A MASTERCLASS IN SIMPLICITY

Minimalism, at its worst, makes a product look cheap, representing lack of thought rather than artistic direction.

- SUFFIAN HAKIM

At the other end of this spectrum is Louis Erard’s Le Regulateur Gravé Bleu. ON A COOL MORNING in 2007, Drew Houston was on his usual commute to work, a long bus ride from Boston to New York, when he realised he had forgotten, yet again, to pack the portable hard drive that contained his work files. So he dropped, took the bus back home, and restarted his commute.

Later that day, while in a cafe getting his afternoon coffee, he started designing the basic framework for a programme that would allow him to access his files wherever he is. This would later become one of the most widely used apps in the world: DropBox.

Houston's story is an example of the success of the Napkin Strategy. Most great ideas aren't complex, intricate web of interconnected notions. They are usually so simple, you could write or draw the crux of it on a napkin.