The anti design design club

I love minimalist websites. The under-designed aesthetic pleases my abused sensibilities. Narrow containers, 2 column max layouts, and generous whitespace give my eyes a break. Some would say that it’s a suboptimal use of screen real estate. To me and many other, it’s a deliberate choice, and one that’s gaining momentum for good reason.

Minimalism in web design isn’t just a vibe. It’s a response to more than a decade of conversion-optimized, dopamine-maximizing marketing tactics (and growing slop). Conventional web marketing says users need value props, testimonials, videos, feature demos, freebies to engage, and hopefully convert. But in practice, that approach has become noisy, costly to scale, and increasingly ineffective. I’m turned off, and I’d wager plenty of others are tuning out too, sniffing the marketing desperation.

“Small screen, big moments” is a principle from mobile design that captures the shift well. It calls for large spacing, fewer distractions, and more intentional details. Larger spacing, stripped down UI forces a degree of minimalism intuitively. The screen, whatever its size, is just a context for attention.

This approach is about respecting attention and design discipline. 5k monitor or mobile, the same principles apply, only the render differs (often only slightly). It is a mature, understated, and confident form of digital design; closer to a museum’s wall than a supermarket shelf. My eyes appreciate the space and my attention jives better with the UX.

The anti design-design club is growing. It’s not a rebellion, maybe just a mildly elitist indie niche. I’m here for it.

← Index / Published on 2025-07-21