Inspiration: Creating More Meaningful Content With Less

Law of Subtraction by Mathew May

I'm reading The Laws of Subtraction by Mathew May.
A reminder of the power of less.

If you're crafting any kind of UX/story experience, reading this book might help you whittle down your content in a more meaningful way.

This is my favorite quote so far & it's informing what I'm creating now: "When you reduce the number of doors that someone can walk through, more people walk through the one that you want them to walk through."

May distills the power of subtraction into 6 laws.

1. What isn't there can often trump what is.

2. The simplest rules create the most effective experience.

3. Limiting information engages the imagination.

4. Creativity thrives under intelligent constraints. 

5. Break is the important part of breakthrough.

6. Doing something isn't always better than doing nothing.

Here are a few more gems.

"To attain knowledge, add things every day. To attain wisdom, subtract things every day." 
-Lao Tzu

 "Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious and adding the meaningful."

"When you remove just the right things in just the right way, something good happens."

"It is the experience that makes something meaningful. Focusing on the experience puts us in touch with the more emotional side of ideas. Understanding the human factors involved in producing an experience that fundamentally improves how we think, feel, or behave is what makes the design of any particular thing interesting."

Inspiring ideas to keep in mind as you're creating story experiences across platforms.

Twitter: @MathewEMay
Web: MatheweMay.com

RELATED READING

7 Design Principles, Inspired By Zen Wisdom by Mathew May, Fast Company
The Art of Adding By Taking Away by Mathew May, The New York Times