“Clutter and overload are not an attribute of information, they are failures of design.”
Simplicity is key! I’m a fan of this guy Tufte’s attitude. It’s a good approach he has when it comes to interfaces: don’t get rid of information, fix the design.
I like the point that Tufte makes about the interface design in terms of getting rid of computer administrative debris. Tufte commends Apple’s design of the original iOS interface when surfing the web but notes that the button bar ought to be transparent. Interestingly enough, in the newly released iOS 7 Apple did in fact make the button bar transparent, just as Tufte had hoped for in 2008. Five years is a lifetime ago in cell phone technology, especially when considering Apple, the most innovative of tech-based companies.
It is quite interesting to see how Apple’s interface has changed (or not changed so much) since 2008. All of the core concepts that Tufte touches upon could easily be applied to iOS 7. The new design looks slightly different, but the idea of uncluttered, digestible and simple design remains a staple of Apple’s mobile interface, whether it be iOS 1 or iOS 7.