John Maeda

John Maeda is a Japanese-American graphic designer, computer scientist, university professor, and author. His work in design and technology explores the area where the two fields merge. He is the current President of the Rhode Island School of Design. He is a world - renowned graphic designer, visual artist, and computer scientist MIT Media lab, and is a founding voice for "simplicity" in the digital age.He jokes about himself as “the guy who makes the flying letters.” But behind this joke is a deep insight into the way good programming can create new forms of good design — the guiding principle of Web 2.0, where type and images can behave in brand-new ways to communicate and amuse.

I enjoyed his laws of simplicity" book after studying it myself for a previous typography brief. He describes his theory by using what he calls 'cookie vs laundry method' in this methods he explains that, if you gave a child the choice between a big cookie or a small cookie, they will pick the big cookie, but then said if you gave the same child the choice between a large laundry basket full of clothes and then a small laundry basket, the child will pick the smaller basket, this theory is based on the rule that we all want more for less, enjoy more and work less.

Although I am not a graphic designer myself, I think Maeda's work is brilliant, and his laws of simplicity is something I can take across within my illustrations, as sometimes less is more. This is a good way to think as usually the more simple something is, the bolder and more impact it creates. 

http://www.33rdsquare.com/2012/10/john-maeda-talks-design-and-leadership.html