John Maeda
John Maeda
John Maeda is an American executive, designer, technologist. His work explores the area where business, design, and technology merge. He was a Professor at the MIT Media Lab for 12 years, and then became the President of the Rhode Island School of Design from 2008 to 2013. He is currently Design Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers where he advises startups on the business impact of design. He also serves on the Board of Directors of consumer electronics...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionDesigner
CountryUnited States of America
In the '70s and '80s there was an attempt in K-12 to teach science through art or art through science. The challenge today is how do you build the ethos of art and design into the academy of science.
Really great products, like @nest, have #design baked in from the beginning instead of slapped on at the end.
The simplest way to achieve simplicity is through thoughtful reduction.
People who can focus, get things done. People who can prioritize, get the right things done.
Anyone with a computer and a design program can create a page layout. But unless you're trained in design, it won't look very good and it won't communicate very well.
A designer is someone who constructs while he thinks, someone for whom planning and making go together.
We seem to forget that innovation doesn't just come from equations or new kinds of chemicals, it comes from a human place. Innovation in the sciences is always linked in some way, either directly or indirectly, to a human experience.
Amidst all the attention given to the sciences as to how they can lead to the cure of all diseases and daily problems of mankind, I believe that the biggest breakthrough will be the realization that the arts, which are considered "useless," will be recognized as the whole reason why we ever try to live longer or live more prosperously. The arts are the science of enjoying life.
A book is a human-powered film projector (complete with feature film) that advances at a speed fully customized to the viewer's mood or fancy. This rare harmony between object and user arises from the minimal skills required to manipulate a bound sequence of pages. Each piece of paper embodies a corresponding instant of time which remains frozen until liberated by the act of turning a page.
Apple products aren't simple technologies by any stretch, but there is a beautiful simplicity to them.
If you have no fear, no one has power over you.
I have a confession: I'm not a man of simplicity. I spent my entire early career making complex stuff. Lots of complex stuff.
Skill in the digital age is confused with mastery of digital tools, masking the importance of understanding materials and mastering the elements of form.
Technological advances have always been driven more by a mind-set of 'I can' than 'I should' Technologists love to cram maximum functionality into their products. That's 'I can' thinking, which is driven by peer competition and market forces But this approach ignores the far more important question of how the consumer will actually use the device focus on what we should be doing, not just what we can.