20+ Examples of Minimalist Design to Inspire Your Own Creations

20+ Examples of Minimalist Design to Inspire Your Own Creations

Written by:
Orana Velarde

Feb 19, 2024

Examples of Minimalist Design to Inspire Your Own CreationsMinimalism is a visual concept that never goes out of style. It has been around for 60 years and it’s still relevant today. The main idea in minimalist design is to say more by showing less. Minimalist design is clean, crisp and timeless. Unnecessary objects and flourishes are left on the drawing board. Only the absolutely necessary is included to get the message across.

Most minimalist designs include a lot of white or empty space. Even though white is the color of choice for most minimalist design, that doesn’t mean that others colors can’t also be used. White space can be replaced with black or blue space, as long as the other elements are minimal.

Minimalism began as a movement that ultimately influenced all types of art and design. Minimalism affected not only the fine arts and graphic design fields but also fashion, architecture, interior design and more. Nowadays, minimalism is quite evident in web design and branding schemes. You'll also find more of minimalism in graphic design. 

 

Table of Contents

Quick Read

  • Minimalist design is about making things simple, focusing on the essentials, and eliminating unnecessary elements.
  • Minimalist design involves "less is more" with simple elements, balanced spaces, bare necessities, flat design techniques, and grid-based order and clarity.
  • Explore a variety of minimalist examples, from brand images and websites to business cards, infographics, presentations, and timeless historic examples.
  • Unleash your creativity by gaining inspiration and knowledge to create your own minimalist masterpieces.
  • Sign up for Visme today and take your creative ideas from concept to creation with powerful, easy-to-use tools.

 

The Key Rules of Minimalist Graphic Design

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Minimalist graphic design follow a few key rules. When creating your next project, be sure to refer to this checklist. Keep in mind that sometimes a minimalist design can work against you if there is no balance or if the empty spaces are too stark and overwhelming. Remember to keep it balanced, and that is a rule for all types of design.

  1. Less is more
  2. Keep it simple
  3. Leave empty spaces
  4. Use only the bare necessities
  5. Implement a flat design
  6. Keep it balanced
  7. Use grids to maintain order

Here are some minimalist graphic design inspirations for you to explore and incorporate into your future design to enhance clarity and simplicity. At the end, we will take a quick look at some historic minimalist art and design posters to further fuel your creativity.

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Examples of a Minimalist Brand Image

A company's visual identity incorporates all aspects of its brand, including the logo, packaging, business cards and marketing materials. Designers can take a minimalist approach for all these components of a brand's image. For those who think a minimalist approach may lack energy and dynamism, a successful minimalist brand image can become very memorable for potential clients.


 

Miselu

Take, for example, Miselu, a San Francisco startup that created an innovative iPad piano keyboard for musicians on the go. The creative brains behind the minimalist Miselu brand is Character, a design and branding agency in San Francisco. We think Miselu is a perfect example of how minimalist design graphic can be creative and visually appealing.  

The strategy behind the Miselu brand was to create a look and feel that would fit both the physical and digital realm. Channeling the already beautifully minimalist Miselu piano keyboard, the designs are simple yet unique. The monochromatic grayscale and contrasting black-and-white details come together to create a timeless brand. All in all, Miselu is a minimalist success.

 

Packaging

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Business Cards

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Posters

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T-Shirts

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Custom Typeface

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Examples of Minimalist Websites

The trend in minimalist websites is very noticeable. Websites of all kinds now sport an uncluttered design. Earlier, I mentioned the “white space” rule of minimalism. Please keep in mind that rules are meant to be broken and that white is not the only color you can use to achieve a successful minimalist design. Using another color as the main accent or background can also be considered minimalist, as long as the rest of the design follows other key aspects like “less is more” and “keep it simple." Let’s look at some examples of minimalist websites.

RELATED: 16 Web Design Trends to Watch Out For

 

Velvet Hammer

Velvet Hammer is an independent music management company. They represent artists like Alice in Chains, Korn and Smashing Pumpkins. The loading widget for this site is a fast scrolling slideshow of black-and-white concert photos in the center of the screen. Then the V and H spread out from the middle and you are welcomed with an extremely balanced design. All photos on the site are in black and white until they are scrolled over. The background has a very subtle dotted pattern that gives the site a minimalist grunge effect.

