Minimalism is the principle of less is more while dadaism is no rules at all. I don’t advocate for one principle over the other, choose what will work best for your project. Let’s say you are designing road signs, dadaism is definitely not the way to go, if its an artistic poster that needs to express some spirit then minimalism won’t do the best for the job. It’s always wise to choose what fits your project, pa-harps you don’t need to stick to the two principles alone you might try so much on your own even merging the two.
History repeats itself and I have observed from Meggs Parvis book: “History of Graphic Design“ that whenever there is an explosion(innovation) it’s highly embraced until it’s overused, then a relief comes by to save Graphic Design. In our time Minimalism has really been on the forefront and this is due to plethora of information loaded every where, so companies need smooth and quick ways to get to their audience. Screens have grown smaller, therefore there is need to drop serifs, demand less color palette, less styles and very simple geometric shapes. We need to ask ourselves how long will this last. If you have been observant, beautiful hand lettering has come to rescue design so that not everyone looks the same. Hand-letters are expressive, can share emotions, personality and region something that is not clear with traditional typefaces. The traditional typefaces are very mechanical and mainly appeal to a corporate look a no nonsense serious look, as opposed to a curious and open minded modern hand letters.
I don’t advocate for chaos but where its applicable why not, let no rules limit your imagination. The problem with simplicity is that with its overuse it becomes obvious and lacks authenticity and audience engagement. On the good side simplicity is very helpful in User Interfaces and User Experience, product designs should be simple enough for ease of use. Some areas demand simplicity as I have mentioned but there is always room to try out on mistakes and you might even change our thinking with your experiments. The earth itself is simple but not simple, a structure where so many things in different ways and places communicate as one, from soft flowers to sharp mountain edges,all solids, liquids and air. This brings balance which is what I advocate. Many clients are swayed by this wave of simplicity and want to apply it even when not necessary ignoring the potential of dadaism. Empathy should rule rather than sales or efficiency Product and services should be designed in a way that they connect with our emotions and speak our complexity.
Form follows function is a very good principle, now let us look at a flower. The main function of the flower is to transform to a seed so that the plant can survive, but what if the flower was dull, had the same shape as the leaves and lacked texture and smell? Will the plant survive? The plant needs the complexity of the leaf to survive, humans we are also complex creatures we even create robots to manage our complexities. What if robots try to replace us in arts how will the artworks look like? Is this what has been happening? The robots will work faster produce neat results but they will always lack imagination and emotions. Robots are the best when it comes to copying, they can produce 99.999% similar results. Don’t be a robot in your designs breathe life, share a style, add humor, make people think or don’t think, provoke some emotions and memories...and always make design a better place.
Finally whether minimalism or dadaiSm, just embrace what will work best for your project. Don’t just congest the industry with the same style simply because someone said so, say something as well the world needs innovators not only followers. Look at the horizon, get amazed by the possibilities.
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