“I’m a copywriter who loves minimalism in copy and design. I wrote this for two reasons: I still feel it can be misunderstood and that minimalism, by its nature, benefits creatives in advertising.
First, the misconceptions. People often confuse sparsity for minimalism, believing that the shorter the copy or barer the design, the closer to minimalism it must be. Though a shorter piece of writing or plainer design may be more likely to employ traits of minimalism, it’s not as simple as that.
Though less is more, only a minimalist understands how to subtract the unnecessary and refine the essential. When there is less of what doesn’t need to be there, something intangible but full of meaning emerges to elevate the work. This emergence defines the minimalist style. For each distraction taken away, a more profound truth takes its place.
The minimalist lives on the precipice of necessity; they create beside a constant mantra of “what needs to be there and nothing more” because they understand they are enriching the work.
Another common misconception is that minimalism is synonymous with ‘bleakness’ or a work devoid of charm. On the contrary, beauty is essential to a minimalist work if beauty achieves the work’s purpose.
And here’s how minimalism serves creatives in advertising—to succeed, the creative must first understand the purpose of the work before beginning.
In advertising, that could mean ensuring the creative fully understands the brief before starting the project. In branding, it could mean learning how to condense a big complicated brand into its core principles.
Everyone in advertising knows how vital these things are, and the practice of minimalism guides the creative process to excellent outcomes.
You can only subtract the unnecessary if you fully understand what is needed.
I could say more.”
Samuel Burrows, Copywriter.