There’s a saying that says “there’s a fine line between love and hate.” Similarly, when I run my hand under ice cold water, it sometimes feels hot. Opposites are not as different as it might seem.

I’ve struggled to see how simplicity and complexity were similar. They need each other, but they still feel like extremes on a continuum, far more different than same.

One thing that simplicity and complexity have in common is that they each can be both positive and negative. How you view it depends on your perspective and the context.

	Positive	Negative
Simplicity	“This is so simple to use”	“He is such a simple person”
Complexity	“The soup has a complex flavor”	“His directions were so complex”

The reason I had not seen the similarities before was that I had been comparing a positive interpretation of simplicity to the negative version of complexity. When viewed from the same perspective, there is a lot more in common.

In the positive sense, both simplicity and complexity provide a surprise that impresses people. The negative versions are merely frustrating.

I love when simple solutions are the answer, especially in the real world. Back in September I attended Seattle Open Coffee and met a guy who helps market a product I will be buying the next time I need to paint something.

I hate the cleanup after painting. The last few times, I have to admit, I resorted to just tossing the brushes.

The EZ Clean Paintbrush (archival now) has a hollow handle to which you can attach a garden hose to clean it. In under a minute, the bristles are clean and so are your hands.

Pet peeve solved.

I loved watching new people join the conversation and see his product. Everyone just gets it. It’s sort of like the brownie pan for corner lovers, it’s immediately obvious. That’s the power of a simple product.

Once you have your brush ready, you’ll need to make sure you have the right paint. Check out my friend Dave’s color matching service to help you avoid that mismatched look.

Since I’ve never worked for a company with more than about 50 employees, I’m probably biased when I say that big company simplicity is rarely simple, or good. My hunch is this is because they “boardroom” the idea until it is complex, even while pretending to be otherwise.

During my Ignite Portland presentation, I mentioned IBM’s Create Simplicity campaign as an example of this unfortunate trend.

Choose three animals, mix them together, and get something better. I don’t see the simplicity in a butterfly-ostrich-rhino combination. The point is supposed to be that their new Lotus Notes is a hybrid of other tools, all in one place. To me that sounds like feature creep, not simplicity. And I’m not sure the butterostrhino is the best way to communicate it.

I suppose CreateSimplicity.com has the pieces of a successful microsite, but it just feels icky.

I’m sure there are great examples of big companies that can find simplicity. Certainly the company that makes my laptop is one example. But all too often the projects that are supposed to be simple end up conflicted by compromise and looking a bit too much like three animals stapled together.

Thanks to His Duffiness for sending this site to me.

My favorite presentation of the year is now available in a full slides + audio version, and I have also embedded it below.

Experience is the Product by Peter Merholz