Is minimalism just lazy design?
Designers, journalists and critics alike have often been quick to defend minimalism, stating that ‘It is not an absence of design’. This, to a point, is correct, but there are exceptions and a line has got to be drawn somewhere.
As a result of the Bauhaus design movement, minimalism became a prominent style within the design and architecture scenes towards the late 1960s. The buildings which had previously been packed full of eccentric products with extensive and somewhat unnecessary detail had been transformed into light, open and modern spaces, where crisp lines, high-contrasting finishes were present, often accompanied by an eye-watering price tag.
It has come to my attention that it has become increasingly popular among young designers, specifically students, and this is clearly reflected in our work. I say our as I find myself gravitating towards designing products without the extra frilly bits myself. My own work sparked the question, ‘Is minimalism just lazy design?’
The best way I decided to answer the question was to challenge myself; to further minimalise a product which is already minimalistic due to its function. The turntable.
In short, this was hard, and I have found a new respect for designers who can turnaround products with this design style quickly. Stripping a product down to the bare essentials so that it still functions without the performance being compromised is one thing, then incorporating these all into a fluid design is another story.
What became very clear to me was how refined the small amounts of detail need to be, as where they may be unnoticed on a conventional design, they suddenly become a focal point on the new one. This is something which is extremely time consuming, it takes iteration after iteration until you get it just right, and it is amazing to me how much one seemingly small adjustment, makes such a dramatic difference, overall.
The product itself needs to say a lot and make a statement without actually saying much at all. This is untimely what led me to conclude that minimalism isn’t lazy or bad design, the vast majority of the time. But, I think it can be.
A product which fails to perform its primary function due to the product being ‘minimal’, renders it nothing more than an attractive paperweight. This is when a designer has been lazy, and fails to take on the real challenge of minimalism. Bauhaus, arguably the grandfather to minimalism and where the style’s features derive from, is famous for starting the phrase ‘Where Form Follows Function’. The form should always enhance the function.
I believe that something which has made poorly executed minimalism more common among students and established designers alike, is the influx and advancements of rendering software. I once got told that ‘A good render will make any design look like a good design, but this doesn’t mean that it is’. We can become so mesmerised by an incredible render that we begin to look at the product through rose-tinted glasses and overlook the design its self.
Ofcourse, like my other blog posts, this is my personal take on a very popular design style and everyone opinions vary. So it would be interesting to know what you think!
James.
