Information design seeks to balance visual simplicity with clarity. Information designers have to take into account both the information that is displayed and the information that is implied. Are we telling the right story in way that is as concise as necessary – and possible? Did we inadvertently change the meaning by deleting too much information? Is it too simple and no longer clear?

1. KEEP IT SIMPLE
Designing for Simple is Way Too Confusing
By Marvin Gaviola, Associate Creative Director
“Keep it simple.” This common principle of design drove our creative team into a debate last week.
What does simple mean? Does everything we design really need to be simple? Or does it just need
to be clear? And what is the difference between simple and clear? This idea of “simple” was an
important design principle to follow, but on it’s own it can lead designers in the wrong direction.
Information design seeks to balance visual simplicity with clarity. Information designers have to take
into account both the information that is displayed and the information that is implied. Are we telling
the right story in way that is as concise as necessary – and possible? Did we inadvertently change
the meaning by deleting too much information? Is it too simple and no longer clear?
xplane.com

2. At XPLANE, our designers constantly have to find this balance between simplicity and clarity. In our
work we often create what we call XPLANATiONS—detailed, illustrated maps that clearly convey a
complex set of information. Though the visual solution is
simplified from the original chaos of the source material, the
XPLANATiONS often turn out to be very complex. The final
product may not be simple, but the meaning is now clear. We
consider that success.
So, we have come to our own definition for the
term simple. Simple means having a deep understanding of
the information you are trying to convey and focusing on how
to display that information as clearly as possible. This clarity
helps bring simplicity to the user’s experience and improves
understanding. The two ideas should constantly work
together, but one does not cause the other. Instead, they can
function both separately and together.
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