13: Minimalist

Minimalist Japanese Covers

In minimalist art, the things that must be most distinct are shapes and lines that are distinguished by colour, because you cannot rely on details. These Japan-themed designs use very distinctive lines and shapes - the roughness of the outlines denote the literal roughness of nature like the mountains and trees. The colour is also clever, with a triad of red, yellow and dark blue - especially the red, which is a reflection of the red Sun in the Japanese flag.

The arrangement of these elements have clearly been considered

Night time purple vector

A simplistic t-shirt design with a hint of aesthetic. It presents a soft design using a small crescent moon and the recognisable music-player widget, playing 'Walking on a dream' (matches the theme of the moon = night). This design appears to be very soft, not only because it uses pastel colours of purple and pink, but also that there is little contrast between the background colour and the front elements. The soft art and soft colours come together in a symmetrical design to create a nice casual t-shirt.

Tokyo lakeview

A cute, baggy batwing shirt. The entire shirt seems to be in on the design: the thin-lined sketches of the lucky cats, thick outlines on the 'holes' to contrast with the thinness as well as the strings which is associated with the 'luck' aspect in China. The colours work together very well - it appears light especially with the negative-spaced background. The accent colour blue on the string acts as a subtle filler which reflects the looseness of the shirt's material. The arrangement, apart from the negative space is also creative - it follows the angles of the shirt's collar, adding a round direction to the design.

Hawaiian inspired

A very simple but effective art. Using solid colours, these plants/Sun(?) accurately yet simplistically depict the items people would associate with a fresh, tropical atmosphere. For example, the dark green shape resembles a leaf. As for the colours that depict these, they reflect the fresh air of nature: light blue-green, dark green and light red. These light colours, along with he white background reflect something light (maybe light-hearted) and open, just like outdoor nature.

The composition of these elements are very minimalist, too. The amount of white space used here as opposed to non-white space is a fair balance. It still remains an engaging piece with its asymmetry and hierarchy, where the heaviest (biggest/darkest) shapes are at the bottom.

Mountain Vector Art

A very aesthetic composition of art. As it is a vector art, one of the first things to consider is shape. The shapes here accurately depict the mountain scape, with its detailed lines (making up for absence of texture) and easily-read lines (like the trees and eagle). The overall shape of the 'frame' is also very creative, with bumpy edges and lee-way for the trees to stick out (adding to the thing that makes up for texture - it makes it look tangible).

The colour scheme is also very fair: very earthy colours to reflect the mountains. The colours also contrast enough that we can tell where and what each shape is.

Overall composition is very satisfying: a clean, up-down read. Would look good on either a tshirt or as framed.