Minimalistic design is one of the best ways to capture the viewer’s attention. Additionally, it can help you put your point across without including unnecessary design elements. Not to speak of the time it saves and the efficiency it brings. It might seem simple, but minimalistic graphic design requires a lot of practice and discipline. The six principles of the minimalistic graphic design below will serve as a starting guide.
1. Leave plenty of space
The number of elements and text in a minimalistic design is pretty limited. Still, it makes sense to emphasize these elements so that the reader or the viewer gets the message. The easiest way is to leave plenty of space around the main elements. Doing so offers a few benefits:
- The emphasis on the elements is increased.
- It becomes easy to scan or read the elements in the design.
2. Go with a flat design
Flat design offers numerous advantages like:
- It increases legibility.
- Makes the text and elements easy to read/view on any device.
- Reduces the elements in the design.
- The user interface becomes simplistic and more user-friendly.
On the contrary, if you do not use a flat design, the number of elements will drastically go up, and you cannot label that design as a minimalistic one.
3. Balance it out
A minimalistic design doesn’t mean including a couple of elements in the entire design because of the limitation on the number of elements. Even though the number of elements or text is limited, but still need to balance it out in multiple planes like:
- Horizontal balance
- Vertical balance
- Diagonal balance
- Background and foreground balance
In each of these planes, roughly the same amount of text or elements should be placed. Doing so ensures that even though you’re following minimalistic graphic design principles, the design still looks aesthetically pleasing and captures the attention of the viewer.
4. Grids to the rescue
Sometimes, you need to include a considerable bit of information on elements, even when following the principles of minimalistic design. In that case, instead of haphazardly inserting the elements, use the grids. They offer advantages like:
- Complete control over the text or elements
- Extreme flexibility
- Makes the content easy to read
- Establishes visual hierarchy
- Great for viewing the design on any device
- Naturally creates content breakpoints
As a designer, one has complete freedom to create the type of grid one prefers. The cells, the size, the columns, and the rows can be modified as per data or elements.
5. Minimize the elements
Minimalistic graphic design works on the principles of less is more. To stick to the same, follow the rules like:
- No over-the-top decoration
- No unnecessary design elements
- No long-form text
- No clutter
If, as a designer, you aren’t accustomed to minimalistic design, create the first draft and remove the unnecessary elements and text. Keep on repeating the process until only the most necessary elements are present in the design. While this might require 4 to 5 revisions, if not more but following this rule will make you a better designer and help you ace minimalistic design.
6. Simplicity is the key
Minimalistic design is simplistic. In fact, if you want to convey your point strongly through design, minimalistic is the best option since it doesn’t consist of unnecessary elements.
The simplicity should stick to every element of the design like:
- Background
- Text fonts
- Text colors
- Design elements
- Special effects (if any)
Time to use the effectiveness of minimalist graphic design for yourself and your clients. Stick to these six principles, and you will be ahead of most graphic designers claiming to use minimalistic designs.
