What is the term - Simple design?

Many of us, especially designers or website developers, encountered lots of unexpected comments or feedback from clients. Some are funny, some are stressful, some are just do not make sense at all. However, we understand that there are times where words can't describe visions.

It is very common these days where we are tasked to design something 'simple'. As simple as it can be, the design becomes so plain that our clients are unable to accept. The term 'Simple' usually refers to modern designs where the art piece is plain with only short description or logo. It can be a white background with tiny wordings on one of the corners. It can be solid light colored background with a logo in the center. Think of Apple Inc or Amazon.

There were few cases where our clients responded to our design samples as too plain while initially what they wanted was 'simple'. It's an individual perception when comes to this kind of term. Some may perceive simple in very plain type of design and some perceived simple as well arranged content or images.

It is important now that when we use the term 'Simple', we have to define the perceptions of being simple or having simple design.

Many at times, clients do not know how to explain their thoughts in details. The designer will have to ask various questions in order to understand what the clients want. The designer may need to show various examples of designs to get into the right details. However, this works both ways. The clients have to corporate with the designer. We also experienced where clients couldn't explain nor decide when we showed design samples. They only know the term 'Simple'.

Of course, the designer plays an important role to get the correct information or details from the clients. Hence, clients may need to really help the designer to understand what they are really looking for. Knowing what the clients want when it comes to 'Simple' will help to save time on designing as well as benefiting both sides.

So, what do you think of our 'Simple' design in the image above? How well do you accept such design? We will be very happy to know.