--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Simplicity isn’t something you can stick…" description: "\"“Simplicity isn’t something you can stick on top of a user interface.”\" — Giles Colborne" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/giles-colborne-23036_interface_simplicity-isn-t-something-you-can-stick_2275891.jpg" --- # Simplicity isn’t something you can stick on top of a user… ![“Simplicity isn’t something you can stick on top of a user interface.” quote by Giles Colborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/giles-colborne-23036_interface_simplicity-isn-t-something-you-can-stick_2275891.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/giles-colborne-23036_interface_simplicity-isn-t-something-you-can-stick_2275891.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/giles-colborne-23036_interface_simplicity-isn-t-something-you-can-stick_2275891.jpg) > ““Simplicity isn’t something you can stick on top of a user interface.”” [Giles Colborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-colborne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Simplicity must be integral, not an afterthought, in UI design. **In simple terms:** Simplicity is built in, not added later. Key Takeaway Design with simplicity from the start. Themes design usability minimalism Mood practical thoughtful Type instructional inspirational When to use this quote - app development - website redesign - product launch Key Concepts human‑centered design cognitive load Questions to Reflect On - How to balance simplicity and functionality? A Different Perspective Can oversimplification hide essential features? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Interface](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interface/) [Simplicity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simplicity/) [Simplicity Isn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simplicity-isn-1538951/) [Stick User](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stick-user-5292473/) [User interface](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/user-interface/) ## Related quotes > [Women have their own strengths, like fashion. In technology, we can contribute in a big way in terms of the design of the user…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/weili-dai/women-have-their-own-strengths-like-fashion-in-technology-we-can/) [Weili Dai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/weili-dai/) > [We'll continue to expand our footprint... Oracle's Fusion cloud applications for HCM, CRM and ERP all have a new simplified user interface and an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-ellison/we-ll-continue-to-expand-our-footprint-oracle-s-fusion-cloud/) [Larry Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-ellison/) > [Perhaps the most versatile and useful plug-in in the collection is Mass Copy. It is certainly the one I use the most. Due to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-patterson/perhaps-the-most-versatile-and-useful-plug-in-in-the-collection-is/) [Robert Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-patterson/) > [I'm not of the opinion that all software will be open source software. There is certain software that fits a niche that is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-behlendorf/i-m-not-of-the-opinion-that-all-software-will-be-open-source-software/) [Brian Behlendorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-behlendorf/) > [To the user, the interface is the product.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aza-raskin/to-the-user-the-interface-is-the-product/) [Aza Raskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aza-raskin/) > [I like to see photographs: I like to see my family. To me, when I open a basic browser, and it's that very elegant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-baker/i-like-to-see-photographs-i-like-to-see-my-family-to-me-when-i-open-a/) [Mitchell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-baker/) > [All this stuff was done via FTP but the web has put a really nice user interface on it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-postel/all-this-stuff-was-done-via-ftp-but-the-web-has-put-a-really-nice/) [Jon Postel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-postel/) > [Because simplicity isn't the greatest thing in the world, but love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bo-sanchez/because-simplicity-isn-t-the-greatest-thing-in-the-world-but-love/) [Bo Sanchez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bo-sanchez/) > [“I don't think clarity is necessarily truth. It's simplicity, isn't it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/i-don-t-think-clarity-is-necessarily-truth-it-s-simplicity-isn-t-it/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [“Simplicity isn’t just a visual style. It’s not just minimalism or the absence of clutter. It involves digging through the depth of the complexity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/simplicity-isn-t-just-a-visual-style-it-s-not-just-minimalism-or-the/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“Contrary to the indoctrinated notion that reducing existence to the essentials is for half-wits and losers in this golden age of technological ‘progress,’ simplicity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/contrary-to-the-indoctrinated-notion-that-reducing-existence-to-the/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [Thai food ain't about simplicity. It's about the juggling of disparate elements to create a harmonious finish. Like a complex musical chord it's got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david/thai-food-ain-t-about-simplicity-it-s-about-the-juggling-of-disparate/) [David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david/) > [“Jobs's intensity was also evident in his ability to focus. He would set priorities, aim his laser attention on them, and filter out distractions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/jobs-s-intensity-was-also-evident-in-his-ability-to-focus-he-would/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“Some people know of no other way to interface with others except through their created chaos.