Some thoughts on elegance

We posted earlier regarding the inspiration that can result when designing with restrictions. Be it an innovative house shoe-horned into a bustling city or terraced fields laboriously persuaded from the hillsides, these designs share a common logic, a common trait: Elegance.

Akin to quality, elegance is a matter of opinion. Though often unverbalized, it is frequently utilized as a main criterion for both designing & judging our designs.

The dictionary defines elegance as grace and ingenious simplicity. We propose that in design elegance is a solution so succinct that it calls for no further adjustments; requires nary a second glance...it just feels right. Some folks specialize in that kind of perfection.

One such designer, Edward Tufte, devotes his career to studying and creating visual elegance. Tufte specializes in information design, specifically on the best methods for picturing nouns, verbs, and numbers. He has written a trilogy on the subject (not to mention The Cognitive Style of Powerpoint) in which he castigates obfuscatory (read: confusing) designs. But he doesn't stop there, rather proactively he suggests improvements as well as methods for simplifying and intensifying content. Additionally, Tufte lauds several examples of elegant informative design. (Via IDFuel)