What is minimalist?
I suppose
we should start by trying to define minimalism. Here are 2 definitions I found online.
Movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual
art and music, where the work is stripped down to
its most fundamental features. Simplicity of style in artwork, design, interior
design, or literature, achieved by using the fewest and barest essentials or
elements to maximum effect. Minimalism has also been called ABC art,
reductivism, and rejective art and its theories have been applied to lifestyle.
Minimalism aims for simplicity and objectivity. It wants to reduce works to the fundamental, the essential, the necessary, and to strip away the ornamental layers that might be placed on top. Minimalist designs tend toward more whitespace, better typography, grid layouts, and less colour. Mies van der Rohe famously said “Less is more” to describe his aesthetic sense of having every element serve multiple purposes both visually and functionally.Buckminster Fuller later reworked the phrase to “doing more with less” and Dieter Rams changed it to “Less but better.”All three are saying the same thing. Minimalism is about designing smarter.
Minimalism aims for simplicity and objectivity. It wants to reduce works to the fundamental, the essential, the necessary, and to strip away the ornamental layers that might be placed on top. Minimalist designs tend toward more whitespace, better typography, grid layouts, and less colour. Mies van der Rohe famously said “Less is more” to describe his aesthetic sense of having every element serve multiple purposes both visually and functionally.Buckminster Fuller later reworked the phrase to “doing more with less” and Dieter Rams changed it to “Less but better.”All three are saying the same thing. Minimalism is about designing smarter.
Minimalist Design Architecture
All
minimalist designs should not and do not look alike. Minimalism does not mean
take everything away until only black text on a white
background remains. It means communicating as much as
possible with as few elements as possible.
It strikes me that instead of a design being minimalist or not minimalist; it’s more a case of to what degree does the design embrace minimalism. We can strive toward it, but even the most minimalist design could be reduced further.
None of this should be taken to mean that every design should end up being minimalist. Different design styles set different moods and invoke different emotions in your audience.
Once you’ve mastered the fundamentals you can add meaningful aesthetics on top. Ornamentation works when it has a solid foundation to sit on.
Stylistic details won’t save a design that fails to execute the fundamentals.
It strikes me that instead of a design being minimalist or not minimalist; it’s more a case of to what degree does the design embrace minimalism. We can strive toward it, but even the most minimalist design could be reduced further.
None of this should be taken to mean that every design should end up being minimalist. Different design styles set different moods and invoke different emotions in your audience.
Once you’ve mastered the fundamentals you can add meaningful aesthetics on top. Ornamentation works when it has a solid foundation to sit on.
Stylistic details won’t save a design that fails to execute the fundamentals.
Summary
Minimalism
is reducing your work to the essential and using less to do more. In order to
do minimalism well you need a strong understanding of basic design principles.
When you master minimalism you master design.
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