This post on Eleganthack struck a chord with me last week. There’s plenty of wisdom in there (so read it), in particular, the simple enough idea of explaining the benefit of change to users on their terms. You’d be surprised how often it isn’t done.

The perfect counterpoint arrived this week in the form of Nest’s Smoke + CO Alarm. I scrolled through the site once. I can’t even remember what I did an hour ago, or anything I’ve read today, yet the three simple reasons Nest gave are fresh in my mind.

The messaging identifies common issues with smoke alarms, Nest’s well-thought out solutions to each, and speaks to you in a non-techie voice.

No mentions of “simple” or “beautiful” anywhere to be seen. I think they realise words like that aren’t needed when the product speaks for itself.