Ten laws of simplicity for business, technology, and design that teach us how to need less but get more.Finally, we are learning that simplicity equals sanity. We're rebelling against technology that's too complicated, DVD players with too many menus, and software accompanied by 75-megabyte "read me" manuals. The iPod's clean gadgetry has made simplicity hip. But sometimes we find ourselves caught up in the simplicity paradox: we want something that's simple and ea...

Lessons for a new generation of leaders on teamwork, meetings, conversations, free food, social media, apologizing, and other topics.When designer and computer scientist John Maeda was tapped to be president of the celebrated Rhode Island School of Design in 2008, he had to learn how to be a leader quickly. He had to transform himself from a tenured professor—with a love of argument for argument's sake and the freedom to experiment—into the head of a hierarchical o...

**Visionary designer and technologist John Maeda defines the fundamental laws of how computers think, and why you should care even if you aren't a programmer."Maeda is to design what Warren Buffett is to finance."--Wired**John Maeda is one of the world's preeminent interdisciplinary thinkers on technology and design. In How to Speak Machine, he offers a set of simple laws that govern not only the computers of today, but the unimaginable machines of the fut...

Finally, we are learning that simplicity equals sanity. We’re rebelling against technology that’s too complicated, DVD players with too many menus, and software accompanied by 75-megabyte “read me” manuals. The iPod’s clean gadgetry has made simplicity hip. But sometimes we find ourselves caught up in the simplicity paradox: we want something that’s simple and easy to use, but also does all the complex things we might ever want it to do. In The Laws of Simplicity, John Maeda offer...

How people make decisions in an era of too much information and fake news.Humans originally evolved in a world of few choices. Prehistoric, preindustrial, and predigital eras required fewer decisions than today's all-access, always-on world of too much information. Economists have largely discarded the idea that agents act rationally and the market follows suit. It seems that no matter how small or innocuous a decision might seem, there's almost no way to guess the...

When designer and computer scientist John Maeda was tapped to be president of the celebrated Rhode Island School of Design in 2008, he had to learn how to be a leader quickly. He had to transform himself from a tenured professor—with a love of argument for argument’s sake and the freedom to experiment—into the head of a hierarchical organization. The professor is free to speak his mind against “the man.” The college president is “the man.” Maeda has had to teach himself, through trial and ...

**A simple, enduring framework for understanding the complex world of AI and machine learning.“Before you can get machines to do what you want, you’d better learn to speak their language. John Maeda engineers rapprochement between humans and our computational creations in this engaging, enlightening book.”—Douglas Rushkoff, author of Team Human**As the capabilities of AI and language models like ChatGPT continue to advance, it is more important than ever to understa...

Part-memoir, part-guidebook, an inspiring account of the power of design, diversity, and sisterhood from a seasoned design leader.Sentido chronicles strategic designer Alison Rand’s journey as a multi-ethnic woman from New York City—NuYorican—through a male-dominated, largely white corporate world to becoming a design leader. The book—which derives its title from the Spanish word for “sense” or “to make sense of”—offers practical insights and inspiring sto...

Create experiences that crackle with awareness and agency, adapting to your users in the moment. Sentient Design is the practice of crafting intelligent interfaces: dashboards that design themselves, apps that manifest on demand, agents that just get it done, and much more. This groundbreaking book gives designers and product leaders the practical framework and imaginative perspective to deliver extraordinary new products using AI as a design material.Who Should Read This Book

Describes the world's leading approach to art and design taught at Rhode Island School of DesignAt Rhode Island School of Design students are immersed in a culture where making questions, ideas, and objects, using and inventing materials, and activating experience all serve to define a form of critical thinking—albeit with one's hands—i.e. "critical making." The Art of Critical Making, by RISD faculty and staff, describes fundamental aspects of RI...

How inclusive methods can build elegant design solutions that work for all.Sometimes designed objects reject their users: a computer mouse that doesn't work for left-handed people, for example, or a touchscreen payment system that only works for people who read English phrases, have 20/20 vision, and use a credit card. Something as simple as color choices can render a product unusable for millions. These mismatches are the building blocks of exclusion. In Misma...

The power of transformative design, multidisciplinary leaps, and diversity: lessons from a Black professional’s journey through corporate America.Design offers so much more than an aesthetically pleasing logo or banner, a beautification add-on after the heavy lifting. In Reimagining Design, Kevin Bethune shows how design provides a unique angle on problem-solving—how it can be leveraged strategically to cultivate innovation and anchor multidisciplinary tea...