All design agencies have their styles and influences and at underscore we have always favoured minimalism because it is an exercise in conceptual thinking and a means to achieve effectiveness through simplification.

Minimalism in the art world began in post world War II especially in America in the 60’s and 70’s. It’s a continuation of the conceptual ethereal thinking behind Surrealism, Fauvism, Expressionist but with a departure from the strong visual component with more of a Dada attitude as a continuation of the Modernist way of thought.

Not just as the limiting conditions of pictorial art, but as criteria of aesthetic quality in pictorial art; that the further a work advances the self-definition of an art, the better that work is bound to be.

It is often interpreted as a reaction against the painterly subjectivity in Abstract expressionism, that explicitly stated that minimal art was not about self-expression and unlike the previous decade’s more subjective philosophy, it was about making objective art.

Prominent artists associated with this movement include Donald Judd, Agnes Margin, Dan Flanvin, Frank Stella among others.

So Minimal terminology refers to anything that is stripped to its essentials. It has also been used to describe Samuel Beckett’s work, Robert Bresson films, Colin Chapman automobile design and minimalism painters associated with the Bauhaus. Minimal art also inspired Josef Alberts, Pablo Picasso, Marcel Duchamp, among others.

In France Yves Klein conceived his Monotone Symphony (1949, formally The Monotone-Silence Symphony) that consisted of a single 20-minute sustained chord followed by a 20-minute silence – a precedent to John Cage’s 4’33”.

Minimalism is also used in design and architecture, where the theme or subject is reduced to its necessary element. The biggest influence came from the De Stijl artist group that could explain their ideas with simple basic organized elements like lines and planes.

In the field of architecture Mies van der Rohe uses the motto “Less is more” to describe the method of arranging necessary components to create a simplified space. A similar sentiment is the “Less but better” attitude that Dieter Rams promotes, using simple and elegant design to promote function over form.

The use of simple shapes or the replication of a component promotes unity and tasteful non-fussy designs, as well as the use of natural textures and colours also influences the structural beauty. Minimalism’s features include geometric, often cubic forms, equality of parts, repetition, neutral surfaces and industrial materials.

So when contemplating a tricky design challenge, my direction for the studio team at underscore would often be to remember the principles set by Ad Reinhardt in his famous quote:

“The more stuff in it, the busier the work of art, the worse it is. More is less. Less is more. The eye is a menace to clear sight. The laying bare of oneself is obscene. Art begins with the getting rid of nature.”

Or in other words….”Keep it simple…team!”

Hello there. Here is a little insight into the underscore approach to design.

In our view design is a singular technique of applying a variety of areas of knowledge; such as psychology, sociology, philosophy, aesthetics, art, production, print, and illustration.

It’s the ability to plan the look of form and function. It’s drawing something before it’s made.

Design it’s not the simple ability of making something pretty.

“Everything hangs on something else.” Bruno Munari.

Research is one of the key stages of design. It informs the brand on what it could be and what is stepping away from, but is never a copy exercise; it is an inspiration and rule creation stage. It ensures that the client and the designer have the same references right from the outset.

Design is always objective, so subjectivity in taste is rarely informative enough to make a decision upon. I believe designers should have to justify every single option they make, and all reviews should be as objective as the design process itself. Design should also never be rushed, as it needs time to be informed.

Typeface is the style of font that better portrays your personality; they can be serif (ex: Times New Roman), sans serif (ex: Arial) or script. The typeface has a big impact on the design feel, they can create past evocative experiences, a contemporary feel or even a sense of fun (although comic sans is never a good idea!).

Choose carefully though, as your typography is as important as your logo; it’s a written watermark of yourself.

So what then is your logo? To many its a symbol adopted by an organisation to identify its products or service, but to the designer it’s an identity, a stamp on the company’s public face… a symbol of personality.

Your colour scheme and photo style defines the image characteristics that portray your company best. Are the images casual? Are they genuine? Whats your tonality? Are they in situ? Are they on brand? Out and about? Black and white?

The answers will be found in a style guide which will become the bible of the brand; it’s the way the brand is built, where it should be applied, and how it should be managed. This document allows the brand to continue independently of its creators and always be consistent.

This is just a snippet into one agency’s approach, but hopefully it gives a glimpse that the designer’s work is an informed process to help achieve the best results, whilst always considering form and functionality.

Digital marketing strategy to decrease a website’s bounce rate is a continual digital marketing question underscore’s digital marketing strategists are asked.

Websites should aim to keep their bounce rate within the acceptable industry standard which varies greatly.

For retail sites that drives well targeted traffic, the bounce rate usually sits between the 20-40% margin.

Simple landing pages that contain one call to action such as “add to cart” or “call now”, the bounce rate is quite higher at 70-90%.

Portals such as MSN, Yahoo groups etc have a much lower bounce rate at 10-30% while Service Sites or FAQs sites retain a similar bounce rate.

Content websites with high search visibility have a bounce rate of 40 -60% and lead generation sites have an industry average bounce rate of 30 – 50%.

These figures above are a good current first indicator of the digital health of your website.

There are many issues that affect the bounce rate of your website and there isn’t a simple generic answer for every site.

When we are given the task of reducing a site’s bounce rate we like to first answer the key points below, however the problem is usually far more complex and requires a larger amount of attention, time and strategic thinking in order to create a long term solution that addresses the issues that are always more than surface deep.

1. Website Design

Is the website design contemporary and visually appealing? Are the objectives of the business clear across the whole website? Has the user journey been mapped out? If a user finds it difficult to navigate through your website, or is turned off by the design, font or colours, it will affect their online experience and increase their likelihood of disengaging with your website.

2. Landing page

The landing page should communicate with the user immediately what the website is about. This is when a user will decide to stay or leave and this is one way to keep a user interested. Businesses should refresh the landing page so returning users are given the impression that there is new interesting content to engage with.

3. Content

This is a key reason why people leave websites. Without interesting content to engage a user in, they will leave within thirty seconds which classes their visit as a “bounce rate user”. Lack of written content on different pages within a website will also affect SEO success and Google’s ability to class your site. New content is key to a successful and engaging website for returning users and will create interest for new users.

4. Poor Loading Speed

Internet users are notoriously impatient and research says if your site takes longer than 4 seconds to load, your customer will leave your site and likely not return. This adds to the user experience, so finding a host that is able to maximise your load speed and ensuring your website is as “light” as possible, is important.

5. SEO presence

What are the keywords your site is ranking for? Awareness of the type of people that are finding your site, where and how they are finding your site and ensuring they are of the correct demographic will affect appropriateness of your website to their search efforts and thus affects bounce rate.

The issue of bounce rates is far more complex than meets the eye so it’s important to undertake an open minded approach and be aware of all areas that can be improved to create a long-term solution.

It’s only through addressing the issue of design, user interface, SEO, content, host server and range of other issues in a holistic way, will a business find their ability to decrease their bounce rate slowly result.