Minimalism

Minimalism

"Less is more. Remove until nothing is left but the essential."

When to Use

Use this sub-style when the user's request matches the aesthetic described above. This is a child reference of the design-it skill and is not meant to be triggered directly.

Core Principles

1. Extreme Whitespace: Margins and padding should be double what you initially think is appropriate.
2. Strict Typography: Rely on font weights and sizes to establish hierarchy, not colors or boxes.
3. Absence of Decor: No borders, no drop shadows, no background textures.

Visual DNA

• Colors: Best paired with Minimalist Slate or Modern Editorial palettes. Backgrounds must be absolute (pure or off-white/black).
• Typography: Sans-serif, geometric. (e.g., Inter, Helvetica Neue, SF Pro). Use extreme contrast in weights (Thin vs Black).
• Spacing: Use a generous baseline grid (e.g., multiples of 8px, heavily favoring 48px to 120px padding).

Web Implementation

• Use Flexbox/Grid with large gap properties.
• CSS Example:

.minimal-container {
  max-width: 800px;
  margin: 0 auto;
  padding: 120px 24px;
  background-color: var(--bg-primary);
}
.minimal-title {
  font-size: 3rem;
  font-weight: 300;
  letter-spacing: -0.02em;
  margin-bottom: 48px;
}
.minimal-btn {
  background: transparent;
  border: 1px solid var(--text-primary);
  padding: 16px 32px;
  text-transform: uppercase;
  letter-spacing: 0.1em;
  transition: all 0.3s ease;
}

App Implementation

SwiftUI

struct MinimalView: View {
    var body: some View {
        ScrollView {
            VStack(alignment: .leading, spacing: 48) {
                Text("Headline")
                    .font(.system(size: 34, weight: .light))
                    .tracking(-0.5)
                
                Text("Body text sits quietly with generous space around it. Let the content breathe.")
                    .font(.system(size: 17, weight: .regular))
                    .foregroundColor(.secondary)
                    .lineSpacing(6)
                
                // Minimal button — just a thin border, no fill
                Button(action: {}) {
                    Text("Continue")
                        .font(.system(size: 14, weight: .medium))
                        .tracking(1.5)
                        .textCase(.uppercase)
                        .padding(.horizontal, 32)
                        .padding(.vertical, 16)
                        .overlay(
                            RoundedRectangle(cornerRadius: 0)
                                .stroke(Color.primary, lineWidth: 1)
                        )
                }
            }
            .padding(.horizontal, 24)
            .padding(.vertical, 80)
        }
        .background(Color(.systemBackground))
    }
}

• Use VStack(spacing: 40...64) for generous separation between elements.
• Never use .shadow() or Card-like containers. Let whitespace define grouping.
• Use Divider() sparingly — only when two adjacent sections need separation.

Flutter

class MinimalScreen extends StatelessWidget {
  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Scaffold(
      backgroundColor: Colors.white,
      body: SingleChildScrollView(
        padding: const EdgeInsets.symmetric(horizontal: 24, vertical: 80),
        child: Column(
          crossAxisAlignment: CrossAxisAlignment.start,
          children: [
            Text(
              'Headline',
              style: TextStyle(
                fontSize: 34,
                fontWeight: FontWeight.w300,
                letterSpacing: -0.5,
                color: Colors.black87,
              ),
            ),
            const SizedBox(height: 48),
            Text(
              'Body text sits quietly with generous space around it.',
              style: TextStyle(
                fontSize: 17,
                fontWeight: FontWeight.w400,
                height: 1.6,
                color: Colors.black54,
              ),
            ),
            const SizedBox(height: 48),
            // Minimal button — outlined, no elevation
            OutlinedButton(
              onPressed: () {},
              style: OutlinedButton.styleFrom(
                side: const BorderSide(color: Colors.black87, width: 1),
                shape: const RoundedRectangleBorder(borderRadius: BorderRadius.zero),
                padding: const EdgeInsets.symmetric(horizontal: 32, vertical: 16),
              ),
              child: Text(
                'CONTINUE',
                style: TextStyle(
                  fontSize: 14,
                  fontWeight: FontWeight.w500,
                  letterSpacing: 1.5,
                  color: Colors.black87,
                ),
              ),
            ),
          ],
        ),
      ),
    );
  }
}

• Set elevation: 0 on all Material widgets (AppBar, Card, FloatingActionButton).
• Use SizedBox(height: 48) or lar