Tag - Francois Fenelon

The Potential of Minimalism in Content and Website Design

If you want to develop a mobile version of any website, it will be a good idea to go with a minimalist approach. Quite a few critics cringe at the notion of minimalist design, presuming it will make the overall design and layout boring. The concept is also misinterpreted as black text on a white background devoid of any effects or graphics. However, all these assumptions are very far from the reality. It must be noted that minimalism does not involve dull or uninteresting techniques or features. The main objective of minimalism is to present different elements and features in their primary role, without the need to involve unnecessary frills and distractions. In reality, several usability experts have a view that minimalism will enhance the impact and effectiveness of website designs.

Some Advantages of Minimalism

  • Most usability experts believe that minimalism will definitely rule the roost in the future. The concept offers several interesting and unique ways to simplify uncomplicated website designs without much effort. Minimalism will enable users to use their smartphones and internet to access most of the web applications without any technical glitches emanating from compatibility issues.
  • The main functionality of minimalism is to restrict the intended message to its bottom line so as to provide clarity of ideas and expressions. Users may begin to complain as little as possible after being exposed to the powerful results of minimalism.
  • The concept will certainly find favor with mobile web users. It will enable users to download the content faster.
  • Users will be able to access the content in different layouts on different platforms with superior quality and increased smoothness.
  • Smartphone users browse internet on their phones quite frequently and they might easily get irritated if they have to needlessly navigate to many web pages or unrelated information before they get what they are looking for. A minimalist website design can easily eliminate inappropriate clutter of information or webpages.
  • Minimalism helps in brand building too. It is very important for a brand to stay consistent in order to be remembered for being neat in expressions. By removing clutter that is considered to be perplexing, a brand can definitely stand out in the crowd.

Mobile manufacturing companies can get benefited with the assistance from usability professionals to adopt minimalism in design. Today, mobile devices and components come with smaller bandwidth, slower data internet connectivity and smaller screens. All these technical restrictions can be effortlessly overcome by a unique minimalist design. The technology will unquestionably enhance mobile website designs and other technicalities in the future.

Minimalism in Writing

“The more you say, the less people remember. The fewer the words, the greater the profit.”
– Francois Fenelon

Most popular writers, authors, and poets have believed that brevity is very important to engage one’s audience. There, all we want to say must be said in brief. Let’s find out how some of us tend to get lengthier. Some writers create content using 2nd person singular tone. It is considered very friendly. Certainly, it results in passive voice, which tends to detach the reader from the action because the sentences become lengthy and boring. This type of writing might confuse the readers as well. Therefore, it is better to create understandable active voice constructions to appeal the readers’ minds.

The current norm is minimalist writing. This type of writing is considered to be straightforward without being lengthy and uninteresting. The overall idea is to include appropriate information needed for the readers – no more, no less. The writer should create the content in a comprehensible, direct active voice.

Minimalism Unchained   

Some people have an opinion that minimalist writing includes very few words or sentences. But in reality, minimalist writing is not easy. You need to explain the entire information or concept involving very words or phrases. The idea is to use less words and sentences but they must have a bigger impact on the mind of the readers. You need to question any phrase or word that you are about to use to know whether it is essential to communicate your intended message. You might need to think, review and rewrite to be sure of being brief and complete in communicating.

Some Tips for Minimalist Writing

  • Keep sentences brief and straightforward.
  • Infuse coherence in successive sentences to keep the flow.
  • Consolidate the cluster of short sentences in meaningful paragraphs.
  • Do not discuss several topics in a single paragraph to avoid confusing the reader.
  • Ensure that paragraph length is appropriate.
  • Always prefer active voice.
  • Use images or pictures to convey a powerful message instead of explaining it endlessly.

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