10 Steps On How To Create A Minimalist Product Design

Created by Kevin Lau | https://www.behance.net/gallery/120252231/Design-of-pet-feeder

Have you ever thinking what makes people want to buy an over-the-counter product? The majority of the customer might consider the brand or product popularity they have known before. But other than that, the item appearance design is one of the biggest principles that affect their choices. It includes the use of visual components in the product design. 

Product design itself can appear in varying ways. Based on its industry and business, the process of creating product design involves a complex multi-step process. It includes a great length of style possibilities, such as the minimalist one. Nailing the concept itself is not the easiest part. Take a look at the following minimalist product design step to do the best project.  

1. Find Minimalist Product Design References

The first step every product designer needs to take is brainstorming. Whether you are already securing a deal or trying to explore it, brainstorming will demand you to work with many references. In this case, you got to try finding as much minimalist design as possible. See and learn how the product implements the unique concept for their brand. 

However, to ensure you are not getting overwhelmed, try to limit your option. You can work or learn from the same industry or business product design. Or you can also explore different industry but has certain limitation, such as the target audience. However, you can also work with a minimalist design easier if you use three phases of brainstorming. 

It highlights the sense that you are not only looking at many references but also getting the idea for your minimalist product model project. The first thing that you need to do is to learn about the problem. What are the concept and the client's needs? After that, you can get as many as idea generation from the references. 

The idea generation stage involves your fullest ability to be creative. You have to voice almost every idea that comes to mind. The stimulation itself came from the references. Thus, ensure you got the right minimalist example to avoid losing in popularity. One thing that is important in this part is the number of your ideas. The more, the merrier. 

As you can get the ideas, it is possible to create a distinctive minimalist product design at a later stage. You are free to experiment, even though it is such a random uncommon design. As time goes, you will eventually combine, improve, and alter the initial ideas anyway. So, be smart and curious for more stimulus. 

It is also important to note that you are working with minimalist style. It does not mean your references are limited to muted tone or simplistic monotone design. You got a lot of samples to spare. So, be welcome on every idea. After you get some ideas, continue to the next stage. 

Created by inDare Innovation | https://www.behance.net/gallery/130233843/Jornee-baby-camera

2. Ask Your Client About The Design Requirement

With some of the random designs in mind and references floating on your head, you got to decide to choose the most viable one. How to do it? The best one to eliminate and pick the most viable ideas proposed is by referring to your client's design requirement. The majority of this step will require the client to tell all of their preferences for the project. 

You can show your brainstorming result and see your client's response. It is the time where you need to welcome every single criticism or appreciation. You also need to ask a lot during this stage. Ensure you got all of the requirements for the minimalist product design project because it determines the direction for further development. 

So, what kind of details that you need to dig out? When talking about product requirements, you can ask some number of general expectations. The process to learn about it can completely go beyond your ideas since the client might have a different perspective or vision about the minimalist product details. So, prepare yourself to get a lot of information. 

To make it easier, you can create an abstract list. Again, the expectation or requirement can be completely random. It is especially true if your client has no idea about the minimalist concept or product design project at all. All you need to remember is that the purpose of this step is to determine direction, not the exact guideline.  

Created by ECH Creative Agency | https://www.behance.net/gallery/131436861/N-Mini-Notebook-Bundle

3. Clearly Understand The Design Brief

How can you work further if you have no guidelines for the minimalist product design? At the previous step, your focus is to learn the client's expectations to define the right path. After you get a general idea, it is time to determine a more detailed guideline. The guideline that you will work with is the design brief. 

Design brief gives you almost every piece of pieces to work with. It tells about the product details, business, brand identity, the target audience, and many more. There are ranges of details that will support you pick the best minimalist element. At some point, you can also learn about the vision and the brand identity of the brand. 

Thus, you got the chance to make a definite and meaningful product design. Not only explain design-related information, but the client project brief is also your work information. It may contain some of the grounding specifications about the deadline, the budget, expectation, goals, objective, to the do and don't aspects.

Even though the minimalist concept might do not require a lot of elements, but the concept is not easy to pull. It has some pinpoints that make it minimalist yet charming. If you can blend the mindset and the client's preference, then you got a high chance to nail the project. 