10+-Examples-of-Minimalist-Design-to-Inspire-Your-Own-Creations-Examples-of-Minimalist-Websites-Velvet-Hammer

The Velvet Hammer website was designed by Suspended Animations creative studio. These creative geniuses have a minimalist website of their own as well. Baptiste, one of the developers at Suspended Animations, recently designed the website for the Despicable Me 3 film. The site boasts a very fresh, minimalist style.

 

Despicable Me 3

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We Ain’t Plastic

Roland is a creative technologist and user experience engineer with an awesome minimalist website. His company is called We Ain’t Plastic, and the way he presents himself and his services is succinct and to the point. The large, dark grey gem that welcomes you to the page is centered, powerful and balances out the entire design. We Ain’t Plastic is a great site to get inspiration from.

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NTN

It is not uncommon for a modern wristwatch brand to have a minimalist website. NTN is special, though. The designers behind this site really took into consideration what a watch is about: time. Incorporating an analog watch face that actually tells the time is genius design. The lifestyle photography that markets the brand is organized in a simple, no-frills grid. This site is a perfect example of how a minimalist website doesn’t need to be white. Even the NTN logo is perfectly minimalist.

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Examples of Minimalist Business Cards

All brands need business cards. Designing a minimalist business card is not as simple as putting your name in the middle in Helvetica. Business cards are so compact that even if they are minimalist, they need to have a designed quality to them. Nobody wants their cards to look like they were made in Word and printed at home.

RELATED: 60 Eye-Catching Business Card Examples to Inspire Your Own

Finding the balance for a minimalist business card is in the details. Having each side a different color, placing the logo alone in the center or bleeding off the edge or printing only your first name in huge letters can give your business card a perfect minimalist look.

Let’s look at some examples of minimalist business cards.

 

Raymond Tan

These self-branding business cards look simple because the paper is white and the text is black. But there are some details that make it minimalist instead of simple. The texture of the paper gives the design a little personality. The logo is alone and centered in a vertical axis on the back of the card. The logo features a cow in the design of the last letter "o," looking back over her shoulder.

10+-Examples-of-Minimalist-Design-to-Inspire-Your-Own-Creations-Examples of minimalist business cards-Raymond-Tan

The front of the card has the same cow, but looking forward. Raymond’s name is off to the left but with a thin line that bleeds off to the right. These little details are what give the card a minimal identity. This is a great example of a black-and-white minimalist card. If there were no paper texture, no thin line and no play on the letter "o," the card would have turned out plain and simple.

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Natalie Booth

This designer’s business card breaks the rule of white space and incorporates bright red. This use of red doesn’t mean that there is no empty space—there is plenty! Natalie placed the logo on the corner of the back of the card, in the exact same corner as the logo on the front of the card. This placement highlights the fact that the color of the logo is inverted when you turn the card around.

10+-Examples-of-Minimalist-Design-to-Inspire-Your-Own-Creations-Examples of minimalist business cards-Natalie Booth

 

Braga Da Cruz

The Braga Da Cruz jewelry company asked designer Luke Halota to create their branding scheme. Luke used a grid of squares and circles to design the intertwined Braga Da Cruz logo. This is a great example of using grids to maintain order in a minimalist design. These business cards use a centered logo on the horizontal axis over a black sleek surface. On the other side, the name is printed with a large font, making it the focal point.

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Examples of Minimalist Infographics

Like I mentioned earlier, minimalism can be applied to any kind of design. Infographics, even if they are large and full of information, can be designed in a minimalist style. The trick to designing minimalist infographics is to know exactly what information needs to stay and what needs to go. The visuals need to be exact and succinct—no extra, unnecessary information.

Let’s take a look at some minimalist infographics.

 

Kitchen Volume Conversion Aid

This infographic from Plainworks is a minimalist design about conversions for cooking measurements. The icons are flat with thin lines in only two colors. All the information included is the bare minimum needed to understand the graphic. There are no extra visuals apart from the necessary cups, jars and spoons.

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The Anatomy of a Cupcake

This infographic poster is a great example of how minimalism can also have color. There is nothing in this design that doesn’t need to be there. Every element has a purpose and a meaning. The anatomy of a cupcake divided into its exact ingredients in a minimalist artistic infographic.

 

Manual Photography Cheat Sheet

The designers at PicMonkey hit the nail on the head with this minimalist infographic. With just the right amount of information and imaging, they were able to explain the basics of aperture, shutter speed, ISO and exposure. The gradient grays come together to create the perfect visual composition with just enough differentiation between the elements.

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Examples of Minimalist Presentations

When it comes to presentations, minimalism is a bit harder to achieve. Presentations need to keep viewers' attention while conveying all the important information you need to get across to them. Using a minimalist design to achieve this needs to be well-thought-out. It is more common to see a busy and eye-catching presentation than a minimalist one.

There are plenty of minimalist presentation templates out there that you can try. Visme has quite a few, like “chronos,” “ted” and “essential.”

 

Business Keynote Presentation

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The business keynote presentation from Visme has a simple and visually pleasing design that uses a mix of orange and pink shades. The pictures in the presentation follow a "less-is-more" theme, which means they don't overwhelm the viewer with too many details. Additionally, there is ample whitespace throughout the presentation, which helps to make it clear and easy to follow.

Risk Analysis Presentation

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This presentation template has a simple and clear design, using only black and white colors. The slides have a minimal amount of text, which makes them easy to understand and less busy.

Instead of complex charts or graphs, it uses simple radial gauges and vector icons to display data and convey information. Additionally, the presentation includes stunning images that add visual appeal without making it feel cluttered.

 

LinkedIn Business Presentation

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The LinkedIn business presentation showcases a minimalistic design style that is thoughtful and purposeful. Each element serves a specific purpose, and the slides are clean without clutter. Vector icons have been strategically placed to complement the presentation's message, keeping the visuals straightforward. Even when using charts and graphs, the design remains coherent and focused, staying true to the minimalist approach.

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This powerful tool saves your time and ensures that your slides look polished and professional. Moreover, you can customize the templates further to add your personal touch, which will impress your audience and effectively communicate your points.

 

Historic Examples of Minimalist Design

Minimalism has been around since the 1950s. The first instances of minimalist art and design came about in the form of artistic posters. A lot of the artwork was abstract and yet minimalist. A lot has changed since then, but we can still learn a lot from the origins of minimalist design.

 

Shigeo Fukuda

Fukuda was a Japanese artist and graphic designer who used minimalism to depict powerful anti-war messages. His posters use minimal color palettes with elaborate black illustrations that even though look complex, are still quite minimal. This poster is one of his most famous works.

shigeo fukuda minimalist graphic design

 

Ilmars Rumpeters

Latvian designer Rumpeters designed many covers for the magazine Jauna Gaita. Most of the covers had a minimalist design. This apple is one of his most famous.

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Paul Rand

Rand is the all-time best logo designer of the 20th century. He was the one to introduce the Swiss style of design into the US. His minimalist posters are a feast to the senses and exemplify how you only need a few elements to convey so much.

This poster was designed for the Aspen Design Conference in 1966.

 

Drive Minimalism in Your Design with Visme

Minimalist design has become increasingly popular due to its ability to communicate messages clearly and effectively. From brand images and websites to business cards and presentations, adopting a minimalist approach can help you capture the essence of your content without overwhelming your audience.

Visme is here to help you create a myriad of documents, such as presentations, infographics, business cards, social media graphics and more, all infused with the beauty and simplicity of minimalism.

With Visme, you can ensure your designs are visually appealing and maintain a professional edge.

Sign up for Visme today and explore the full potential of minimalist design in all your documents.

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    About the Author

    Orana is a multi-faceted creative. She is a content writer, artist, and designer. She travels the world with her family and is currently in Istanbul. Find out more about her work at oranavelarde.com