I’m just halfway through this book and am so excited about it that I have to post this right now!
This is a must for anyone that wants to convey a message, catch people off guard, make something truly remarkable – all of us, right?
He talks at length (but in an engaging way) about what he conveys in the tagline – “why the best ideas have something missing.” There is something about minimizing, removing, and simplifying that sometimes brings the most amazing results. Unexpected results. He calls this elegance.
As an example, he shares the Laweiplein experiment. Dratchen, a Dutch city, has a junction/busy intersection referred to as Laweiplein. Hans Monderman, a Dutch traffic investigator turned engineeer, designed this intersection. Basically, he took away all the signs, stoplights and sidewalks.
What…..
Yep, took them all away. And, in taking them away created what Matthew May (the author) states “great safety in danger.”
The awareness of the drivers went up. The awareness of the walkers went up. The awareness of the bikers went up.
Did anything go down?
Yes. Accidents!
There was something about having less, that forced drivers, walkers, and bikers to be more aware. They couldn’t rely on all the usual suspects (signs, lights and lines on the road). They had to rely on their own mind and judgement. They had to act smart and use their brain!
He shares another example where participants in a study were given a new camera ad in three forms:
- Picture with no words
- Picture with a few key pieces of info
- Picture with lots of detailed information
What did people respond to best? The middle option – the one with just enough information. Many people call this the “goldilocks effect.” Not too hot, not too cold, but just right.
Do I dare share one more example?
Did you watch the last episode of The Sopranos? I didn’t, but apparently it caught everyone off guard. The screen went blank at the end of the hour and everyone assumed it was a temporary blackout or other issue. It wasn’t. It was just an unexpected ending. At first people were mad, but then they started talking about it, trying to find the meaning and starting online discussions about all the implications.
What does this mean for you – a producer of ideas, products and services?
The psychology of elegance is an interesting thing. You must appeal to people. You must get them to select you over someone else, or in addition to another product. You must stimulate their interest.
So, here are three points made by Soman and Menon (researchers that performed the picture test above):
- Arouse curiosity by demonstrating a moderate gap in the observer’s knowledge.
- Provide just enough information to make them want to resolve their curiosity.
- Give them time to try to resolve their curiosity on their own.
This book goes into all kinds of topics related to elegance, psychology, marketing, engineering, painting, fractals, etc. Like I’m not even done with the book yet and so I’m sure that there are far more topics.
My summary isn’t elegant, but I’m hoping that I’ve accomplished #1 and #2 above and that you’ll go read the rest of the book – or at least go off and read a better review. (-:
Follow-Up
Just finished the book! The four main principles are:
- Symetry
- Seduction
- Subtraction
- Sustainability
Check out the book to learn the details!
