# Less is More, More or Less

Essay by Jakub Krehel (https://jakub.kr)

In the age of AI, knowing what not to build might be the most important skill of all.

Topics: Craft
Source: https://jakub.kr/writing/less-is-more

## For agents

Nothing to install. This is a reference: cite it, or fetch the source when
the reasoning matters.

Read it at: https://jakub.kr/writing/less-is-more

The full text is not reproduced here. It belongs to its author. What is
above is the author's own summary and the topics it covers.

Skills in this library that act on the same ground:

- emil-design-eng (https://www.stackskills.dev/md/emil-design-eng): The design-engineering house style behind Sonner and Vaul.
- prototype (https://www.stackskills.dev/md/prototype): Builds several genuinely different UI variants behind a live picker.
- apple-design (https://www.stackskills.dev/md/apple-design): Apple's interface and motion principles, translated for the web.
- better-ui (https://www.stackskills.dev/md/better-ui): Concentric radius, optical alignment, surface depth, hit areas.
- better-interface (https://www.stackskills.dev/md/better-interface): Every better-* skill as a single review pass.

## The short version

AI has made producing more almost free, which Jakub treats as exactly the reason to be careful about it. More things being made does not mean better things are being made, and the products that last are the ones built with intent. His argument leans on processing fluency, the idea that the easier something is to take in, the more pleasant and credible it feels. Removing is the harder discipline, because taking something out means thinking through every implication, while adding can be done with your eyes closed. Knowing what not to build is becoming the more valuable skill.

## Verification

- Source link: Resolved (HTTP 200) (pass)
- Reading copy: Plain markdown for agents at /md/less-is-more (pass)
- Attribution: Credited to Jakub Krehel (pass)

Full page: https://www.stackskills.dev/library/less-is-more