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What minimalism leaves out

The television sets and radios of yesteryear with the silver finish knobs and impeccable wooden finishes have anything but disappeared. It is true that such prominent interfaces are not really necessary with the technological advancements of the recent decades, but what was once a playground of industrial design is now reduced to frames and minuscule switches. Along with the elaborate physical features, the character of a product is lost. Why aren’t our gadgets covered in wood anyways?

When they don’t enthrall us with picture perfect retina displays and high definition imagery, the LCD and Touch screen devices we use look anything but dull and impersonal. One could argue that the physical design merely gets out of the way for the rich experience that the device offers. Although this is true, if one looks at the automobile industry it becomes clear that good design could be appealing to the user (the driver and passengers in this case) as well as everyone who gets to gawk at it.

Visit any upmarket mall and you can easily get the impression that everyone is using the same mobile. If you do happen to visit an electronic store you’ll most certainly need an employee to point out the difference in the flat screen televisions of different manufacturers.

Transition to Virtual

The interfaces in most computing and communicating devices are filled with associations to physical objects. In other words all the buttons and knobs (so as to say) are still present but in the realm of pixels. This phenomenon was observed in traffic management by a scientist in a paper I cannot recall. A traffic constable was present in every junction to guide drivers and smooth-en out congestion. He was later placed on a pedestal at the junction where he would merely signal the drivers in all the directions. Now the person has disappeared and only the signal remains. The only significant or essential feature of the traffic constable remains. Soft products have one considerable advantage to physical artifacts when it comes to minimalism. Software can easily have multiple incarnations where one of them is minimalistic. All the browsers in popular use, be it Mozilla, Chrome or IE offer customizable interfaces which regular users usually reduce to display only the essentials.

It must be conceded that minimalism has the supreme advantage of efficiency. The thin slabs that are today’s mobiles are much easier to carry and much lighter on the planet than the bricks that were used just a few years ago. And placing a traffic constable in every corner is just a stupid waste of resources. But I will state that I would flaunt my Ferrari with far more confidence than my Mac Book Air (provided I had the fortune of owning the former).

Speaking of Mac Book, Apple has placed itself in the forefront of minimalist design and consequently has gained much more traction than its competitors. First of all, a minimalist product is less expensive to manufacture if done right. Secondly a minimalist design language is easier to follow across a wide product range. Although any organization could benefit this way by following minimalism, how Apple gained traction is by being the pioneer of minimalism. Now all the not so early birds have to and do try very hard to differentiate themselves which bring them perilously close to being called ‘over designed’. Even if a company creates a new product which Apple does not currently make, if it tries to follow minimalism it would easily be mistaken for an Apple product. Minimalism has proved a powerful strategy for Apple.

Here’s a Vision of Future from Microsoft. These conceptual videos are always fun as they showcase possibilities and fantasies while also give an impression of how major corporations are envisioning our needs.

One particular trend that I found worrying was the strong absence of colors. Everything is white, grey or transparent. If the top creative talent in Microsoft (which I’m assuming is true) looks at future with such a bland and dull but no doubt sophisticated look, I worry about the products and services that they are working on. If the world of the future is as virtual and abstract as the videos depict, shouldn't it be rich with cultural cues and colors and customization? Even the people and their clothing are so mild, that it seems like a sadistic, impersonal sci-fi vision of George Orwell’s 1984. It is an altogether another issue that everyone is either seen touching or gesturing with the world around them while so many aspects of interactions are left unrealized. But that’s an issue for another post.