A lot has been written in recent months about this latest design trend called “flat design.” Flat designs are supposed to be minimalist and free of embellishments such as gradients, drop shadows, and other unnecessary decorations. But this isn’t a trend or some new craze. It’s just called good design.
Simple is almost always better. Good design doesn’t need to be extravagant. It just needs to be useful. A useful design solves problems and optimizes a given functionality while using as little design as possible.
That being said, I’m also happy to see that other people are embracing minimal design, especially after Google and Windows 8 have switched to this design style. Dieter Rams said that minimal style “concentrates on the essential aspects, and the products are not burdened with non-essentials. Back to purity, back to simplicity.” Remember, content is king. Minimal design allows the audience to focus on their needs quicker, without being burdened by unnecessary decorations.
LayerVault, when talking about flat design, says, “Why create a small gem of a product and then weigh it down with design flourishes? The way you design your site should reflect your values — be consistent. Flat design is lean design.”
I’m glad that many startups, apps, and websites are going “back to simplicity,” but please, let’s stop calling it flat design and treating it like it’s some crazy new idea. Also, I’m sorry that you had to read another article about flat design.
The design I created for Carroll Concepts uses “flat design”
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