Book Reviews: Graphic Design/Page Design

The Longing for Less: What’s Missing from Minimalism

Kyle Chayka. New York, NY: Bloomsbury Publishing. 2024. 264 pages, including index.

Index Terms—architecture, criticism, design, minimalism, philosophy

Reviewed by Amanda Horton, Director – Design History Minor, University of Central Oklahoma.

In The Longing for Less: What’s Missing from Minimalism, Kyle Chayka presents a history and critical examination of minimalism, considering it from an art, architectural, and philosophical perspective. The author divides the content into four sections: “Reduction,” “Emptiness,” “Silence,” and “Shadow.” In some ways, this book was not expected, beginning with the recent minimalism movement in which influencers encourage people to get rid of stuff, and yet it explores minimalism deeply and with thoughtful consideration.

After considering the influence of modern minimalism and the “Marie Kondo effect,” Chayka transitions to consider minimalism in terms of architecture and art. The content on architecture emphasizes Philip Johnson’s Glass house which the author points out is appropriated from Johnson’s mentor Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s, former director of the Bauhaus, design for the Farnsworth house. Yet Johnson’s design takes the Farnsworth house to the extreme conclusion of minimalism and Chayka points out the flaws of such an extreme. In terms of art the content focuses on Donald Judd’s minimalist sculptures and installations, though, as Chayka points out, Judd did not like the term minimalism when describing his art. The history that is presented jumps around and indeed Chayka argues that “minimalism’s lack of a coherent history is in part due to its nature—it instinctively tends to erase its own background as if starting anew in each iteration” (p. 15).

While design is broadly considered, minimalist graphic design history is omitted. There are limited references to the application of minimalism to logo design and its apparent application in website design, but the history of minimalism in graphic design, beginning with the Plakastil movement in Germany is not mentioned. Nor does it contain information or criticism on the current global trend of modern/minimalist identity design. Yet despite these omissions, it is interesting that the The Longing for Less does include the influence of minimalism on music, which is a very unexpected topic to consider. Chayka also connects minimalism to the philosophies of Stoicism, Asceticism, and even Zen Buddhism.

 In terms of criticism, Chayka argues that minimalism is treated as a “one-size fits all process that has a way of homogenizing homes and erasing traces of personality and quirkiness” (p. 34). He points out that the Eames’s, noted for their contributions to modernism and associated with minimalist architecture and design, were known to fill their home with artifacts from all over the world, the exact opposite of minimalism. He goes on to say that “Minimalism can be oppressive. The style can make you feel like you don’t belong in a space unless you conform to it” (p. 67).

The Longing for Less is a quick read, and despite some of the heavy content is written in an accessible manner. Though the audience might be somewhat limited to academics, it is an interesting read for anyone who is sincerely interested in the history and criticism of minimalism.