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/some-people-know-of-no-other-way-to-interface-with-others-except/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [One of the things I've been working on for the past few months is a radical simplification of the interface.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mullenweg/one-of-the-things-i-ve-been-working-on-for-the-past-few-months-is-a/) [Matt Mullenweg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mullenweg/) ## More by Giles Colborne > [“Simplicity does not mean want or poverty. It does not mean the absence of any decor, or absolute nudity. It only means that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-colborne/simplicity-does-not-mean-want-or-poverty-it-does-not-mean-the-absence/) [Giles Colborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-colborne/) > [“It’s been pointed out that products that start out simple often end up getting so complex they cease to be useful. But if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-colborne/it-s-been-pointed-out-that-products-that-start-out-simple-often-end/) [Giles Colborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-colborne/) > [“Continually adding features to software turns out to be equally unsustainable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-colborne/continually-adding-features-to-software-turns-out-to-be-equally/) [Giles Colborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-colborne/) > [“At home, at work, and outdoors, you must design for constant interruptions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-colborne/at-home-at-work-and-outdoors-you-must-design-for-constant/) [Giles Colborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-colborne/) > [“Begin with that need—the user’s need to feel in control of some part of his life—then try to dig deeper by asking, “So what?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-colborne/begin-with-that-need-the-user-s-need-to-feel-in-control-of-some-part/) [Giles Colborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-colborne/) > [“Mainstreamers are interested in getting the job done now; experts are interested in customizing their settings first. • Mainstreamers value ease of control; experts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-colborne/mainstreamers-are-interested-in-getting-the-job-done-now-experts-are/) [Giles Colborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-colborne/) > [“Simple user experiences need to work for a novice, or a mainstreamer who’s under pressure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-colborne/simple-user-experiences-need-to-work-for-a-novice-or-a-mainstreamer/) [Giles Colborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-colborne/) > [“Visiting users in their workplaces was vital—if we’d simply imagined the manager at his desk we would have missed the crucial aspects. Watching people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-colborne/visiting-users-in-their-workplaces-was-vital-if-we-d-simply-imagined/) [Giles Colborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-colborne/) > [“Increasing complexity is unsustainable”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-colborne/increasing-complexity-is-unsustainable/) [Giles Colborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-colborne/) > [“Wizards promise to make things simple by breaking them down into steps. The problem is they take control away from the user. Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-colborne/wizards-promise-to-make-things-simple-by-breaking-them-down-into/) [Giles Colborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-colborne/) > [“The quick and dirty way is to write down a one-line description, in the simplest terms possible, of what I’m creating, along with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-colborne/the-quick-and-dirty-way-is-to-write-down-a-one-line-description-in/) [Giles Colborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-colborne/) > [“The thing to do, then, is to describe what the user does from the beginning to the end of their experience, remembering that it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-colborne/the-thing-to-do-then-is-to-describe-what-the-user-does-from-the/) [Giles Colborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-colborne/) > [“Your design shouldn’t interfere with this sense of control. It should extend it. Simple experiences make users confident that they’re making good choices. Simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-colborne/your-design-shouldn-t-interfere-with-this-sense-of-control-it-should/) [Giles Colborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-colborne/) > [“The better and longer way is to describe the experience I want the users to have. That means describing the users’ world and how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-colborne/the-better-and-longer-way-is-to-describe-the-experience-i-want-the/) [Giles Colborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-colborne/) > [“People love simple, dependable, adaptable products.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-colborne/people-love-simple-dependable-adaptable-products/) [Giles Colborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-colborne/) [Explore all 26 Giles Colborne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-colborne/) ## More Interface quotes > [One of the things I've been working on for the past few months is a radical simplification of the interface.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mullenweg/one-of-the-things-i-ve-been-working-on-for-the-past-few-months-is-a/) [Matt Mullenweg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mullenweg/) > [“Some people know of no other way to interface with others except through their created chaos.