Everyday life at its simplest

The KISS principle, or “Keep it Simple, Stupid”, is a design principle that encourages simplicity in products, systems, and explanations. The idea is that simple solutions are often more effective and easier to maintain.

I can think of few designers, engineers, artists, and writers who used KISS better than cartoonist Charles Schulz. He was a master at putting pen to paper and drilling complex concepts like friendship, love, kindness down to their core. He made readers feel like he was writing just for them.

Schulz created the first Peanuts cartoon on October 2, 1950, and produced the strip for the next fifty years until his death on Feb 12, 2000. At its height, Peanuts was published each day in 2,600 papers in 75 countries and in 21 languages. In total, Schulz published 17,897 Peanuts strips. The strips, plus merchandise and product endorsements, produced revenues of more than $1 billion per year and earned Schulz each year between $30 and $40 million.

Oh, yes, life at its simplest and it’s best. Here’s three of his works from the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center located in Santa Rosa, California: