the 'less is more" aspect is hard to grasp for some folk. the more amimations and bars added to a page, or the more effects and colors added to an image would seem logically as being better, but it just ain't so. some think that the beauty of diamonds is what makes them so expensive, but imagine if diamonds were as common as grains of sand, would they still be as valuable? the more rare an object is, the more special it is. the less colors in your image, and the less images on your site, the more class it will bestow.

"keep it simple" is the most important design principle ever. not just for attractiveness, but also for functionality. it's the reason cars don't have 8 wheels and 15 headlights. it's why we only wear one hat or one watch at one time. the only time you should not follow the "less is more" rule is when you are sending me money. try it.

let's turn to oriental aesthetics again. a round-eyed westerner creating a japanese garden would rely upon adding japanese lanterns, stone buddhas, and other trash. this is the opposite of the desired result. the serenity of a japanese garden is only achieved by subtracting or omitting objects such as tree limbs, shrub heights, even whole vistas. treat your images and pages in the same manner, and you'll attain beauty supreme.

below is an image that has one only effect applied to it. it resulted in a small amount of colors, and hence is only 6 kilobtytes. plain, yet pleasing and non-offensive.



now two more effects have been added. it also is attractive, but the amount and intensity of colors has doubled the bytes.



let's fast forward. multiple effects have been used, and now the image is unrecognizable. the bytes have been increased three-fold (18k!), and it looks like rainbow vomit. do you think it's pretty? imagine wearing a shirt with this as the pattern.