“Minimalism” is a word I came across while studying architecture at university and this is one of my favorite phrases from Mies Van Der Rohe: “Less is more.”
The concept of minimalism comes from the French word “minimum”. Its meaning in architecture and design can be defined as “to achieve the simplest, the most economical and the most functional result with the least material”. A minimalist gets rid of excess, acts simply, and removes objects that are not needed at all… Like they say: “The less things a person needs, the happier they can be…’’
In minimalism, there are simple and plain designs… It might seem easy to be simple, but these are actually the most difficult designs, which take more effort to reduce them to a minimal level… Minimalist designs are used in many areas, from architecture to home decoration, from fashion to art and life style, with effective and wonderful results…
I came across John Maeda’s special book “The Laws of Simplicity” that impressed me so much at the New Museum New York in 2012. In his book, Maeda identifies ten laws to balance simplicity and complexity in life, work, technology and design… This book is like a guide to “getting more by demanding less”… Simplicity does not only mean “less” in order to reduce, but also “removing the unnecessary excess around us” and “adding the meaningful”…
Let’s look at the ten important laws in the book together:
- Reduce (The simplest way to achieve simplicity is through thoughtful reduction.
- Organize (Organization makes a system of many appear fewer.
- Time (Saving in time feel like simplicity.)
- Learn (Knowledge makes everything simpler.)
- Differences(Simplicity and complexity need each other.)
- Context (What lies in the periphery of simplicity is definitely not peripheral.)
- Emotion (More emotions are better than less.)
- Trust (In simplicity we trust)
- Failure (Some things can never be made simple.)
- The one (Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful.)
“If you want to see ahead, simplify the mechanism of daily life.” (Platon)
I hope that we all become more and more aware of how to simplify our lives…