What better way to showcase your products than by giving them the stage?

This is the concept behind a growing trend in e-commerce web design – going minimal.

In the past many online stores took the opposite approach to design. Sites were often cluttered with information, fonts and colors were overwhelming, and sites were quite simply “over-designed”.

Now, many sites are ditching models, crazy colors and fonts, and fancy photography for the simplistic style of just showcasing their products. It’s a trend that is taking over much of the web (not just e-commerce) with the emergence of responsive design models. More designers are embracing the trend that simpler can be better, while focusing on readability and usability.

The result is a better experience for online shoppers, with cleaner interfaces, text that is easier to read and interfaces that are simpler, faster and more user-friendly. This trend is about more than just design, it creates a better overall experience.

Think about the success of Apple and its online store. Simple and direct can equal sales. Here, we take a look at the trend, companies that are doing it well and tips for making it work for you.

The Trend

More and more companies are ditching lots of color, models and movement on their websites in favor of more minimal design schemes.

Background patterns are more subtle — or have been ditched completely in favor of a simple black or white background — typography is simple and direct and photography of products is emphasized. But why?

Using a simple design scheme allows a brand to show off its products. There is no guessing what is being sold because everything is clearly defined. This counteracts the movement of the past where brands pushed a certain type of lifestyle or feel over the actual products.

This type of scheme can be less costly. There are no models to pay and with a simple background less pre-design work. A little studio lighting and good photography is all you need to get started.

Focusing less on super-complicated design can give companies more time to focus on the user experience. The top concern for an e-commerce site after all is sales. A site must function well, load quickly and make it easy for customers to find what they want and make a purchase.

E-commerce Design Tips

Aim for dynamic display. Don’t just copy another site. What makes your product unique and special? Play it up in the display.
Your site needs to be readable. Typefaces should be simple and clear. Item numbers, sizes, colors and prices need to be clearly stated and visible. And don’t forget notations for sales or checking out – labeling should be a top priority.

Photography should be direct for product images. Don’t use odd angles or unusual lighting. Shoppers want to see items as clearly as possible. Make sure your photography reflects that. Every photo should be a perfectly accurate representation of the actual item.

Make sure your site is easy to move around and navigate. If it is slow to load or too complicated, shoppers will back away. Include sales and information about your company. Let shoppers know why you are special, unique and deserving of their money.

Every element should be sharp and planned. If an image is subpar or blurry, don’t use it. If a design element works against your product, opt for another technique.

Make shopping easy and fun. The surprise of a site might bring shoppers in but you have to keep them there so if you use a fun gimmick, make subsequent pages easy to navigate and use.

8 Sites Doing it Well

Le Coq Sportif: With a focus on the catalog, you can see a variety of products without having to click a lot. This is great for undecided shoppers and those impulse buyers.

Visual Supply: Super simple format is striking with each product clearly labeled. The red outline around each product as you hover is a nice touch.

Ditto: Glasses made interesting. Because of the simple nature of the product (and site design) it almost feels as if you are comparing items side-by-side.

Neve/Hawk: Simple does not have to be boring. This company uses a great neutral color scheme and simple photography to showcase each item. (They have a pretty dynamic landing page as well.)

Narwhal Co.: The images grab you immediately. They are sharp and colorful. A good, strong image will draw you in every time.

Callaway Golf: Great mood photography sets the tone for each product line, but then products are allowed to stand alone. Images are framed in the same manner from product to product for easy comparison.

MANKINDdog: Great images steal the show. Every product looks spectacular, making the story feel very unique.

Incase: This company does a great job of promotion options without the site feeling cluttered or bulky. Simple photography with buttons that show shoppers what else might be available.

Conclusion

This is a trend that needs to stick around.

Clean design is a great thing. It is even better that companies are really using the concept to showcase what they have to offer.

Putting products against simple backgrounds works well for a number of reasons, but it simply gives the product room to speak for itself and for the consumer to really get a good feel for an item before making a purchase.

From print to mobile and websites, lately we can find textures beautifully applied in every sort of design. You can have a really good result knowing how to implement texture in your work. Sometimes using only a small textured detail in a website is already enough to have a beautiful result. Today we decided to gather a few examples of minimal sites using texture to add detail to their layout. From really subtle and delicate examples to complete textured backgrounds, you will be able to find a lot of inspiration to include texture on your next project, enjoy.

Chimp Chomp

Chimp Chomp decided to use a delicate texture to match their simple and clean style.

Wearable Print

Here we have a very subtle texture giving a nice touch to their minimal design.

Calepino

Calepino gave a nice touch to their layout by using a big main image including wood as texture. The image creates a nice balance to the minimal design.

Give Beyond

A layout based on typography and hand-drawn elements complemented with a nice and beautiful texture.

La Wine

La Wine Agency is using a beautiful and clean texture to match their simple layout, typography based.

The WP Co

Here they use different delicate textures in some sections of the page, it really gives the layout a nice touch.

Oink

Oink is another example of a clean website with a subtle texture to spice up the layout.

Big Bite Creative

Big Bite Creative is using a nice layout based on shapes, typography, colors, images and subtle textures. Really nice choice of colors and contrasts.

New Gotham Designs

A minimal layout using texture in a small section of the page, really nice touch.

One Design Company

A minimalistic black and white design, typography based and textured background.

hanging up the moon

Another beautiful example of a simple layout using a delicate texture to give the page a nice touch.

