BY: GINNY BARTOLONE

Unique to the field, salon and spa owners truly connect with each client on a daily basis. Whether you are doing facials, hair, or lashes, your touch and your business make a difference in the lives of your clients. Minimalism — both in branding strategy and salon design — is a simple, yet meaningful way to showcase this one-of-a-kind connection. We've talked about the "client experience" before and just how important it is to put yourself in your customers' shoes and look at all aspects from booking to checkout, from their point of view. 

As the minimalist movement gains mainstream traction, more business owners are choosing to incorporate its serene and mindful approach to space layout, branding, and a fully rounded customer experience. 

LESS IS MORE... LITERALLY

Minimalism encourages the balance of simplicity with mindfully chosen items, textures, and colors. This viewpoint focuses on the ease of flow and layout while accentuating what is most important to the designer. Minimalism is perfect for those seeking a modern, sleek look in a space that promotes relaxation and self-care. It also provides the chance to present your brand with ease and confidence — all the while taking budget, environment, and a unique branding perspective into account.

Many designs incorporate clean lines — both in interior/exterior design and graphics choices. A neutral palette is combined with pops of color while the layout accentuates the existent flow of the room, showcasing natural light sources, architectural accents, exposed building materials or unique design features. Most importantly, you do not need an extravagant budget to make this shift, rather a keen eye and game plan for simplifying and streamlining.

Begin by exploring your business's unique style and branding goals. Browse through minimalist design resources to organize colors, light sources, textures, and aesthetics that grab your attention. Minimalist spas range from clean, Zen-like environments to full displays of artistic expression. Many sites will direct you toward trusted vendors, allowing you to source and budget potential purchases. If you are starting from scratch in your spot, that's great! You can embrace minimalism from the outset. If you are looking to declutter your current space in favor of a minimalist palette, then you'll need to be intentional with what you will keep and what you'll purge.

Travel through your space and separate out all items which no longer serve your new design concept. The KonMari method of organization encourages you to get rid of anything that doesn't bring you joy. Whichever way you choose to go, be sure to clear away areas of clutter or visible collections of paperwork and equipment. Eventually, a minimalist design should provide a sense of ease for both your employees’ workflow and your clients' experience. Whether you realize it or not, messy workplaces will affect the productivity of staff and the experience of clients. 

Once your space is a clean palette, your chosen accent items, furniture, or layout plans have a larger area in which to shine.

Your colors and the font in your logo make a huge first impression on your clients. If you don't have a natural eye for design, hiring a graphic designer may be the best option for you. You can give the artist some of the inspirations that you've seen and let them know the vibe you want your logo to have. They will typically work with you until you are 100% satisfied with the result. The minimalist design allows you to think outside the box a little when it comes to placement, negative space (as seen below), and efficiency. So have fun with the process and don't give up until what you create brings you joy and a sense of peace. 

The moment a client enters your business, consider their initial interaction with the space—what do they see, and what catches their eye?  How clear is the transition process? From the check-in to the final moments with your team, a minimalist design eases the flow of travel and simplifies decision-making.  Most importantly, a serene, balanced space better showcases and supports your stylists’ unique services and enhances the time to connect with clients.

Many existing spa and salons choose a minimalist approach to change a customer’s relationship with the services provided. Instead of seeing a salon appointment as a luxury; the clean, simplistic look reinforces the outing is a necessity—something common and expected in their routine. Both new and existing clients are drawn in by the gift of calm the salon provides to their hectic schedules.

Facebook and Instagram are often your first interaction with a new client. Consider some of the ground rules of online minimalism: clean lines, reoccurring patterns, negative space, smooth navigation, and overall balance. As you did with the salon’s layout, consider different examples of minimalist pages for inspiration. Go through your feed and get rid of posts that no longer carry your vibe and design esthetic. Scheduling dependable posts with consistent information for your Facebook and Instagram welcomes clients to explore your energy and tone without getting distracted by extra images or text. We've all seen those Instagram layouts that make you want to click out of their profile quickly because there was no rhyme or reason to their page. If the page lacks flow, people are less likely to engage, interact, or follow. Use tools like Planoly to play with your layout before posting, so you continue to maintain your minimalist flow.

The personalized experience of visiting a salon and spa makes it a prime candidate for the minimalist approach. Both the client and stylist benefit from a design that not only amplifies their interaction with the space but provides a haven of calm while focusing on much-needed self-care.