Functional minimalism in web design: history, rules of application and best practices. How minimalism can help your designs from where the flat design went

Minimalism as an art style originated in the 60s of the last century. His homeland became America. The main features of minimalism are simplicity of the forms of expression, as well as a literal, objective approach.

The author of the term "minimalism" became the British philosopher and art historian Richard Walham. He allocated this direction by analyzing the work of artists going in their works by the smallest intervention in the world around.

The sources of minimalism lie in such currents as pop art and suprematism. Influenced the development of the direction also creativity K. Malevich and the tendency of the Bauhaus school.

Main features

Gradually minimalism was distinguished from all other styles of painting. As a result, its main features were formed. This is primarily expressive colors, as well as smoothness and geometry.

Russian constructivism, on a wave of interest to him, encourages artists to widely use industrial materials to express their plan. Picturesque works are often inherent asymmetry, the repetition of various geometric shapes. The space of the picture is usually simple and unloaded.

The color in minimalism performs the task of zoning space, and not expressing emotions or sentiment transmission. For a flow, the absence of subjectivity and realism is also characteristic: the artist is striving to ensure that the viewer independently perceived the object.

Refusal of the necessary needed

Another feature of minimalism-desire to demise art in order to be able to identify what is its fundamental basis.

In the foreground, minimalists turn out to be a form with which they transmit depth of color. Pictures of paintings are filled with metaphors, symbols. Emotions Painters transmit non-standard ways: use for this line and various geometric shapes. Also, minimalist works are carrying any subtext, often have acute social significance.

Minimalist artists

American artist, a master of post-disconnect abstraction of Frank Stella (G. 1936) lived mainly in New York, where he started as a drawer and a designer.

In 1959-1960, a series of works of Stella "Black Paintings" came out. As clearly out of the name, the dominance of black lines was a distinctive feature of the canvases.

This creative lift of the artist, was noticed by the owner of the New York Gallery Leo Castelli, who realized the genius of the master and put his paintings at himself.

"Aluminum paintings" followed "black paintings", and then "copper paintings". In memory of terrible historical events, the cycle of works "Polish villages" is created.

Frank Stella: "You see what you see"

In his works, Stella preferred a black color as the dominant, and in general it was in monochrome, but sometimes he moved away from his traditions and then appeared on the light of work as in the concentric square cycle, in which polychromia and relief appeared.

Frank Stella was awarded the US national medal in the field of art and awards of the International Sculpture Center for Life Achievement.

Elsuworth Kelly (1923-2015) - American artist and sculptor, one of the main representatives of minimalism, hard-edge and painting color field.

For creativity Kelly is characterized by exceptional clarity and simplicity. Clear abstract contours of geometric surfaces are made in intensive color.

At the end of the sixties, he worked as a sculptor, later began to use metal in his works. The artist's work has a number of works in the genres of pop art and surrealism.

" I do not want to draw people. I want to draw what I have never seen before "

Elsuworth Kelly died on December 27, 2015 aged 92 years. He was awarded the US National Medal in the field of arts.

Spanish artist Anton Lamasares (P.1954) expressed his thoughts in the works in deliberately primitive form.

Due to the lack of towels, he used a tree, ribbed cardboard, packaging and varnish. Thus, his personal artistic style was developed at the attention of critics. Initially, he was fond of expressionism, later developed to a kind of minimalism.

At the age of 19, the first time he participated in the exhibition of young artists conducted on the Praza-da-Prical Square in the city of Vigo. Since then, the exhibitions were held a huge number of times in different countries of the world.

The artist's work is stored in numerous well-known cultural institutions, such as Queen Sofia, Galician Center for Contemporary Art, Madrid Museum of Contemporary Art and Museum Marugami Keira in Japan, as well as in many private collections and foundations.

José Esteban Basso

Chilean artist Jose Basso You can call the standard of minimalism. The artist himself calls his style "ritual painting." The pictures of his few, restrained and concise, allow you to relax, relax, without thinking on what they saw. Minimum objects, clean colors, no detail, no texture, only frozen infinity ....

The works of the Master are only positive emotions, filling the viewer with light and heat and allow you to enjoy ease and simplicity, you can safely meditate.

In addition to writing pictures, the artist is also engaged in photography and computer graphics, and of course all these works are also characterized by restraint and a few.

Evolution of flow

Gradually developed such directions of minimalism as neo-minimalism and post-minimalism. For the first characteristic inaccuracy, blurry, and the representatives of the second are distinguished by the desire not so much to convey the idea itself, how much to focus on the method of such a transfer.

