specific elements of a design would work for me. I guess in laymen’s terms it’s a retro-futuristic victorian style, however that doesn’t quite give the picture I’m trying to paint. I guess a good example is something like that of, http://eightface.com/.

I know this is less related. But if anyone is interested in knowing more about architecture on a physiological level I have some good references and views about it, just email me at sevenupcan at gmail dot com.

Gavin
December 10th, 2005
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Brilliant post Gav. I agree. If we could keep the modernistic typographic discipline and lace it with charactor driven styling we will be onto a winner. The next question is what will happen when we get bored of the victorian era? Stone age caveman paintings here we come…

matt davies
December 10th, 2005
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