Strongish opinions follow; consider accordingly. ...Or disregard if you
have a good art history education. Gabriele, a look at your site makes
it clear that you already understand at least SOME of what follows. It
seems like what you're really trying to do is strip away all the parts
that aren't essential to the user experience.
On 9/16/12 1:04 PM, Gabriele Romanato wrote:
> I'm actually kinda bored of all these resource websites who present
> pseudo-minimal CSS designs which feature a lot of graphics and
> decorations instead. I'm searching for a true minimal CSS design,
> much like one of the past designs of David Laakso site. I need a
> strong focus on my contents, just as Nicolas Gallagher shows on his
> blog.
By "minimal" do you mean "lacking accents" or "conveying an emphasis on
simplicity" ...?
In the first case, start with hierarchy, minimze (but don't eliminate)
your use of color, don't be afraid to let negative space lie, and set
limits on additive iteration. Cf.
http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/26979.html .
In both cases, you won't gain much from looking at the trend for
inspiration - these days it's rather about custom brushes and distressed
whatsits.
Instead, start plumbing art, design, and architecture from the late
Twenties through the early Sixties, when emphasis on simplicity was
something of a fetish. That may require a trip to the bookstore or the
library in the end, but there are searches you can do - Gropius, van der
Rohe, Paul Rand, and Saul Bass are gimmees. I'm tempted to add Eero
Saarinen to the list, but that's a bit more of a challenge. (...And I
apologize for the U.S.-centricity of these names, but you write what you
know, right?)
You'll likely discover once you've sketched something out that the
styles will be easy to write.
Related: with respect to composition the Fibonacci squares and the
Golden Ratio (approx. 1.618:1) will be your best friends.
If you really want to get down to brass tacks:
1. Decide on the relationship between IA and
hierarchy
2. Choose three colors - foreground, background,
and accent
3. Create a single column layout while avoiding
any and all shades and tints of your palette
colors
--
Ben Henick lurker...@henick.net
Sitebuilder At-Large t:@bhenick
+1 785 856 1863
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