Appointment of minimalism

The meaning of this direction in art-in the fight against academism and dogmatism, striving for simplicity, to complete the abandonment of various kinds of excesses in favor of the meaning depth. For this, artists revise existing canons, refuse the previous rules in favor of new ideas for the transfer of color, and also use images of geometric forms.

Minimalism today

Nowadays, the idea of \u200b\u200bminimalism has penetrated various industries, such as interior design, landscape design, clothing design and more. Also, minimalism did not bypass and information technologies, such as web design and software (development of software interfaces). Quite often, we can see the results of the influence of minimalism and in the development of technical solutions, for example, in the automotive industry, in household and engineering techniques.

In their works on the painting of the walls, our studio also sometimes uses the principles of minimalism.

Minimalism in graphic design is a simplification of the composition, focus on an important detail.

Nothing superfluous and many empty space. Basically work performed in this style use 1-2 colors and several shades of these colors. An understandable font does not carry a visual load and uses no more than 2-3 font set.

"Faster than you think" (IT`s Faster Than You Think)

A convenient and attractive site is the basic rule of modern web design. It allows the use of minimalism principles to achieve a good result.

In this article we will tell minimalism in a web design, how to apply it to apply it to be taken into account when developing minimalist interfaces, as well as explain why sometimes "is better smaller, yes better."

Minimalistic design: brief history

Separate web designers mistakenly think about minimalism, first of all, as an aesthetic choice. To avoid this trap, clarify the roots of this movement.

Despite the fact that for design it is a fairly new trend, its main ideas exist for a long time. When discussing minimalistic design, traditional Japanese culture is immediately remembered, which appreciates balance and simplicity. Japanese architecture, interior design, art and graphic design embody minimalism.

"The winning wind. Clear day "Japanese artist Katsusiki hocus (1830). Using simple colors creates a feeling of rest

As a western movement, minimalism began its existence at the beginning of the 20th century. Under the influence of the introduction of modern materials, such as glass and steel, many architects began to use minimalist designs in their buildings. Ludwig Mies van der Roe, German-American architect, was one of the pioneers of the minimalist movement. He is attributed to the first use of the phrase "less - more" to architectural design.

German Pavilion in Barcelona, \u200b\u200bcreated by Ludwig Misa Van der Roe in 1929

The concept "is better smaller, yes better" switched from architecture to other arts and industries: interior and industrial design, painting and music. As the direction of visual design, minimalism became popular in the 1960s, when artists moved to geometric abstraction in painting and sculpture. The artistic movement has found its expression in works related to the school of Bauhaus. One of the famous minimalist artists who influence the movement was Donald Judd, whose works are full of simple forms and color combinations.

In various spheres of fine art, the key principle of minimalism left only a significant part of the function to focus the attention of the recipient, as well as to increase overall elegance. As Donald Judd said: " Form, volume, color, surface is something in itself. It can not be hidden as part of a completely different whole. Forms and materials should not be changed depending on their context».

In his work, Judd was looking for autonomy and clarity for the constructed object and the space created by them

What is "minimalistic web design"?

Today, minimalism is manifested as a powerful technology of modern web design. It became popular against the background of the reaction to the tendency towards an increase in the complexity in design. Visual complexity, as has been proven, affects user-user perception: the more elements in the design, the more difficult it will look for the user. With proper application, minimalism can help us focus our projects on simplifying user tasks. The study conducted by Eyequant suggests that net design leads to a lower failure rate. Minimalism brought additional benefits to websites, such as faster loading and better compatibility with different screen sizes.

Perhaps one of the most famous examples of minimalism in web design is Google Search. Google pays priority to the simplicity of its interfaces since its beta-offer in the 1990s. The homepage is completely designed around the center search function. Everything that does not work for branding is cleaned.

Google's main page has not changed in 15 years

The principle of simplicity can cause a false belief that minimalism is not embossed, but in fact it means much more than just "less." Let's determine the characteristics of minimalism.

Only important

A minimalist web design strategy is simplified interfaces by removing elements and content that do not support the execution of custom tasks. To create a truly minimalist interface, the designer must strictly streamline the elements, showing only the most important of them and discarding everything that distracts users from the main thing (for example, unnecessary decoration). Each element in design, whether it is an image or text, has a goal; It should not be used if it does not introduce additional clarity in the message.

At the same time, make sure that by deleting or hiding unnecessary content, you do not complicate the implementation of the main user tasks. The idea is to make a message more understandable, not hidden. Thus, create a design around the content and leave enough visible elements (for example, the main navigation) in order for users to be lost.

