Minimalist Web Design & Color
The term minimalism is used to describe a trend in design and architecture where in the subject is reduced to its necessary elements. For website designers minimalism can be intimidating and difficult to master. Good minimal design is more than white backgrounds and text-centered design — it requires the same balance, elegance, and purpose that good web design does. A minimal design draws attention to the text, fonts and images. Most importantly the content is readable. A great design may look fantastic, but it can distract from what is written on the website. Magazines and news websites use minimalist designs to help manage large volumes of text and improve readability. Designers, artists, and photographers also like to use minimalist sites for their portfolios because of the attention of the viewer focuses on their work. Comparable to a fine art gallery with plain white walls and high ceilings, a minimalist template allows every image to ‘own’ its space and occupy the visitors mind without competition.
Less Is More
“Less is more” is probably the most well-known catch phrase of the minimalist movement. It was popularized by architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in Describing the Minimalist Aesthetic. In Web design, less is more is achieved by using only elements that are necessary to a given design. This requires restraint, which is easier said then done.
Whitespace or ‘Negative space’ in Minimalist Design
‘“Whitespace,” or “negative space” is the space between elements in a composition. A minimalist design only displays the bare minimum. Hence the designer has much more whitespace to work with. Working with and properly distributing the extra whitespace can help the readability of a site even more. Prominent whitespace, balanced correctly with the content, can transform a layout into a clean, elegant, fresh design. Of course, this forces the content to be of higher quality. The average user spends less then 60 seconds on a website. That leaves them only enough time for headlines, featured images, and bold text (at the most). But on a minimalist site it takes the user less time to see more things. Devoid of graphics and textures, the content becomes very important. Poor content will hurt traffic MUCH more on minimalist site then a standard layout.
Minimalist Color Schemes
Minimalist color schemes hardly ever have more then one color, if it has a color at all.
The background is usually white or a very pale solid with no texture. Text is usually black or dark gray. This is an example of a minimalist portfolio site for Offset Media (http://offsetmedia.co.uk/). 
The scheme is mostly white, gray and dark gray and the colors are only used as light accents.
How to Clean Up a Website Design by Using Less Color
Aesthetics are important, but the most important factor when creating a website is legibility and ease of use (usability). Minimizing a website’s use of distracting colors and patterns can enhance both legibility and usability. As a web designer you may come across the over-exuberant client who wants all sorts of moving images, flashing text, patterns, bright colors, and other unprofessionally ‘loud’ design elements. Even more commonly you’ll come across a client who has a particular sports or animal obsession. Naturally they are inclined to want colors and images that refer to their sports team or zebra fetish, even if it has nothing to do with the message or subject of his or her website. As a designer you need to thwart their desires and explain to them that everyone else does not have the same taste or favorite sports team. Unless the site is about a particular sports team or about zebras, you can alienate customers by over emphasizing on a client’s specific likes and taste. The same goes for the designer. If you are the designer and you really like lime green, it doesn’t mean every site you design for someone else needs to have lime green. Only use a color or scheme because it RELATES TO THE SUBJECT AND MESSAGE of the website.
Conclusion
Minimalist design is my personal biggest challenge. I tend to throw everything on a ‘canvas’ then start taking things away until I’m left with something clean and coherent. Everyone has his or her own method. Every designer has his or her own flair. However, EVERY designer can attempt, and if desired, to master minimalist design. The better the foundation or skeleton of the design, the better the final result will be.