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/some-people-know-of-no-other-way-to-interface-with-others-except/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [For thirty years most interface design, and most comptuer design, has been headed down the path of the "dramatic" machine. Its highest idea is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-weiser/for-thirty-years-most-interface-design-and-most-comptuer-design-has/) [Mark Weiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-weiser/) > [Perhaps the most versatile and useful plug-in in the collection is Mass Copy. It is certainly the one I use the most. Due to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-patterson/perhaps-the-most-versatile-and-useful-plug-in-in-the-collection-is/) [Robert Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-patterson/) > [When designing an interface, imagine that your program is all that stands between the user and hot, sweaty, tangled-bedsheets-fingertips-digging-into-the-back sex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-munroe/when-designing-an-interface-imagine-that-your-program-is-all-that/) [Randall Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-munroe/) > [“An interface is a contract between you, the code developer, and the compiler.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/an-interface-is-a-contract-between-you-the-code-developer-and-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The idea is that the content is the interface, the information is the interface, not computer-administrative debris.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-tufte/the-idea-is-that-the-content-is-the-interface-the-information-is-the/) [Edward Tufte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-tufte/) > [A National Database on Autism Research is fostering sharing of data and collaborations. Scientists are also making great strides at the interface of biology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-r-insel/a-national-database-on-autism-research-is-fostering-sharing-of-data/) [Thomas R. Insel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-r-insel/) > [To the user, the interface is the product.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aza-raskin/to-the-user-the-interface-is-the-product/) [Aza Raskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aza-raskin/) > [The Internet has become a bunch of interlinked but linguistically distinct and culturally specific spaces. There's some interface between them, but there's a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-zuckerman/the-internet-has-become-a-bunch-of-interlinked-but-linguistically/) [Ethan Zuckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-zuckerman/) > [I like to see photographs: I like to see my family. To me, when I open a basic browser, and it's that very elegant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-baker/i-like-to-see-photographs-i-like-to-see-my-family-to-me-when-i-open-a/) [Mitchell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-baker/) > [Women have their own strengths, like fashion. In technology, we can contribute in a big way in terms of the design of the user…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/weili-dai/women-have-their-own-strengths-like-fashion-in-technology-we-can/) [Weili Dai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/weili-dai/) > [As far as the customer is concerned, the interface is the product.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jef-raskin/as-far-as-the-customer-is-concerned-the-interface-is-the-product/) [Jef Raskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jef-raskin/) > [All this stuff was done via FTP but the web has put a really nice user interface on it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-postel/all-this-stuff-was-done-via-ftp-but-the-web-has-put-a-really-nice/) [Jon Postel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-postel/) > [I'm not of the opinion that all software will be open source software. There is certain software that fits a niche that is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-behlendorf/i-m-not-of-the-opinion-that-all-software-will-be-open-source-software/) [Brian Behlendorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-behlendorf/) [Browse all 44 Interface quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interface/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Simplicity isn’t something you can stick on top of a user interface.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Giles Colborne" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-colborne/simplicity-isn-t-something-you-can-stick-on-top-of-a-user-interface/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Interface" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-colborne/simplicity-isn-t-something-you-can-stick-on-top-of-a-user-interface/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/giles-colborne-23036_interface_simplicity-isn-t-something-you-can-stick_2275891.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/giles-colborne-23036_interface_simplicity-isn-t-something-you-can-stick_2275891.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/giles-colborne-23036_interface_simplicity-isn-t-something-you-can-stick_2275891.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Simplicity isn’t something you can stick on top of a user interface.” — Giles Colborne", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Giles Colborne", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-colborne/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Simplicity isn’t something you can stick...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-colborne/simplicity-isn-t-something-you-can-stick-on-top-of-a-user-interface/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-colborne/simplicity-isn-t-something-you-can-stick-on-top-of-a-user-interface/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```