‘Less is More’ — the words championing the world of design a century later.
A brainchild of modernist architect, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, the ‘less is more’ movement was fueled by Bauhaus industrial designers like Dieter Rams. It was eventually branded as ‘minimalism’ — the idea of reducing a structure to its essential parts, without compromising its function and style. Aesthetically, minimalism flourished during a period of economic hardships after World War II.
“Good design is as little as possible. Less, but better, because it concentrates on the essential aspects, and the products are not burdened with non-essentials. Back to purity, back to simplicity.”
― Dieter Rams
Today, nearly 80 years later, we can see minimalism’s far-reaching influence on modern design. Interestingly, this design philosophy has been a guiding principle for all Apple products.
Apple is highly regarded for their attention to detail in their web design and user interfaces. Everything is placed exactly where they are supposed to be. Not an inch out of place.
Notice how clean these products look on the inside and the outside.
Observe how effortless reading a wealth of information can appear on Apple Music’s minimal interface. By filtering out ‘the non-essentials’ like trending music recommendations or charts, Apple is able to make its UI intuitive to users. And with the right type of typography, they have been able to maximise the readability of content.
The right fonts and text weights can help differentiate content and draw users’ attention to desired elements. For example, using divergent fonts to create a balanced & neutral look — heavy SF for headlines and a lighter New York font for body text.
We’ve gone ahead and picked the top 6 trending fonts that you can use to perfect your UI:
- Open Sans:
Open Sans is a humanist sans serif typeface designed by Steve Matteson, Type Director of Ascender Corp. Also known as the ‘invisible’ typeface, it is ideal for use in small sizes and for regular consumption.
Best paired with: Montserrat, Bitter, Source Sans Pro, and Domine.
Current Use Case: upwork
Font Source: Google Fonts
2. Nunito Sans:
Mostly preferred as a free alternative to Avenir, Nunito is a modern sans-serif typeface launched by Vernon Adams. The organic feel, open & rounded letterforms, along with low contrast make Nunito Sans simple and easy on the eyes.
Best paired with: Roboto, Alegreya, Lora and Open Sans.
Current Use Cases: Mortonarb, Openvy
Font Source: Google Fonts
3. DM Sans:
Released in 2019 by Colophon Foundry, DM Sans is widely recognised as a free Aeonik alternative. The font has a heavy Swiss and Dutch influence in its sharply pointed angular look. Currently, it is massively popular with designers who create solely for the web.
Best paired with: DM Mono (sister font), Baskerville, Roboto and Noe.
Current Use Case: paulmccartney.com
Font Source: Google Fonts
4. Inter:
It is an open-source gift to the world from the Swedish designer, Rasmus Andersson, that was released in 2016. Inter is a sans serif typeface standardised for small screens, such as digital web, books and minimal graphic design.
Best paired with: Roboto, Open Sans, Garamond, and Caslon.
Current Use Case: zapier, The Freepress
Font Source: Google Fonts
5. Libre Franklin:
In 2012, Libre Franklin was launched as a reimagination of the classic Franklin Gothic typeface but with a more accessible and modern twist. Its
bold, strong letterforms can be used in a minimal setting to achieve a more objective and clean look.
Best paired with: Migra, Libre Baskerville
Current Use Case: Peugeot
Font Source: Google Fonts
6. Playfair Display:
Based on 18th-century typographer John Baskerville’s designs, Playfair Display is best used to accentuate elegance and sophistication in branding and websites. Elegance and sophistication are the top qualities that make a minimalist UI even more appealing.
Best paired with: Lato, Roboto, Georgia, and Proxima Nova.
Current Use Cases: Vogue, Spain, BMW
Font Source: Google Fonts
That’s about all the favourite typefaces we can see dominating minimal interfaces in 2023. Do you have any others that you’d recommend?
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