Simple and Minimal Web Design

Simple and Minimal Web Design

Uniform background and clear text – most often chosen so that they look harmoniously on the display and immediately catch the eye. Large spaces, space management and minimized or achromatic colors – yes, this is minimalism in web design. The point here is not to make the page look like an unformatted document, not have graphics or colors, just to make everything stylish according to the principle: less is more.

The word minimalism is the name of the trend in visual arts, according to which the works are characterized by a simplified form and a limited amount of means of expression. The beginnings date back to the 1960s.

Design trends

Popularność minimalizmu i flat designu niektórzy starają się wytłumaczyć coraz bardziej stylowym wyglądem interfejsów w systemach operacyjnych i aplikacjach. Trend był według mnie zauważalny od dłuższego czasu i to nie tylko w publikacjach cyfrowych ale dosłownie wszędzie.

Minimalism is not just trends, it is also movement and the whole philosophy that is gaining popularity because of the times we live in. Marketing splendor has caused that we increasingly trust simple things and the universality of its advantages can be seen in the image of both large companies and beginner brands.

The number of website builders is growing and clients are increasingly more involved in image and advertising issues – especially on the Internet. Hence the work of the graphic designer, which until now has involved the design of a “blue template with three columns and a header”, which was later cut into four rectangles, is increasingly being replaced by work that requires taste and knowledge.

Features of minimalistic website design

• white background,
• large margins and white-space,
• a small amount (even lack) of decorative elements,
• usually achromatic (non-colored) colors reduced,
• simple messages,
• lack of intrusiveness (pop-ups, CTA etc …)

Websites with minimalistic appearance features do not have to be searched for long. For many years, well-known and respected brands such as Apple have consistently used minimalist solutions, which should give creators and publishers of websites intended for a wide audience a lot to think about.

It should be noted that minimalism on websites is not a consequence of some kind of fashion, but is actually a transfer of the brand’s philosophy to the language of creating websites and online stores.

It’s true that tastes are not discussed, but I would like to draw attention to the many advantages of using minimalism in website design.

Advantages of minimalism
The most frequently mentioned advantages of minimalist graphic designs are:

• ease of paying attention to key content,
• presentation flexibility and easy scaling method,
• the ability to reach a wide audience,
• contrast with publications containing excess information,
• project neutrality and wide application possibilities,
• simplified navigation that makes navigating the page easier.

I often use minimalism probably because I’m more a programmer than a graphic designer. In our specialty, the brevity of the created code is proof of experience and great skills.

I am not suggesting that such projects are less demanding in terms of graphics – quite the opposite. Each time observing the effects of publication, I only confirm my belief that this is the right practice.

Minimalism in the service of UX

Minimalism as a design philosophy is one of the useful tools for designing websites, i.e. those whose architecture is optimized for the end user. All works related to User Experience (i.e. activities that maximize the positivity of user experience) are much simpler to do on the pages – colloquially-simple ones. Information hierarchy, interface readability, order and quick operation are easier to obtain on such pages. Where positive user experience, there is also profit for site owners. Read more in the article: Examples of good User Experience.

Examples of minimalistic websites

I have been wondering since my childhood why the more luxurious a brand is, the simpler its visual identification is – you know – this is not a rigid rule:

apple.com
dior.com
landor.com
bugatti.com

After a while I understood everything. The point is to pay attention to this product or service, which is key here. The product will defend itself – they say. And this is true, especially if we have something really good to offer and our target group is strong, intelligent, mature and self-aware people.

Summary

The increasingly popular design transparency is clearly a sign that we are tired of pages overloaded with graphics in which each element literally fights for a moment of attention. Intrusive contextual advertising, banners and pop-ups caused the reflex to ignore this type of element in Internet users. The described phenomenon is called banner blindness. To draw attention in the modern world, it is worth using simplicity, which simply inspires confidence and may be associated with something better by many.

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