The trick is to marry the two. Obvious examples: Google: type a few words loosely describing what you’re looking for and get it (simplicity) powered by a massive backend (complexity) to make it fast // relevant // localized // questionably ethical // etc or Apple: user-facing parts or Steve Jobs’ wardrobe (simplicity) everything else (complexity).
Pure simplicity surely has a time and place, and I’ve been part of temporally popular projects combining lucky timing and a simple premise, but the initial upward success wasn’t sustainable.
