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Cutting to the core – The Story of Christoph Niemann’s Petting Zoo App : The New Yorker

March 19, 2013 By josh mack

Cutting to the core – The Story of Christoph Niemann’s Petting Zoo App : The New Yorker


Simplicity is not about making something without ornament, but rather about making something very complex, then slicing elements away, until you reveal the very essence.

After all the slicing away, you may realize, now that you can clearly see the idea, that it’s actually not very good.

That’s the hardest part: letting go of an idea that, having spent a number of passionate nights with, you have fallen in love with. Even with a certain amount of routine, this letting go sadly doesn’t become easier. The natural instinct then is to rely on what you know is working. It’s unfair, but this is the surest path to boring and predictable results.

The painful and inevitable struggle remains to create in a childlike and openhearted manner, but to be un-wistful and cruel when judging one’s creation.

Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2013/03/christoph-niemann-petting-zoo-app.html#ixzz2Nzcvyj4e

The Story of Christoph Niemann’s Petting Zoo App : The New Yorker.

Filed Under: best practices, storytelling

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