Negative space

It is not surprising that the most common element of minimalism is the absence of elements. Negative, or white, space (Negative / White Space) is a distinguished feature of minimalism, it is it that gives it an impact force. Negative space is just an empty space between visual elements. The presence of empty space means greater emphasis on the elements present. In Japanese culture, there is a "principle MA": the space between objects is perceived as a means of emphasizing the value of these objects.

Although the negative space is often referred to as white, it does not have to be this color. Some sites use full color backgrounds.

The main element of the design associated with minimalism in the consciousness of most people is a negative space.

Visual characteristics

In minimalistic design, each item matters. What you decide to leave is very important.

Flat texture

Minimalism often resorts to flat textures, icons and graphic elements. Flat interfaces do not use obvious light effects, shadows, gradients or other types of textures that could make items look glossy or in 3D format.

Minimalistic visual hierarchy with an emphasis on flat interface elements, is quite common on modern sites

Catchy photos and illustrations

Images are the most notable type of art used in minimalistic design. They provide emotional connections and create a special atmosphere. But the photo or illustration should follow the principles of minimalism. Incorrect image (photo with many details or distracting elements) will level the advantages of the surrounding minimal interface and destroy the integrity of the structure.

All characteristics of minimalism should be expressed in images

Limited color scheme

Color plays a serious role in web design, since it is able to install both informational and emotional relations between the product and the user. Color can create visual interest or achieve attention, without requiring any additional design elements or graphics. Designers seeking minimalism tend to squeeze a maximum of several selected colors and often use only one color (monochrome color scheme).

With a decrease in the incoming visual information, the color palette becomes more noticeable, and its impact on the user rises

Spectacular typography

In addition to color, another major visual element is typography. Bold font instantly concentrates attention in words and content, helping to create an attractive visual effect.

Use the typography to transmit the meaning and creating a visual interest.

Contrast

Since the goal of minimalist design is ease of use, high-contrast textiles. Graphic elements can be a good choice. High contrast can guide the user's attention to important elements and make text more readable.

Often in minimalistic design as an accent is used only one color allocating the most important elements of the page

Best examples

Since minimalist design requires the same level of clarity and functionality as "normal" design, but with a smaller number of items, some problems arise for developers.

Get the presence of one composite center

The philosophy of minimalism is focused on the idea of \u200b\u200bdesign development around the content: the content is the king, and the visual structure should perform a good background for him. The goal is to make the message more clear not only by eliminating distracting factors, but also by concentrating attention on what is important. At the same time, a strong focal area becomes of particular importance.

Follow the rule "One Concept on the page" and focus it around one visual means

Create great expectations using the top of the screen.

The area on the page visible before you need to take any action, encourages users to explore the site further. To guarantee such a development of events, you need to provide an interesting intriguing content. Place a significant content at the top of the screen, surrounding it with a sufficient white space, and then, as you scroll down, increase the saturation of the page content.

This looks like the main page of the Apple site above the fold line.

Write capacious texts

Remove unnecessary. Your text should include only the minimum of the words needed for an adequate report of your message.

Get rid of all unnecessary words.

Simplify navigation (but do not hide it)

Minimalism should be simple. One thing that simplifies the user experience is the opportunity to easily and silently cope with the tasks. The most promoting this factor is intuitive navigation. But the navigation in the minimalist interface is a serious problem: in an attempt to delete all unnecessary elements and streamline content developers partially or completely hide navigation. The menu icon, unfolding a complete list of items, remains a popular choice of many professionals, especially in minimalist web design and mobile user interfaces (User Interface, UI). This often leads to a low detectability of navigation elements. Take the hidden navigation of this site:

Quite often simple, minimalist user interfaces carry a hidden complexity. In this case, the basic default navigation parameters are hidden

Compare with constantly affordable navigation of this site:

In most cases, constantly visible navigation is better for users.

Remember that simple navigation is always one of the main web design purposes. If you create sites in the spirit of minimalism, make sure that visitors can easily find what they need.

Use functional animation

Like any other element, the animation must follow the principles of minimalism: it should be implemented fine and only when necessary. Good animation has meaning and functionality. For example, you can use animation to save on-screen spaces (showing hidden items when hovering the cursor). Animation in the example below adds detectability elements and makes the usual task more interesting:

Animation makes interaction with the site more dynamic.

