Simplicity as a design principle

In the exhibition "Simplicity" everything revolves around the principle of simplicity in design. Using historical and contemporary design objects, the exhibition makes it clear that simplicity has many different facets - in addition to an aesthetic one, for example, also an economic, a functional and an emotional component. Simplicity in design does not only mean a minimalist appearance, but in many cases also an actual simplification of the products, i.e. a reduction in their complexity and thus an improvement in the user experience. And so the exhibition makes it comprehensible what Leonardo Da Vinci meant when he once said: "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."

Simplicity is a timeless principle

Simplicity in product design only gained relevance with the beginning of industrialisation at the end of the 18th century. With the introduction of mechanical manufacturing, more and more products had to be designed in such a way that they could be produced efficiently within the framework of industrial mass production. Simplicity was simply a means to an end and became the key principle of modernism.

To this day, the design principle of simplicity has lost none of its relevance and topicality. Because the more complex the products with all the underlying technology are, the more important a reduced design is so that they remain controllable. Simplicity is therefore also an approach to mastering the complex challenges of the future.