The process of making ‘Soft Minimal’ has been somewhat akin to our design projects – concept driven, iterative and collaborative. We have worked closely with Gestalten along the way and with their help, chosen the material and print techniques that would give the book its important sensual quality. As with our design projects, we have kept the end-user in mind at every step. Each word, image, color, texture and shape are there for good reason – ultimately to give the reader a clear message and a beautiful experience.
The celebrating of our new book, Soft Minimal. Launched September 29th
We’ve emptied out the New Mags Flagship store and instead decorated it with beautiful miniature monuments representing our past projects. And lined the grand shelves with all the spreads from the book.
Through insightful essays and tactile imagery collected in Soft Minimal, we share the principles that underpin a human-centric design philosophy honed over 15 years. The artful balance of light and shadow is reflected in a Swedish retreat, while a Japanese house quietly professes the calming effect of natural materials; a Sri Lankan residence makes the case for bringing the landscape inside and a Danish retail space celebrates tactility.
With an intention to share what we have learnt and achieved as designers thus far, we want to contribute to the ongoing dialogue about human-centric design, with a broader goal to re-sensualize the built environment. We believe design should be sensory, simple, and functional, and this book published by gestalten is a manifesto-come-monograph outlining what these ideas mean to us and how we work with them. Serving as a sourcebook and aesthetic inspiration for design professionals and enthusiasts, Soft Minimal offers a nuanced perspective on minimalism that is warm, sensory and enduring.
“Guided by the body and mind rather than by trends or technology, we aim to create designs that not only look good but also feel good. It is about accommodating people through empathetic design, rather than treating them as mere spectators of an aesthetic creation”
– Norm Architects in 'Soft Minimal'
Our approach has been to make a poetic literary object that looks and feels beautiful, is functional, and hopefully leaves the user better than before they picked it up. We’ve thought both rationally and emotionally about the tactility of the book, the layout design, texts and images, just as we do when addressing architecture and design. We’ve imagined it being held by the reader, how the weight and shape of the book is encountered by the body, how it feels to run a hand over the paper and turn the pages. Structure – both in terms of chapters and the rhythm of content within them – has been given great attention. Just as we consider the way someone moves through a space or reads the language of a product, we’ve attempted to achieve a natural and pleasant flow in this book.
