Design is compromise

the easiest thing to do in a product is add a feature. People new to design tend to see the world of product as a set of features to build more than an experience to balance, and they rush to add things until they paint themselves in a corner with an encumbered experience that lacks a cohesive purpose. Balancing and integrating takes a lot more eff... See more

Graphic designer and painter Paula Scher on how to make something great:

"Less is more and more is more. It's the middle that's not a good place."

A tradeoff occurs every time you get feedback. You become slightly more mainstream, slightly more aligned with the zeitgeist. You become marginally more of an exploiter than an explorer , standing on the shoulders of the giants who conceived the paradigm you’re striving to build upon. This is very effective when you want to align your work with oth... See more

We learned the hard way that new products are hard enough to figure out, and we should make as many things as familiar as possible. Again, life and new products are hard enough. When you can use a familiar term instead of being original, do so. Never opt for a solution that is more creative but less effective.