Every Genesis web designer favors this point of view: “Everything should be as simple as possible, but never simpler,” said Albert Einstein!
In my day we called it “classic”. It always meant “timeless”. It always implied “simple and beautiful”. Great beauties like Katherine Hepburn and Audrey Hepburn come to mind. A string of white pearls on a sweater. No adjectives required.
That’s it, too. Fewer words were needed to sum up what are feelings, and cannot and need not be described. Because you just know. There is great power in just getting to the meat of the matter immediately. No waste.
Who has the time anyway?
Which brings me to the meat of this matter which is Minimalist Web Design and StudioPress Themes.
Big fans of minimalist design, StudioPress has recently launched various minimalist child themes, mobile responsive and upgraded for Genesis 2.0. Minimalism at its smartest, Modern Portfolio Theme and the Brunch Pro theme are just some of those themes with the perfect layout for displaying work online, building your brand, and ultimately converting visitors into customers.
We see minimalist design all around : a modern phone, looking at a slick brochure or other graphically-presented information, sitting in a simple living space on a sleek sofa, and so forth.
With its roots in the “Less is more” catch phrase of architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe … what is minimalist web design anyway?
It’s Where Every Detail Counts
In a minimalist design, every detail has significance. Details such as the mix of typography, a border around an image, subtle colored boxes, the color palette, the white space, every part becomes important to the overall look and feel of the website when the elements are few.
Where Color Is Critical
Color takes on added significance in a minimalist design. Choosing the right palette or accent colors is vital. Many designers opt for a simple black, white and/or gray palette, but minimalism has room for any color in the rainbow
And White Is For Emphasis
White space is critical to emphasizing certain elements over others. White space “makes” a design minimalist to a large extent.
Big typography is often used in place of images to add more graphic interest to a website.
The best part about minimalism in web design is that it comes in many styles, colors and sizes, but always with the same goal in mind – saying the most while saying the least.
Now that web design is changing print design as we speak, we may start to see minimalist design in newspapers and magazines. As a reader of The New York Times for the last 100 years, I can already see the impressive changes of the Times’ graphics and major imagery. Who knows what the next 100 will bring?
– By Marcia Coffey
Find Marcia on Google+
Call Marcia @ 561.906.3436.
Follow @jmgroupdesign