Created by AIDA Pioneer | https://www.behance.net/gallery/131517219/22-Akvavit

4. Think About The Silhouette Or Shape of The Product

One thing that you might have to consider is not to see the minimalist style with tunnel vision. The concept of doing less is more can be adapted and altered in the varying type of product design. Thus, it does not mean it requires to be in the primary shapes. Which means you can go beyond a simple circle or square. 

When it comes to silhouette and shape in minimalist style, you are working with serving a specific purpose. In other words, if it needs some element, then so be it. It highlights the fact that being minimalist does not mean lacking. It serves all of the vital spots while still taking the minimal number of elements. And you should consider it for the minimalist product design.

If you think the minimalist style will not stand out, you got a whole wrong idea. The simplicity and minimalist design are constantly loved in modern society. In many cases, the project can come with some innovative details. You can find that some product still stands and look modern in today's world, such as using simple geometric shapes to make domes. 

The best idea that you need to jot down is to not sacrifice usability to a defined look. Minimalist style can look like a killer design that stands out in the crowd with good arrangement. So, try your best to serve the best core purpose. You can do the same for the visual element in your product design. 

It means that you make an emotional connection through the use of aesthetic points. The central visual point brings out the sophistication point, which is one of the best possible designs you can opt-in this concept. In practice, the purpose stands as the most vital center of product development. Even with a minimal look, you can still create outstanding work.  

Created by Marka Works | https://www.behance.net/gallery/132616907/Thompson-CBD-Branding

5. Consider The Packaging Design

Another part of product design is the packaging. In today's world, you can almost every piece of item comes with its designated packaging. The idea is that it does create not only a prestigious statement but also increases credibility. This is where your skill in creating minimalist design is challenged. 

Surprisingly, a simple and minimalist product design is one of the ongoing trends nowadays. The KISS (keep it simple, stupid) principle highlights that you can work with easy and direct design to make people understand. The principal hit the right target. You are who are working with minimalists should consider the idea. 

The mantra of less is more turns into a compromising tactic. It is attractive, to the point, and easy to spot. However, if you are going to design the box itself, you need to emphasize some points. Your product design should look either elegant, sophisticating, or pure. With that in mind, there are some of the tips to work around it. 

The visual appearance came from graphic elements, typeface, copy, and color. However, you can also work around the material, shape, and model. Clear or see-through packaging is one of the minimalist designs that create excitement. People can take a sneak peek on the inside, which later enhances the unboxing experience. 

Not only that, the see-through panel help create a sense of minimal but also sophisticating. It is also possible to customize the see-through panel to fit your client's brand. Thus, you can highlight some of the elements of the product. Being minimalist can also appear from the material, which is cheap or 1005 recyclable. 

A kraft boxes for example. It fit with the current bandwagon ideas and is also aesthetically pleasing. The old-style design help create an impression with its minimal copy and sustainable material. If you are looking for a simpler approach, display what is needed or show what is inside. That is, the more relevant it is, the simpler it is.  

Created by Lisa Amiryan | https://www.behance.net/gallery/130787907/Ether-Cosmetics-Packaging-design

6. Get Yourself a Perfect Minimalist Typeface

The best font that hit the right minimalist style is the clean, uncomplex, plus straightforward one. It should be readable and easy to recognize. As part of the visual element, your text and typeface is your communication tool. Simple forms help deliver the message as well as tell the product details directly. 

This is where you need to pay attention to what kind of typeface to use. It is especially true since some packaging or the product might have smaller space to work with. So, what should you do? Choosing the best font for minimalist product design can be tricky. But, you can always refer back to the fundamental fonts. Do you want sans serif, serif, script, or ornamental? 

Some fonts might exude different styles and impressions. So, refer back to your client's design requirement or brief before choosing one. The key is to make sure it is suitable for the brand, function, target, and goal. You can play around with the color or hierarchy as well. Thus, you can emphasize the focal information on the minimalist product. 

It is also important to pay attention to legibility. Many products fail to pull off minimalist due to the inability to incorporate readable text. They might look too small, too tight, or too transparent. So, choose your font design carefully. For some of the best-recommended typefaces, you can check out our list below. 

