I chose to pick a minimalistic site because its a style that has to accomplish all the things a complex sites does, with fewer elements. Thus, those fewer elements have to be stronger in order to succeed. The website I chose is:Behind Design
The website only utilizes a one column layout, the minimal of the minimum, and still displays the entirety of its content well.
Even though most of the elements present may only seem like the content itself, its the interactivity that makes it interesting. The body text is kept in a gray tone until you hover over it, which changes it to black, and makes it easier to read. These little subtle changes and additions strengthen the idea of having a minimal design. From the small texture that slowly fades out, to the back and forth movement of the element at the bottom of the page; these tiny elements separate the boring from the stimulating.
The color choice compliments the white well, and a lot of white space there is. The rest is usually a variation of grays. The navigation is even kept to a minimum with just having 3 pages, including the home page, so there is no excess of content. The entire layout feels very simple and very clean. The only complaint I have is towards the middle of each page's content, there's almost too much which and there needs to be something to break up the space on the page a little better (like the continuation of the shadow on the column). Too much of the white can overwhelm someone's eye.
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ReplyDeleteI like the web site that you have chosen as an example of the minimalist style. This is a really successful web site in the minimalist style. The reduction of the elements in order for the content to stand out is very well accomplished. Also, I really like the little elephant that is blinking at the bottom of the page.
ReplyDeleteHey Ryan,
ReplyDeleteI think this site has some features that might categorize it as minimalist design. However, there are some elements that I believe, create some discrepancies. One of them would be the distracting animation for the content; which defeats the purpose of a minimalist style, simplicity. The second detailed, I noticed, was the lack of the anchors within the page, which becomes a real pain when users scroll up and down to find their way back home.
There was a clear intention for the designer to make things simple but somehow he got caught up with the extra elements that may not be relevant to the concept.