Minimalism

[Wrong]

It seems that most web designers from the 2.0 internet go for minimalistic designs. Basic, plain colors, nice fonts, a couple effects, and that's it!

What are your thoughts on this? Do you rather make a simple design or something more elaborated?

I've been a fan of minimalism for a couple of years. I believe websites should be as simple as possible so that even the most computer illiterate person can use them. I can relate to them as I had just as little knowledge on the internet as they do, a few years back.

 

[apriapism]

For some sites I feel a simple design works just fine. But if it's a site that should attract someone through looks then I feel they should put more time into their sites layout. I for own am into a more flashy layout rather than simplistic, since it works both ways.

 

[Victor Leigh]

Yes, I like that. One reason is that I am hopeless with design. So the less designing, the better. The other reason is that I believe content is the main focus on my site. So I don't want the design to distract the visitors.

 

[Wrong]

Yes, I like that. One reason is that I am hopeless with design. So the less designing, the better. The other reason is that I believe content is the main focus on my site. So I don't want the design to distract the visitors.

That's kind of cheating! I do know many people that claim to be 'minimalistic' only because they can go as far as using MS Paint. There are actually many designs that can look simple but require a lot of work - that's true minimalism.

I agree with you content > design, but I think the best way to make a site is balancing between those, even combining them.

 

[djarum1]

I think minimalism is definitely a sort of a popular design theme now, but that is not at all a bad thing. A good designer knows what do do with a lot as well as what to do with a little. The sign of a bad designer is having no real concept of white space.

 

[LindaKay]

I like simple designs with a few splashes of "oomph!" Let's not forget the ugliness of marquees, flashing graphics, animations and bright neon backgrounds and such from websites of the past. I'm pretty sure I don't ever want to go back there again. Simple, muted colors and professional-looking graphics seem best, but there is still room for creativity while sticking with minimalism in general.

 

[danealegana]

Thats the only thing I can do without tutorials. Simple minimalistic designs. And I do like it. I prefer it the most because it looks more natural and professional. It is not eye catching to impress visitors who ought to be awed by good designs but it is way better to show your content this way. No distractions whatsoever or minimal distractions if you have advertisements.

 

[DrRipley]

I am a fan of minimalist design, not only for its appearance but also for the function it provides. An elaborate design is also nice, and of course it is called for in some cases, but at the same time, it also risks confusing some viewers as to which parts to focus on sometimes. I think this is especially true with website designs, as viewers can easily get confused with which elements are clickable or not, especially if the audience is not used to the site yet or if the design is not executed properly. Still, elaborate designs might be able to show a lot more personality, but I suppose we as an audience could only really digest a limited amount of personality until we get sick of seeing so much of it, and for that I'm glad that we have a lot more minimalist designs for now.

 

[tinfoil]

I like it because it's most likely going to load fast & not look cluttered. I think it's how google got so successful.

 

[harebrainedknits]

I like minimalistic designs especially if they are done in a way that showcases what a client is trying to project. The design really needs to complement the objective of the site. Some of my favorite sites are simply photo posts or black and white sites with a clean font.

 

[Rubymusic1]

I love it, less is more is my kind of thing. I hate over cluttered websites, doesn't make me want to return!

 

[bosconian]

I'm just like Victor Leigh, I'm not a designer so for me the less designing I have to do the better. But even on the sites by other people I like minimalistic designs. I like clean and simple user interfaces. I like the way Google design its interfaces and its sites. I can't tell how many times I based my designs on gmail hehe

 

[Ed_ified]

I totally agree with this. Minimalism in web designing is totally a plus for me. I believe what is less is more in terms of web designing. It would't really hurt your content if you design is lesser compared to other sites. Most people prefer simple web designs than complicated ones.

 

[Elizabeth_Page]

Yes! I go for simple or minimal designs. Most of the people think when we say simple, it is just plain or not appealing. No! When we do these designs we still do the effort to make the colors, figures, fonts styles, other graphics etc., look appealing. This is not an easy job too - to make minimal things look great.

 

[bellaciao]

I think that minimalist design is the way to go nowadays and I also personally prefer these types of designs as they look more professional and easy on the eyes, and require more restraint and careful layout and planning rather than relying on flair and just going with a lot of colors.

 

[jaybee19]

I also think that minimalist design is better when it comes to web design. For me, plain colors are addictive and much easier to remember than neon or other colors that are so bright. I also hate websites that are too artistic (or has a lot of designs e.g. doodles, stripes, and etc.) they make me feel like I don't belong or it makes me feel very uncomfortable because the design's just too flashy. Actually, when I first saw Instagram I fell in love with it because of its minimalist design, and that's just one of the few reasons why minimalist design is better.

 

[Ash]

It depends on what the site is, of course. I think for a lot of sites, a more simplistic design can be really nice and can work well. Of course, that doesn't mean that you should go for an overly simplistic design but you should go for something that is simple, elegant but still nice to look at as an end user. Plus, with a minimalist design, you don't really have to worry about users not liking the look of your site or complaining that they do not like certain aspects of the theme.

Also, there is no point having an overly complicated design if the content of your site isn't good.

 

[EfficientNinja]

I like the idea of KISS. It stands for "Keep It Simple, Stupid" or "Keep It Super Simple". I believe and practice minimalism in whatever I do even if it is outside web development. I try to keep my computer desktop simple and clean, getting rid of unnecessary luggage when I am traveling to keep it lightweight.

 

[TheArticulate]

It depends on what the site is, of course. I think for a lot of sites, a more simplistic design can be really nice and can work well. Of course, that doesn't mean that you should go for an overly simplistic design but you should go for something that is simple, elegant but still nice to look at as an end user. Plus, with a minimalist design, you don't really have to worry about users not liking the look of your site or complaining that they do not like certain aspects of the theme.

Also, there is no point having an overly complicated design if the content of your site isn't good.

I think this is a huge thing design-wise. In almost any circumstance, I think it's better to shoot for designs that are simpler and more pleasing than taking the risk of having a chaotic design that's too much for your visitors to handle.

Maybe it's because I'm a Millennial, but I've always been a huge fan of minimalism. I think minimalist designs mimic the nature of what our marketing and advertising messages should be today: concise and to the point. In today's culture, I think it's growing more and more important to get our messages across as easily and simply as possible, and I think minimalism captures that idea perfectly.

 

[mitan143]

I prefer a simple but not boring website because I believe having so much animations and graphics designs on your website is kind of irritating for me especially if it is not user-friendly anymore and a lot of system bugs or glitches. What the use of a high-graphically designed website if the users take a longer time to understand how to use it, right? One example of simple but amazing website is Facebook, even those not techy people can manage to navigate or use it without having so much stress of understanding.