Created by LogoBuy | https://creativemarket.com/LogoBuy/2309941-Orborn-Round-Futuristic-Font

Created by Ellen Luff | https://creativemarket.com/EllenLuff/5342124-Larken-A-Beautiful-Serif

Created by Greg Nicholls | https://creativemarket.com/helloimgreg/1465426-Westmount-6-Sans-Serif-Fonts

7. Use Suitable Minimalist Graphic Elements

There are ranges of ways you can add graphic elements in product design. Some famous brands use simplistic and minimalist approaches to highlight their focal point. Whether it is an image, logo, or typeface, using minimalist means elevating the recognizability. However, one of the best tricks in the minimalist graphic element is the logo. 

When it comes to this project, the logo is a must. You cannot miss this particular element since it is part of the brand identity. Depending on your logo model and product identity, the position and detailing can differ. The most prominent idea is to put the logo on a plain background. So, it can maintain the focal focus. 

Sometimes, using some high-end material such as gold foil stamping for the logo can add more recognition. Not only that, the simplistic approach will make people remember your design easily. It is identifiable and also appears distinctive from the others. But not only the logo. There are also cases that you add images for your minimalist product design. 

In this case, try to choose a graphic that is suitable for the product. Referring to the already made or known brand identity is one of the best options. Maybe the client uses many leaves for their product identity, then do so. It is not only making it uniform but also relatable. Here are some of the minimalist graphic elements that might give you some inspiration.  

Created by Twinbrush Image Forge | https://creativemarket.com/Twinbrush/2940056-Seamless-Geometric-Patterns-Bundle

Created by Vanzyst | https://creativemarket.com/Vanzyst/1766835-100-geometric-shapes.-Part-2

Created by Marietta.co | https://creativemarket.com/Marietta.co/5222222-500-Boho-Geometric-Elements

8. Create Balance Between Texts & Graphics

No matter what kind of style or design you are trying to nail, it better has balance. In the case of minimalist product design, your text and graphic should be at least 50-50. However, it is only applied to those who are trying to add images to it. If you don't, then you better not at all. When you want to add an image, it means you add another layer of attention. 

It means your audience could either focus on the image, the text, or both of them. The best thing that you need to achieve during the minimalist project is balance. So, you can captivate them with images and get all the necessary information through the copy. This is where you need to know how to eliminate some superfluous, unnecessary details.   

Created by NiceLab Studio | https://www.behance.net/gallery/131955315/nesia-clothing-package-design-nesia

9. Use Minimal Color (2 or 3 colors)

The key point of the minimalist concept is minimal and simple. The best possible outcome you can reach is to use 2 or 3 colors pick. Try to make brand shades of color that represent the client's product or business. It likely helps customers to translate the correlation between your final plan with the other goods.

With a minimalist design, your color selection is not only the warm, mute, or monochrome tone. You can play with others too. White is often used for minimalist product packaging since it exudes positivity and purity. However, you are free to use others. Bright colors are not a bad idea, especially if you are trying to create a specific standing in the crowds.  

Created by Kati Forner | https://www.behance.net/gallery/130079425/WeNatal

10. Present The Products to Your Clients Or Use Minimalist Product Mockups

In this phase, you are going to present the outcome to your clients. When talking about presentation, you need to refer to the budget details and requirements. The idea is that you might need to put some cost to create a prototype. The product prototype involves material, detailing, print, etc. even though it is a minimalist concept, the production is not cheap.

When you find that the minimalist product design project has enough budget for a prototype, then do so. It helps a lot to see the flaws and the good in the real object. However, if the budget is straining, you can use a mockup. There are many templates that you can use to showcase the final design. Some mockups even come in different themes, locations, or ideas. Try it!

Created by Paul Lee | https://www.behance.net/gallery/130323705/HOMER

Conclusion

To conclude, creating a product design with a minimalist concept demands more than just a simple picture or black and white details. It should come with purpose and goals. Thus, no matter how simple or minimal the feature is, it can still serve the focal usage. At the same time, it is also vital to pay attention to your color, typeface, images, and packaging plan.