Use minimalism in Landding and Portfolio

Although in general, the philosophy of minimalistic design-oriented design is applicable to each site, sometimes this aesthetics may be inappropriate. Minimalism is well suited for creating portfolio of sites and lending, pursuing quite simple goals and having a relatively small amount of content. Portfolio Marie Laurent is a typical example of the fact that many designers would call a minimalistic site.

At the same time, the use of minimalism to a more complex site can be difficult. The absence of important elements may harm the site rich in content (low information density causes the user to scroll further in search of content). The best solution will be the creation of a lending in the taste of minimalism leading to more detailed pages.

Conclusion

Minimalistic sites have a simple interface from which unnecessary elements and content that do not support the implementation of custom tasks. What inspires in such design, this is a combination of ease of use and high aesthetics: a beautiful site with simple navigation is a powerful tool for communication.

What to do if your corridor is so narrow that a wardrobe, chest or even a wardrobe is placed there? Of course, you can accept and leave the space not involved, but you can show a little fantasy, and play with the shape and color of the wall, turning it into some functional space.

So, we need the entrance hall to look beautiful and was functional. The task is not the lungs, but we have imagination!

The deaf wall that we have is a wonderful material for work. Just just a creative look at the problem of planning space. To begin with, we need to divide it into several parts. You can do it with color, light, as well as various hangers and hooks. The hangers can use non-standard, for example, as shown in the picture, use paintings with black and white drawings on which to fix hooks for clothes. It will look spectacular and quite functional. Preference in our minimalistic design is better to give the black and white range of colors, because it is ideal for small spaces.

The horizontal band in the form of a photo hanger will be our main decorative element, and the main guide in our design. In the middle of the corridor, it is better to make the main recess on which you can hang a major frame with a photo or LCD monitor. Below the bands from the photos can be symmetrically place the shelves on which we will fold various trifles. And under the shelves you can place stylish boxes for shoes.

A good element of the design of our corridor will be magnetic boards that can be taught next to the door. They can leave the keys, as well as attach reminders of important dates or cases.

An excellent addition to our interior can be electrical lamps made in the form of metal pipes. They will not only give extra light in the corridor, but will be able to vertically distinguish its space that give the interior to the unique atmosphere.

This design will have to taste all lovers of simplicity and modernity. However, it can be improved according to your taste, show a little imagination, experiment with the details and colors and create your own design masterpiece in the corridor.

PR: Wait ... L: Wait ... CY: Wait ...

Minimalism arose in the 1960s in America. Over time, this style has undergone changes, but is still popular. Pictures, clothing, interiors ... It can be found everywhere. Today we will talk about minimalism in graphic design.

Today, minimalism, as a style in graphic design, is not yet able to compete with other abstract and loaded styles (grunge, vintage, pop art, etc.) Because It is not extensively used, but in the near future, minimalism can catch up and even overtake some styles, since people have already "retracted" abstract and bright, bulky and loaded graphic materials.

Minimalism criteria

So, what is minimalism directly in graphic design? This simplification of the composition, the use of free space in their works, focus only on the main details and their allocation, simple presentation of the subject, conditions, products.

Ergonomics / Yuzabiti
Minimalism affects such criteria as ergonomics, i.e. The use of smaller to create the desired composition, compliance with the relationship between the subject elements (for example: 2 and more different elements in the illustration), creative work (for example: graphic execution of several goods of one manufacturer in one material), etc.

If you speak available, then this is: the right and simple use of just necessary - removing everything more superfluous (or without making it at all) we get free space. The correct statement of free space in the work and gives ergonomics, does not distract and concentrates on the desired one. In other words, we get usability in the work.

Well, think about the design elements, it is better to pay attention to one element than the "bed" ten.

Using color

Color in minimalist graphic work is an important criterion, namely the color contributes to perception. Often, 1-2 main colors are used for one job and several shades of selected colors. More often used, black, gray and yellow colors, as well as their many shades. But this is not a rule, no one does not limit the use of only classic colors.

Sometimes, reading various articles about minimalism in design, have to observe the statements of people, which should be hard to limit the palette to black and white colors. In my opinion, this is a misconception, in this direction you can use any colors, the main observance of the composition (themes or assignments) with selected colors.

Font and text / typography

The typography is also a rather important criterion of minimalist design. Here the choice of font set depends on the subject or purpose of work. The font must be meaningful, visually affordable and not to carry a visual load. It is advisable to use no more than 2-3 font sets (for example: 1. Title, 2. Text, 3. Followers and copywrites; or 1. Title, 2. Slogan, 3. Text).

