The time for flashy and complex websites have come and gone. Now, the spotlight is shining on a new wave of minimal designs.
The web has evolved tremendously over the years. Some of us have had the pleasure (and pain) to see it grow. From the days of AOL and Yahoo reigning supreme with its flashy banners and copious amount of texts, to now having Google strut around with its simplistic demeanour.
With the rise of new tech, websites are being designed and developed towards minimalism, using limited elements and simple fonts that make the overall look clean and classy. These 22 websites are especially great examples of this trend, which we think will persist for a good long time.
Utilizing different geometric shapes and colors as well as a hover-drop-down menu, Yuna Kim presents her portfolio in a unique and tasteful way.
Rumors is probably the epitome of minimal websites. It features a simple white background and a set of texts that shares the company’s objective, works, and contact information. By hovering on specific parts of the texts, supplemental information and images are revealed.
Simple yet classy is what best describes Jennet Liaw’s website. With limited texts on the home page, it allows visitors to focus better on the array of design categories Jennet has worked on and played with.
This wine restaurant in Rome uses vintage designs and textures that reflect their building’s rich history, which dates back to 1600. The scrolling format, paired with the collection of antique and modern photographs, give Coso a sophisticated feel.
Using a long-scrolling format, brief descriptions, and recognizable icons, Omar Folgheraiter illustrates his story and brilliant works in a clear and concise way.
The world is a huge treasure trove filled with amazing scenery and people. However, between those beautiful things, there may be something harmful or at least disturbing things that are hiding. Lapka, now acquired by AirBnB, designed and developed two lines of products—Personal Environment and Body Network—and presented them in a minimalist, scrolling format.
Designed specifically for iPad view, this minimalist website is the portfolio of art director Casey Britt. With a home page that features only his silhouette and a couple of links to his best samples, full portfolio, and social media pages, Casey’s minimal website that exudes a mysterious charm.
Home of designers Gajan Vamatheva and Charlotte Tang, Sharp and Savory features the blog’s latest post on the home page. It features a stunning photograph highlight, a brief update, and another accompanying image.
Another scrolling website, Gaspard + Bruno is the portfolio of designers Gaspard Macelin and Bruno Antunes Luis. Keeping their website clean and simple, the duo employs a scrolling website with brief descriptions, opting to highlight only the most important parts, and showcasing their works in separate pages.
Creating business insurance policies that are easy to understand and even pleasant to work on, Insurance by Jack keeps its website laidback with fun illustrations paired with short and straightforward descriptions.
No, it’s not a milkshake bar or dairy shop. The Cow & Co Café is actually a design store that offers unique gifts and carefully-crafted products, with a luscious cup of coffee on the side. The site’s design foundation cuts their page into three, with the individual sections generally made scrollable.
Silently elegant like the jewelry they make, Todd Reed presents a single workshop image on its landing page, which, when clicked, leads to the immaculate home page. Images are used to link to the store’s video presentation, quick location tours, and selection of their finest pieces.
Founded in 2010, ETQ is a shoe brand that takes out accessories in favor of higher quality and timeless designs. Mirroring that vision, its website is free of distracting objects. The designs take center stage, and additional information is only provided when you hover or click on an image.
A minimalist portfolio similar to Rumors, Thomas Buffet lists his prized graphic and interactive designs only by their titles. When you click on an item, you will be directed to a separate page in which the full design, along with its description, is in full display.
Celebrating minimalist designs in all forms and shapes, Minimalissimo’s website likewise implement a minimimalist format, highlighting images of carefully-selected pieces with a small banner text containing information regarding the piece’s name and designer.
For this web creative’s minimalist website, long-scrolling is the format of choice. Starting with a simple yet memorable logo, the page gives way to Ashley Farrand’s works, complete with the associated web address and a succinct description of the design and client.
Elless is another scrolling website, albeit shorter than our previous examples. A full-service creative design studio, Elless doesn’t waste any space on their page, filling it with equally-sized boxes, each one showcasing one of their great works.
Apple has always preferred simplistic designs that allow users to focus on quality experience. Following the same principle, OVA, dubbed by its maker as “the most beautiful Apple Watch dock,” and its website implements a simple yet classy design. It features limited text and an array of beautiful images that captures OVA’s high quality and elegance.
A collective portfolio of various award-winning directors, Hey Baby features video stills over a calming gray background. Hovering on a still will fade the others into the background as you see a quick introduction for the director and the company the video is for. If you choose to click a still, you will be directed to that director’s page where you can read their biography and watch their short films.
Yet another scrolling website, We Ain’t Plastic is the web portfolio of Berlin designer, Roland Loesslein. Unlike the others before it, this minimalist website doesn’t shy away from using significant amount of texts. Rather, it embraces it, and uses typography and animation to stand out.
Art director and designer Sam Dallyn’s website is another minimalist example that deserves appreciation. Ditching the huge logos for a straightforward portfolio, Dallyn arranged his works in a way that balances color and creates harmony.
Offering upscale leather goods mastered in Italy, Hard Graft keeps its website simple by making their introduction brief, allowing visitors to dive straight into their collection of beautiful products. Hovering on an image reveals the item’s name, choices, and price while clicking on it reveals more detailed information and shots taken from different angles.
A plain black box and a dot inside it that beckons you to click it—that’s what you will find once you land on the page of Signes du Quotidien (Daily Signs). This French design studio, like Yuna Kim above, uses shapes and colors to present their story and works. However, they differ in that Signes’ design is animated and interactive, which makes visitors awed and curious—a great step toward starting and closing a deal.