Fuzzco

Fuzzco is using a minimal design that includes texture in the main image and also in the footer. Beautiful combination and result here, really nice choice.

Gleb Leksikov

Another good example of a subtle texture adding personality to a clean layout.

Tabspresso

Tabspresso has a few elements on their design and they definitely make a beautiful use of colors and textures.

Fueled by Design

The texture usage here gives a nice touch to layout and also centers our attention to a focal point, in the middle of the page.

Gale Recovery

A simple layout making a smooth use of texture.

us

Good example of a minimalistic design that incorporates texture by using images. Here the texture is the paper texture itself, really beautiful.

vnsaga

Subtle background texture visible only on margins and footer.

Headlamp

Headlamp is using a layout based on shapes, typography and a textured background.

Corpus

Another good example of a clean design using a subtle and beautiful textured background.

@twitterstories

Simple and clean layout with textured background.

Instrument

Minimal design making use of a delicate background texture.

Twistedfork – Dan Matutina

A minimalist layout using a small textured detail on its header and also a few textured images. Beautiful!

Work Diary

Clean layout based on images, colors and textures.

Voicebox Creative

Great example of subtle texture usage to give a nice touch to a clean and minimal design.

Source:

The Best Designs
site inspire

Is it just me or is the popularity of mobile devices pushing a new minimalist movement in web design? Web design trends come and go from time to time: the dancing babies, suckerfish menus, rounded corners and ribbons have all graced the web with enthusiastic glee. But these are all more superficial things, style things. There is a movement growing in the web design community for a more minimal web, a user friendly web, a more semantic web where things have a purpose and reason for their existence. And the new mobile revolution is taking us there.

Minimalism is Not Simple

First of all, minimalism isn’t just being simple. Just because a website has a white background, no images and black text doesn’t mean it’s minimal, it means it’s simple. Minimalism is the movement of presenting elements in their fundamental purpose, it doesn’t mean presenting elements in their most simple form for everyone to understand. The primary focus of minimalism is the purpose and presenting that purpose in a clear meaningful way without dumbing it down.

We Eat Differently

Because mobile devices are, well mobile, they make it possible for users to consume info when and where they want, which means they get really impatient when they have to slog through pages of non-useful junk in order to get what they want. Mobile devices are nurturing a user that browses smarter, knows what they want and is more social (and by social I mean they will tweet to their wife to pass the salt from across the table instead of just saying it). Users are demanding a more focused web experience: a web that is more purposeful, more effective, more useful and a web that will no longer waste their time.

Users are now consuming or eating information differently than they used to just a few years ago. Users can now easily reply to emails, read the latest Wilco album review and tweet about it all while comfortably sitting on their couches, with no mouse or keyboard. The touch screen revolution has made internet consumption fun again – that same feeling you got in ’95 after you loaded your AOL disk and waiting for your modem to connect.

The sheer restrictions of mobile devices (small screen sizes, smaller bandwidth, slower connection speeds) are pushing for a more minimalist web. In order to design a website to be useful to mobile devices it now must respond better to them. Sites now have to be fast to accommodate slower connections and be able to adjust to changing screen sizes.

Just Design Better, Gees

So I guess the real question is – How do I achieve this new minimalism? Well, design better. No seriously, the days of poorly executed web sites and apps are over (unless you don’t care about success). No more can you simply just throw together an idea and wait for the Brink’s truck to roll up in your driveway. You need to design a more purposeful, more effective, more useful and more timely web site if you want it to succeed.

Have a Purpose

Before you whip out Photoshop and turn on your 960 grid layout layer – whip out your sketchbook, notepad or pile of sticky notes and clear up the goals for both, the owner and user. Make sure you focus the majority of your design time on the purpose and not on a clever logo that plays on the long domain name. The purpose of the website should be the very first thing – the focal point – the user is presented with and if you design for the purpose rather than the flash you will always maintain control over your design and hopefully your user.

Be Effective

Make effective use of important aspects of the design from color to typography to negative space. Too much color, not enough color, colors that are too bright or not bright enough are all distractions to the user of a mobile device. Use color where it is needed to make the most impact or to drive the purpose home.

Lots of images and icons are a bad idea for mobile devices as well. They take time to load and can be inconvenient to view on smaller screens, so make effective use of type. Well thought out typography can easily replace the meaning of any image and will be easily understood by the user.

Proper negative space (or white space) around text, buttons and links will allow the design to breathe and not be so cluttered. Cluttered site with small print and no negative space are extremely hard to view on mobile devices so make effective use of padding and margins in order to make the user comfy. Don’t worry about cramming everything onto the screen, with one swipe of the finger the user can easily view the entire page.

Make It Useful

Think about how the user will actually use the site when designing, instead of putting up hurdles and stumbling blocks for the user (like my pet peeve: too many options) design your site with an easy, clear path. If the user is able to quickly interact with the site and get where they need to go in one glance, chances are they will stick around to discover more.

And when the user does stumble a bit, make sure your site is ready to catch them and plop them right back on the path. Your design should not make the user feel dumb when they make a mistake, it should provide polite and direct feedback whenever the user interacts with a button, a form or even a slide show.

Quit Wasting People’s Time

Because mobile devices are minimalist creatures by nature, users will be able to consume more with less. Remove all the extra stuff that is not necessary to the overall goals of the site so that users don’t get lost in the jungle. Minimalism is not just being simple or plain, minimalism is a movement of presenting elements in their fundamental purpose, mobile is a movement of consuming content in its fundamental form.