In general, the use of typography directly in minimalism (graphic design) is quite flexible, you can choose not a standard font, make an accent as an increase in the necessary text, increase the indents, etc. But in this case, the main correct selection to the subject and the conclusion of the text in the composition. I, for example, give more preference to standard fonts (Arial, Helvetica, Garamond, Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Times) with a change in the desired parts (let's say in illustrations or printing). I like strict use of the font. In general, everything depends on the theme or direction of work and the headset may be different.

The main thing is to limit ourselves to the amount of font set, the correct positioning of the text in the work (placement, position, indentation, the ratio to other elements).

Conclusion by criteria

It is worth noting: the composition without unnecessary elements (only necessary), the use of free space, the choice of color (s), based on themes or working conditions. Less pedrying colors (it is better to use strict or soft colors / tones / shades), less than the number of colors suitable to the themes or working conditions The font headset, less than the amount of fonts used, giving the accent font (size, indents, positioning and placement, the ratio with other elements ), the correct position of the elements and the allocation of important details.

From myself I will say that there is a vision of minimalism in the imagination, and everyone can be their own. The minimalist direction has no standards, the main thing is to avoid superfluous, use less and maintain functionality. Those. Simple work with the desired effect (advertising, illustration, cover, etc.).

Even if it is impossible to remove excess elements from work - it is possible not to use the style of minimalism, but its properties: with the help of free space, the necessary colors and font accents can be allocated (filed) the main parts of the work, thereby removing unnecessary items to the back plan ...

Examples of minimalism in graphic design branches

Well, now it is worth looking at minimalist-style work by industry of graphic design.

Packaging Design (Products)

Here is an example of simplifying packaging design - creation in a minimalist style.

Printing: posters

Graphic posters (posters) to the films in the style of minimalism.

Printing: book covers

Graphic execution of book covers in minimalist style.

Illustrations / Computer Wallpaper

Minimalism in computer graphics, namely in the design of wallpaper for desktop OS.

We transferred to you an interesting note by the author Thenextweb Amber Lee Turner, which tells about the origins of the appearance of a flat design, about how it changes the interfaces now and what is waiting for a flat style in the future.

If you are at least a little interested in graphic design, they could not but hear about the term "flat design". This direction at first appeared on the web a few years ago, and recently the flat design "shot" and became superpopular due to large companies that began to actively use flat design.

But where did this most flat design come from? And why do we watch it on the Internet? Like everything in design, knowledge of the history of this style will help you make more informed solutions when using flat design.

Let's see what is a flat design, which designer trends of the past have influenced it and find out how it has become so popular.

What is flat design?

Those of you who are not familiar with the value of flat design should know that a flat design is such a style in the design, in which the elements are deprived of any stylistic features and they do not look like the embodiment of real objects (so-called skiomorphism).

From a non-professional point of view, a flat design is deprived of such elements as gradients, shadows, textures that are designed to make items more voluminous and realistic.

Today it seems that designers are very much to flat design, because it is perceived as fresh and modern and allows you to focus on what is the most important: content and messenger.

Getting rid of all kinds of stylistics, designers make their projects more long-playing and now the use of flat design is the most correct strategy.

But this does not mean that other styles are not taken into account at all. Often, to designate the opposite flat style, the term "rich design" is used, which is characterized by the presence of a large number of all sorts of decorations - squeaks, reflections, shadows, gradients. "Rich design" is used to make things more "tactile", more convenient for users looking through the website and using mobile applications.

It is important to understand that "rich design" is not the same as skewerphism. Skvomorphism involves conscious use of physical analages of those or other elements (Tublings, buttons, skin textures, and so on) so that they look familiar to users.

Where did the flat design go?

Most of what we see now on the Internet or digital world, comes from printed and artistic ancestors. While it is difficult to say when the era of a flat design was started and where its origins, but there are several explicit periods in design and art, from where the inspiration is inhales.

Swiss style

Swiss style (sometimes called international typographic style) is the first inspiration source for flat design, which comes to mind, so it is worth staying on it in more detail.

Swiss design is mainly focused on the use of guide grids, typography without serifs (the so-called "grotesque" - approx. Per.) And a clear content hierarchy and design. Within the 40s and 50s, Swiss design could often be found in many photos as an element of design.

The typography is one of the key elements of the Swiss style and here it is impossible not to mention the Helvetica font headset, which also appeared in Switzerland in 1957 and is actively used to this day.

