A minimalist or “clean” approach to design may not be for everyone, but I’ve always appreciated the beauty in it. I subscribe to the ideal that less is more, and admire those who can command a grid with precision. I think in the hands of a skillful designer, typography can totally represent without the aid of a lot of graphics. Below is a collection of websites which illustrate this point very well. Let me know if you spot the trend! ;)
AI – Information Architects
iA - Information Architects
Sofa – design, interfaces and software
Sofa - Design Interfaces and Software
i love typography – typographic inspiration
i love typography
Checkout – Get a Mac. Start a store.
Checkout
p41 Studios – human centered design
P41 Studios
live.squarespace – the Squarespace team blog
Squarespace Team Blog
Garrett Dimon – designer/developer
Garrett Dimon
44Forks – From etiquette to Netiquette
44 forks
Andy Rutledge – design strategist
Andy Rutledge
Mark Boulton Design
Mark Boulton Design
The Netsetter – startups web business
The Netsetter
Konigi – user experience design
Konigi
Midmo Web Design
Midmo Design
Rodrigo Galindez – designer/author
Rodrigo Galindez
Outspoken Media – SEO, marketing and consulting
Outspoken Media
Warpspire – web design and code geekery
Warpspire
Jon Tan – creative director, Omniti
Jon Tan
Omniti – web design and development
Omniti
Phil Coffman – art director/photographer
Phil Coffman
Monday by Noon – front end developer
Monday by Noon
Chris J Davis – designer/developer
Chris J Davis
Hivelogic – lead a simpler, more mindful life
Hive Logic
Artypapers – web apps and design
Artypapers
Max Voltar – freelance interface designer
Max Voltar
Habari Project – next generation blogging
Habari Project
5thirtyone – personal blog of Derek Punsalan
5thirtyone
Upstart Blogger – guide to creating, maintaining and profiting from a blog
Upstart Blogger
Boxes and Arrows – graphic design and information architecture
Boxes and Arrows
The Grid System – the ultimate resource in grid systems
The Grid System
Additional Resources
Hungry for more? These gallery sites focus entirely on minimalist design:
5/11/2009
First of all: Great collection of state of the art sites. Love them all.
Just one question occurred to me: Are there no “dark”, minimal sites on the net? Or was it just your chosen topic and there will be a follow up post on the dark side of the web?
Nevertheless: Thanks for this post, was a pleasure clicking through it.
5/11/2009
Thank you for this round-up! Lots of beautiful designs here. I wouldn’t describe all of them as “minimal” per se, but they all seem to play in the same ballpark.
@rutiso: Here is my take on “dark and minimal”: http://tinyurl.com/oh5fx3
5/11/2009
@rutiso – I found very few dark themes (worth listing). White or light backgrounds were the most prevalent, which is good since I’m naturally drawn to those anyway. :) Nice idea for a subsequent post though. I’ll have to keep on the lookout!
@Jeff – Nice addition. thanks for the link.
5/11/2009
@Charity – Right you are. There are not much. I’ll keep you in mind and get back when I find some of them.
@Jeff – Okay, thanks. It’s on my new dark minimal sites list :)
5/19/2009
Serene. Calming. Deep. Sometimes the less said, the better. Or as one of those old proverbs goes, don’t say a little in many words, but say a lot in a few. This post shows the same philosophy in action. Some of them were too stark for me (like the Garrett Dimon example), but most of the rest were simply beautiful.
6/08/2009
Thank you for this round-up! Lots of beautiful designs here. I wouldn’t describe all of them as “minimal” per se, but they all seem to play in the same ballpark.
6/09/2009
You seem to possess a great artistic taste. The designs are fabulous. Waiting for many more designs from you and I know you will not disappoint me.
6/28/2009
A nice display! “less is more” is absolutely right! And at last, I must point out they are excellent, expect more!
7/17/2009
Beautiful design! Breathtakingly clean and simple. I have actually seen the “I Love Typography” site before…and it made an impression on me. I have a theory that people who love clean, minimalistic design, also tend to like modern art and architecture.