From Baroque to Minimalism

Web Aesthesis in Web 2.0 – CSS and Modern web design

By Alex Chang

Prologue

• From iPod to iPhone, Steve Jobs has created a phenomena by his minimalist style.

• Minimalism is now becoming a mainstream of web design.

Agenda

• Complexity to Simplicity

• Minimalism in difference art forms

• Case Study: CSS in Minimalist Web Design

Complexity to SimplicityI. Aesthetic Development

BaroqueElaborations

Literally means an “uneven pearl”.

A Time of Browser War Before 2000

ClassicismForm, Structure, Balance

Software Standard is back

MinimalismLess is More

Web 2.0 Get Started in 2004, esp. Blog

MinimalismII. Minimalist Art Forms

Minimalist Art Forms

• Architecture (Van der Rohe, Ando)

• Music (John Cage, Philips Glass, Michael Nymann)

• Literature (Samuel Beckett)

• Visual Design (Frank Stella)

• Web Design (CSS)

Architecture

Literature / Theater

Music

Visual Art

CSSIII. Cascading Style Sheet

The key technology that brings simplicity design to the web

Modern web design composed of three parts

Structure

Layout Behavior

- CSS- Visual Components supported by Visual Experts. - Data (XML, JSON)

supported by server-side developers- Dynamic scripting and DIV control- Document Object Model

- XHTML implementation- Plan on content hierarchy and strategy Guideline

- High Accessibility- Data vs. Structure- Scan-able text- Maintenance friendly- Reusable- SEO friendly- Smooth application flow- Take advantage of Open APIs.

CSS Development History

• 2004, web standard

• Popular in Blog (Web Log)

• Adapted by Web 2.0 and becoming mainstreaming Design.

Case StudyDiggFlickr

WikipediaYahooCNN

The power of minimalist design

Less is more