It is interesting to observe how the flat design was used even before it was introduced into their workings Microsoft and Apple and made it popular, because the Swiss style can be traced even in Germany of the 20s of the 20th century. At that time, he became very popular and its elements were used by the famous German school Bauhauses - art lovers will not give to sit that in Bauhauz, a large focus is on the typography, which has a lot in common with the Swiss style.

Minimalism

A huge impact on a flat design can be found in the history of minimalism. Today, the term "minimalism" is often used along with a flat design, but minimalism was popular long before the appearance of a flat design. Minimalism has its long traditions in architecture, visual art, design.

Minimalism has a rich history and covers various types of art, but where the flat design is now dominant, it is often used that elements of minimalism. Such elements of minimalism, as strict geometric shapes, bright colors, clear lines are used in flat design.

One of the most famous works of art in the style of minimalism is this picture of Iva Klein "Blue Epoch":

It is safe to say that a mixture of Swiss style and minimalism has greatly influenced the flat design and the modern appearance of the digital world.

Flat design from Microsoft and Apple

The story is repeated and the same is true for flat design. As we learned above, the flat elements could be found in the 20s of the XX century.

Pretty many single designers worked with a flat design, however, Microsoft and Apple did it so popular. Well, let's talk about them.

Microsoft and Metro interface

Microsoft began working with a flat design long before the Metro interface appears. In the mid-2000, Microsoft has released a competitor to the iPod - the Player Zune (I am sure some of you will still remember this name - ed. Ed.).

The same Zune from Microsoft - look into the interface, nothing reminds?

It is with the release of Zune a unique designer style appeared, the focus in which was made on a large typography. Zune software design was sharply different from most Microsoft software products of that time. After all, Windows Phone 7 came out only at the end of 2010 and the design of this mobile operating system took a lot from the Zune interface. Large and bright shapes based on mesh guide, typography without sites (grotesque), flat icons.

This Microsoft interface will soon call Metro

Such a design has become so popular that Microsoft has released a Windows 8 desktop, which is based on the Metro interface. Clear square shapes, focus on typography, bright colors - all this moved to personal computers. The same interface is used in almost all Microsoft products, including XBOX 360.

As Apple shook the skiomorphism

Despite the fact that Microsoft has long worked on the flat interface, Apple also had trumps in the sleeve. At first, Apple hints slightly slightly on what is going to abandon Skvomorphism, and with the Announcement of iOS 7 in June 2013 it became clear - Cuppertinovtsy decided to firmly use flat design.

As Apple had many adepts at that time, the exit "flat" iOS 7 made this designer style popular than ever. And it happened in extremely short time (there is a quick transition from iOS 6 to iOS 7 - approx. Ed.).

Apple's aesthetics has greatly influenced the design of mobile applications and websites, because most designers finally began to consider this style the most modern and appropriate. When Apple moved to a flat style, the skiorphism is instantly outdated and a huge number of sites and applications urgently needed redesign.

It is well traced on mobile applications that seriously changed their design and interface to meet IOS 7 standards. And this allowed users relatively quickly to get used to flat iOS 7.

Adaptive design

It is also worth noting that one of the reasons why the flat design has become such popular, the so-called "adaptive design" became the so-called "adaptive design". With the development of Internet technologies, users of various devices began to enter the network - and first of all, from mobile. This forced designers to use Responsive Design so that sites are equally well looked like on full-fledged computers and smartphones and tablets. And designers used many "flat" elements when developing adaptive sites.

Flat style allows web design to be more efficient. Without unnecessary interface elements, sites are loaded faster, giving the user the ability to focus on content.

It also well corresponds to the tendency to increase the resolution of mobile devices. It is much easier to display clear and simple forms and typography than to download heavy-handed images each time, which look different on different screen resolutions.

Future flat design

Of course, we have no glass bowl that predicts the future, but it is quite obvious that a flat design, like everything else, is intense and subsequently, it will be replaced by some other style. After all, the flat design has obvious shortcomings and designers will experiment and further that in the end will lead to the emergence of a new dominant style that will leave flat design in the deep past.

In this regard, it is interesting to observe what kind of design work is now done in Google. On the one hand, there are many flat elements in their applications, but they did not refuse to go to Google from many elements of the skiomorphism - for example, they still use shadows. Apparently, the "Corporation of Good" wants to take the best from each of the styles and create their own, unique style.

Now the flat design is perceived as an exciting fashion trend, and this is definitely important milestone in the history of the design. But do not forget that in many respects, flat design is only the reincarnation of the Swiss style and minimalism in the new digital world.