A Practical Modern Minimalist UI Design Guide for 2021

I've been waiting for a new, functional, and visually appealing style to emerge, but it never has.

In fact, if we only look at visual appeal, many new design styles can do this, but some of them are eye-catching but not readable enough, and some are friendly enough but not advanced enough. Fortunately, designers have gradually found the balance between aesthetics, functionality and visual appeal in the process of gradual iteration, and this is what I want to share in today's article.

I would like to define this design style as "modern minimalism". Compared with other design styles, it is relatively simpler, but compared with Material Design and traditional flat design, it is not monotonous and boring. Next, let's take a look at how to achieve the visual effects of this style!

The eight main style features

I have sorted out the characteristics of this design style into the following 8 characteristics:

• Bright background and plenty of white space
• UI elements should be subtle and rounded
• Large, readable title
• Realistic photography
• Mature color scheme
• Subtle control over contrast
• Control the extent of special effects used
• Interesting little details and illustrations

Let me explain each case one by one:

1. Bright background and plenty of white space

In modern minimalist design, white space is king. The entire visual characteristics of the interface are most easily noticed on a very bright background with white or other color tendencies. A large amount of white space and a bright enough background can make the whole look clean and beautiful.

2. UI elements should be subtle and rounded

In modern minimalist UI, UI elements usually have a subtle and soft rounded effect, which makes the interface look more organic and friendly.

Clubhouse, which was once very popular, used a design similar to modern minimalist style. This design makes the entire APP stylish and friendly enough.

For me personally, rounded corners are one of the more pleasing design elements, but the trick with using rounded corners in this style is not to make the radius too large, otherwise it will look very strange.

3. Large and readable title

Large titles can bring a stronger sense of geometry and blocks, whether it is a serif or sans-serif font, but in order to maintain the unity of modern minimalist style, I usually tend to use sans-serif fonts with a strong sense of geometry. For example, Gilroy, Sofia Pro, Lufga or Circular, in addition, you can also try Pulp, Gordita, Visby, Konnect, Geliat, Galano or +Jakarta Sans.

4. Photographic pictures of realistic themes

This is actually very important. Photography can provide much more detailed information and overall realism, and from the overall trend of design, people seem to be getting tired of 3D renderings, flat character illustrations and hand-drawn doodles. The benefit and advantage of real photos lies in their realism.

In terms of subject matter, photographic images usually look more serious and formal, and on an emotional level they are more likely to evoke emotions related to real life in users.

5. Mature color scheme

Modern minimalist style also emphasizes simplicity in color matching. So in addition to a lot of white, it basically depends on choosing the right main color and a small amount of accent color.

The modern minimalist design style as a whole does not require large areas of color to attract the user's attention. In most of the time, the primary color is only used as an embellishment.

6. Subtle control of contrast

One of the advantages of modern minimalist style is its good accessibility, and most of the design styles that focus on visual appeal are indeed inferior to it. However, in order to ensure this, when designing, you need to use small techniques such as color matching, shadows, and subtle strokes to ensure that there is a clear contrast between the control and the background, and sufficient visual hierarchy.

7. Control the extent of special effects

Modern minimalist style actually draws inspiration from many different design styles, subtle color shadows, blurred gradient aurora background, relief and even acrylic transparent effects. These visual style effects can enhance the texture and effect of the UI interface to a certain extent, but we must ensure that these stylized elements do not appear at the same time, otherwise the overall effect will look messy.

8. Interesting little details and illustrations

Of course, modern minimalist design also pursues details. Although it is simple as a whole, it can also be compatible with small elements, such as icons, emojis, and small decorations. Using patterns, collages, and small illustrations (of course, you must be restrained) and interspersing these elements with accent colors and photographs can make the modern minimalist style more friendly and pleasant.

Conclusion

I really appreciate and like the atmosphere created by modern minimalism. The friendly texture it brings to the UI interface is, to some extent, the challenge faced by most UI design projects today.

Although this design style is derived from many drafts on Dribbble, it is now actually applied to real products and is more capable of solving actual needs and problems.

At this point in time, simple design style has huge value for users. It can maintain simplicity and ensure overall pleasure. Modern minimalist style should be the next stage, and more and more designers and products will embrace the design trend.