I had the pleasure of reading the new book Soft Minimal by Norm Architects, published by gestalten. It is a tactical manifesto and sourcebook, a carefully designed publication that seeks to highlight the values and design principles that guide the Danish practice for over 15 years, full of aesthetic inspiration for those who read it.
Founded in 2008, Norm Architects is a Copenhagen-based design studio that focuses on clean lines, functionality, and a soft minimal aesthetic. Their new book is both a beautifully designed literary object and a functional artifact. The practice has approached the book with the same careful consideration involved in creating their spaces or objects. If you’re interested, I recently did an inspiring interview with Norm’s Co-Founder Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen – read it here.
The content of the book is organized into eight thematic chapters, which underline the eight values and notions inextricably linked to the company’s design philosophy: nature, perception, space, void, essentialism, light and shadow, color, narrative, and time. “In its essence, Soft Minimal explains Norm Architects’ thought and design process to readers—inviting them into our minds.”
The book contains 300 photographs that are meant to illustrate the principles of soft minimalism. There are also essays within each chapter that further explain the beliefs and goals of the philosophy. Finally, there is a list of suggested further reading for those who are interested.
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.
Norm Architects
This book is a visual and written exploration of the principles of Soft Minimalism. The visuals in the book are meant to be enjoyed and studied, with the accompanying essays providing further context and elaboration on the beliefs and goals that underpin Soft Minimalism. “Ultimately, we invite readers to sit and savor Soft Minimal—treating it as a tactile object to enjoy, a manifesto and a sourcebook in one, and returning again and again to the visual and cerebral qualities it offers,” they explain.
Soft Minimal is available online via gestalten and selected stores. For more information about Norm Architects, click here.
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*A note for transparency: A review copy was provided to me free of charge by the publisher.
