MINIMALISSIMO EDITED
The designer's starting point is an original idea, the essence, and as little design as possible is added.
Minimalism is not reductivist. It is non-additionist.
– Maarten P. Kappert
What's happening?
Hello. I recently came across this Twitter thread about minimalism and the death of detail and character. An interesting discussion follows and I thought I would share a few thoughts with you here. Firstly, I recognise this individual is not attacking Minimalism as a design principle. Rather, it's about defaulting to a minimalist style and acknowledging the consequences of this. In one sense, I agree that minimalism can sometimes lack character. But I would argue only poorly considered and rushed design, or design that prioritises functionality and practicality run the risk of becoming seemingly boring. As society scales and the need for cost-effective mass production and sustainable design becomes more important, it's only natural that certain handcrafted and complex design falls by the wayside. In some cases this can seem really disheartening, especially when we're talking about architecture or public-facing design. It can affect communities and how people perceive the identify of the place they call home. I reckon that's more of a generational thing. That said, I want to make something very clear. Characterful design does not mean good design. In fact, in many cases, it's aesthetically ugly and totally unsustainable. But does minimalism lack detail and colour? It probably does, yes, but if done well, minimalism and character can definitely coexist. A fine example would be Tokyo public toilets. Although Minimalism is about finding the archetype of a thing and exposing details, it can also mean far fewer details are necessary, therefore fewer exposed. And even with colour, minimalism is not defined by what colour, but rather by how many colours are represented. But to some, colour can also be considered noisy. Which I would tend to agree with. Anyway, it's a very divisive thread. Feel free to share your opinion on the subject. Now let's dive into some of our recent features.
– Carl
Features
BLOCK INCENSE HOLDER
Conceived by Brooklyn, New York-based design studio, Walden, this elegant and sculptural incense holder is designed with two intersecting forms; one to hold the incense while the other cantilevers to catch the falling ash.
CONSTRUCT SOFA
Designed by Cape Town-based interior design studio OKHA, the minimal CONSTRUCT sofa is an amalgamation of forms and a rigorous and geometrically based composite of elements. The wire brushed timber frame wraps around the fully upholstered seat and arms, holding the geometric modules with the option of the timber frame becoming an extended platform that acts as a simple and expressive side table.
COMMON PARTS
To mark the launch of Editions (a variety of past and present art and design related objects and collaborations), Minimalux has produced six new artworks. Conceived by co-founder and creative director Mark Holmes, Common Parts is the result of a brief to only use materials and existing pre-made parts found within his immediate working environment, together with unrestricted access to the contents of the Minimalux component shelves.
OEVER GALLERY
Oever is a new art gallery located in the East Bank harbour area of Ostend, Belgium. Designed by spacial design studio 5AM, they decided recreate the typical street artist’s canvas, the concrete jungle, in a minimal, stripped down version inside the gallery.
OBEGRÄNSAD
How do you make a record player bold, yet simple and affordable enough to be fit to gift a friend? That’s the question engineer Carmen Stoicescu and designer Friso Wiersma sought to answer for IKEA and Swedish House Mafia’s OBEGRÄNSAD collection; resulting in the first record player from IKEA since 1973. OBEGRÄNSAD features three key products from the collection: a desk, an armchair, and a record player.
Where next?
Discovery
other things for you to read, explore, and maybe even admire:
James Dyson answers design questions from Twitter: he might be a controversial figure, but the man is an engineering genius and the bladeless fan alone has to be one of the best tech products in history
3D modelled Braun alphabet: a wonderful arrangement of classic product design transformed into a typeface by Gao Yang
a locker style cemetery in Tokyo by Yukio Asari: Hyakutsuki-in is a stylish space that successfully reimagines what a cemetery could look like
the nothing (1) phone preview: we got a glimpse of the new phone, which looks interesting; expect great hardware from the teenage engineering team; but has anyone tried the nothing launcher on Android yet?
This monthly edition of the Minimalissimo newsletter was supported by aprile, the hanging chair
inspired by spring days and designed by Matteo Modica, aprile is a simple suspended chair that oozes elegance—a floating seat, shaped after spring petals, swinging gently. designed and handcrafted in Italy with artisanal love.
whether you're looking for visual inspiration or design insights, you can visit our gallery to discover the very best of minimalism in art and design.
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