Minimalism

I've always liked simple things. It took me a while to realise how much that preference shaped the way I design, write code, and approach everyday life.

I'm 22 now, a final-year Computer Science student. I liked the idea of "less is more" long before I knew anything about design principles. When I first came across UNIX-like systems, their simplicity clicked with me. Each command had a clear purpose, and nothing felt unnecessary.

I learned design on my laptop through YouTube tutorials, without taking any formal courses. I started with posters and got better by trying things out. Some of that work eventually turned into small paid gigs. Through it all, I kept coming back to clean layouts with enough space for each element to breathe.

Back in 2017, when I was active on Indian Amino, I was always pushing for simpler, more balanced designs. Some people saw that as plain or lazy, but I liked the challenge of making a design work with fewer elements. For me, it meant keeping what mattered.

That approach carried over into programming. I wanted my code to be clear and easy to follow, so I tried to keep unnecessary complexity out of it. Simple, solid code has always appealed to me.

Around the same time, I discovered GNOME. Its clean interface and balanced design felt right to me, and I liked having fewer distractions. It became my favourite Linux desktop, and I chose it for my first major development setup. It was comfortable to use, and its design was close to what I wanted in my own work.

The same approach guided my time as president of The FOSS Club. My tenure ended a few months ago, but I still come back to KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid). Whether I'm writing code, designing something, or organising a project, I try to keep it simple and useful.

Simple and beautiful. That's how I like it, and how I'd like it to stay.

- V8