Since my mom is a graphic artist, ever since I was young this principle was drilled into my head. It didn't matter if I was making a science fair project display board or trying to come up with ideas for my senior seminar paper, she was always there to remind me of this concept:
keep it simple, stupid
So often in life, we try to come up with these super elaborate ideas and focus a lot on the fluff of making sure things look just the right way or start a paper that are encompassing of too many ideas into one general theme. Getting to my point, I think that if my mom had to give her advice on creating the instructions, she would tell me to keep it simple. This goes back to an idea I had while responding to a post, that we need to be both clear and concise, which will be a challenge but will also be the proof of a good set of instructions. Too far in either direction will make the instructions not very user-friendly. Keeping with this mindset, I chose to do something that I really enjoy and wouldn't mind spending considerable amount of time thinking about. I really love playing board games, and while I was abroad I learned a game called Hamchunk. I have taught all of my friends from home how to play and they love it too. This idea was the perfect combination of something simple but also something that I really enjoy.
Carson, I already love your post, just by the title! What you said is so true. We often forget that the best papers/instructions/words of advice are the simplest and shortest. By having others look over our instructions, they can give us feedback and let us know if what we wrote has the correct amount of detail This will definitely be helpful. If I don't get to see your instructions in class, please teach me how to play, too!
ReplyDeleteI love the whole KISS idea. You are right. simple and short is the best way to go for a majority of instructions. I would also like to know how to play the game too! At the end if I dont get to read it in class you should post it in a blog!
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you! We always to try make everything we do harder than it seems and all along we should have keep it simple. We do try to impress people each day, no matter what it is. We always try to make someone think we are sometimes better when we make things "shiny". We just need to open up our eyes and see that simple is usually the best!
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone. If people just simply say what they mean and not try to sugar coat everything I thing life would be much easier, and not so much confusion.
ReplyDeleteIf everyone practiced this principle, life would be much easier! I think that this class will help us keep it simple, especially when writing instructions. Too many things are overcomplicated, and the challenge is to satisfy everyone's needs while keeping it simple. What is just enough information for some may not be nearly enough for others.
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