Be simple. Be awesome.

I love the elegance of a simple user experience. One that is beautiful in its sparseness and delightful in its intuitiveness.

I think part of the attraction lies in knowing how incredibly difficult it is to be simple. It requires editing. And then editing some more. Questioning whether you've pared your experience down to the sleekest, most streamlined version. It is hard, hard work to be simple. But worth it. Because simple can be awesome.

This list isn't definitive, but here are some things that are simple and awesome.

  • Clear is a simple to do list for the iPhone. It is simple and beautiful. I love that there are no buttons (see the Edward Tufte quote). There is no need for a tutorial. It's so well designed you can just figure it out by playing with it.
  • I posted this Edward Tufte quote a while back. It really sums up what we're talking about.
  • Sun is a weather app that is worth checking out. It reminds me of how much I love it when someone has the courage to be simple.
  • Adobe Kuler is an incredible tool for helping you find a color palette. The recent redesign makes it even more of a joy to use. You can create your own or get inspired by others' palettes.

It's inspiring to see things that are so intuitive. So simple. So awesome.