minimalism in design

The term minimalism has various meanings.

He became very interested when minimalism became known as a kind of lifestyle. Although widespread in Asia, in Europe it became known during the time of the home office and quarantine. Do you remember shortly before the first lockdown when "Tidying up with Marie Kondo" suddenly appeared at the top of our "watch later" lists on Netflix?

It was about ridding one's life of unnecessary ballast - not quite our mental ballast (although many could use that) but the trend was and is to minimise our materialistic goods to the essentials. No frills, nothing unnecessary. And here we are with minimalism in design.

Minimalism sells itself

Basically, minimalism refers to the reduction to the most necessary.

Minimalism is elementary and above all functional! No extras, nothing useless. A simple geometric form has the power to stand in for a complex thing or goal.   

Simplicity in form and composition is valued more than anything else. Or why else do we buy an Apple MacBook for 2000 euros? I'm not just talking about the pretty apple-shaped logo here, but also because of the ease of use. The user experience is a dream - and that is exactly what minimalism in design is.

"By giving our eyes fewer things to attend to, they can attend to the things that are there."

How do we begin?

If you want to make your designs minimalist, it is especially important to be deliberate. Simply deleting a few design elements and text can quickly go wrong. Minimalism and white space need self-confidence and courage. 

To the untrained eye, minimalist design can easily look simple. Yet this is one of the many master classes of the design school. The space in a minimalist design creates room for interpretation, which can also quickly become dangerous. So it is the designer's task not to create this space infinitely. Reduction is actually more difficult than one might think. Or why, in our final exam, was our summary of Kafka - the Metamorphosis longer than the actual statement?

Remember: In minimalism, we do without everything we can do without.

Whitespace

Don't we all love large, bright rooms? The rent for a flat increases simply because of the amount of light, let alone the number of square metres. We want it big and bright. Well, design works the same way.

As the name suggests, white space is the white or "empty" space between design elements. In fact, white space is the most important design element if you want to be minimalist. White space gives the content room to breathe. This gives the content more weight, almost more authority, and makes it seem more credible. The reader is not overburdened with too much text and photos on a page, which makes reading noticeably more pleasant.

You can direct the reader's focus specifically to certain elements. Readers are subtly guided through the article. The white space controls the flow of reading, so to speak.

Web- and App-design

We use around 30 apps a month and a total of 9 apps a day. If we want users to use our app (haha!), It has to be easy to use and quick to understand. The beautiful new apps work with a lot of white space and limited color palettes, UI elements such as navigation bars or buttons often play hide and seek.

Packaging design

Minimalism sells itself. Here I show a photo from my last trip to Russia. Us Russians love dairy products - so I was all the more enthusiastic when I found all the beautiful, minimalist milk packaging on the refrigerated shelf in Moscow.

Our "Nöm" (Austrian milk brand), on the other hand, really stinks. Austria can basically still learn a lot when it comes to modern, applied design, but I'll write a different blog one day ...

... or a book.

Minimalist design seems more expensive. Just as we expect expensive shops not to be overcrowded with goods, our brain sees minimalism as luxurious, handpicked and select.

Minimalism = easy?

"The simple is not always the best. But the best is always simple."

Properly designed, minimalist design radiates experience, sovereignty and sophistication. A company that communicates clearly does not need to attract users with beautiful images, trends or effects. Minimalist design is therefore particularly suitable for companies that are active in B2B business.

Minimalism is often referred to as a design "trend".

My personal opinion is different, because in the modern world a reduced design is almost always the key to success. How else could all these brands have gained such a foothold whose logos were created in the last century but could be from this year? Minimalism is timeless and that's exactly why it works.

These logos by Saul Bass, created between 1940 and 1960, are so timeless that they could have come from that year.

Feel free to contact me if you need help or advice on this topic. I'm happy to help you create an individual, minimalist design appearance!

Written by: Nicole Tripes

Nicole studied graphic & communication design at the HBLVA Graphische in Vienna.

Her interest is dedicated to typography and the modern, applied design of things.

Sources:

https://ben.design/en/minimalismus-design-konzept/

https://www.lilies-diary.com/minimalistisch-leben/

https://99designs.de/blog/design-kreativitaet/minimalistisches-design-tipps/