On a recent trip to Cape Town , atop Table Mountain , I came across a magical machine that took your picture and uploaded it to a social website so you could view it later. It marked your position (presumably preset) and then all you did was stand and smile while the machine takes care of the rest.
The most remarkable thing about this system was the fact that it had but one red button. That’s all. No settings , gizmos or gadgets , just one red button with huge arrows pointing towards it with the words “push here”. It looked a little like this (not the actual machine that I used) :
This got me thinking. This example is probably the most basic computer ever built. It is the easiest possible computer to use. Any moron could work it out. This takes all the horrendous complexity out of a system and says “here – push the button , idiot”. Its almost like an insult to your intelligence to use. It brought back memories of the movie , Idiocracy.
After grappling with shell scripts for the last couple of days , it seemed almost stupid to stand there and push the button and stick my tongue out for the world to see. But it was really , really refreshing to not have to battle to get results out of a machine for once.
This machine encompasses what I believe Apple has understood for quite a while with its Iphone , but has never been able to conceptualize. So , in a shamefully self promoting fashion, I’m going to coin a new term in systems and interface design.
The Red Button Principle.
In short , this principle states:
The “red button principle” is an ideological best case scenario relating to the simplicity and ease of use of a device or interface. The more complexity reduction is achieved , and the less the user has to input to gain a result , the closer the design conforms to the red button principle. The “red button” indicates the most complexity reduction possible – when the system has only one button to make it operate.
Why the Red Button Principle Matters
This is a IQ distribution map of the world. The redder things get the more stupid the people there get. As you can see , most of the world is pretty damn dumb. If you don’t live in China ,or around Germany , you can be rest assured (much like me in SA, I fear) , that you are pretty stupid.
What can be concluded from this map is that most of the English speaking world has an IQ below 100. Not good for that super powerfully complicated tablet PC you just released (cough Android cough). What most of the world needs is ease of use , simplicity , and most of all dumbed down devices. Chuck all those fancy settings out. Automate everything. Leave nothing to be worked out (for it will not be). iPhone is a shining example of this , and it amazes me that other companies have not followed closely in their footsteps.
Next time you code something – remember the red button principle…