Vintage Art: The Laws of Simplicity.

Ladies & Gentlemen, simplicity is often related to something which is easy to understand or explain in contrast to something that is complicated. The concept simplicity has also been related to truth. But do we know what is truth and what is easy to understand? Is there a truth existing for the whole world or a simple way to understand different cultures, religions, genders, races, sexualities and so on?

John Maeda, writes in his book Laws of Simplicity about how simplicity and complexity need each other. The more complexity there is in the market, the more something simpler stands out. A good read this autumn will be Maeda’s 10 Laws of Simplicity.

Law 1# Reduce: The simplest way to achieve simplicity is through thoughtful reduction.

Law 2# Organize: Organization makes a system of many appear fewer.

Law 3# Time: Savings in time feel like simplicity.

Law 4# Learn: Knowledge makes everything simpler.

Law 5# Differences: Simplicity and complexity need each other.

Law 6# Context: What lies in the periphery of simplicity is definitely not peripheral.

Law 7# Emotion: More emotions are better than less.

Law 8# Trust: In simplicity we trust.

Law 9# Failure: Some things can never be made simple.

Law 10# The one: Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful.

Enjoy!

Picture source: old-chum

 

Vintage Quote: My old Newspaper.

Saturday morning, getting out of bed, sleepy but curious about a world that is changing. The Middle east that suddenly took us with surprice and really understood the purpose and usage of twitter and its 140 words of content, the power of nature in Japan that break and shake us and how small the world became with the global possibility of sharing what is on our minds. News, feeds, tweets, likes and unlikes are omnipresent, but there is something real unique about the trip to your local newspaper stand, putting on a jacket, walking down the street, looking at people on their way to the next and the new, paying attention, buying croissants at the local bakery, surprising someone, drinking coffee out of a sudden on the bench in the park with your newly old-school newspaper, which has that certain smell, noise and impractical physical shape that adds to the charm of it all. News are everywhere but the special moment and feeling opening the newspaper is something that web-based news can’t take away from us. Good reading this weekend.

 

Vintage Icon: Writer & Poet Oscar Wilde

Who wouldn’t like to be invited into the Irish poet and writer Oscar Wilde’s (1854-1900) universe on a Wednesday and listen to some of his very modern, critic and diverse quotes. Ladies & gentlemen read yourself and maybe walk down to the nearest antique store to find yourself a beautiful copy of his great novel The Picture of Dorian Grey. Enjoy your day!

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”
“Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.”
“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”
“The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.”
“I am not young enough to know everything.”
“The heart was made to be broken.”
“America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between.”
“Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.”
“The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it.”
“Who, being loved, is poor?”

Gentleman’s Quote: A good old conversation

Gentlemen & Gentlewomen talk to one and another. Personal conversation is important and it is for sure becoming a human skill not to forget. Nowadays we like or dislike everything, share content, tweet, buzz etc. But the art of conversation takes practice but with some patience and a few things to keep in mind, you can learn to relax and enjoy a great conversation.

– Find out about the person you’ll be talking to before you actually talk to them, if you can.

– Ask questions and remember there was a reason you wanted to talk to the other gentleman/gentlewoman.

– Listen and pay attention to what is said.

– Consider your response before disagreeing. On the other hand agreeing can also kill the conversation.

– Do not panic over lulls and use this moment to think about another inspiring conversation topic to discuss.

– Remember that sometimes if a conversation isn’t going well, it might not be your fault. It takes two to tango but always strive to be a good conversationalist.

– Know when the conversation is over. Even the best conversations will run out of steam.

– Quote a gentleman and invite your mother for a good old conversation.