Minimalist design often gets praised as the ultimate solution for user experience, but I've seen countless projects where stripping away elements made things worse. A client recently asked me to simplify their dashboard, and removing visible filters forced users into endless clicks to find basic data. Good design isn't about having less—it's about having the right amount of contextual information for each task. Sometimes a cluttered interface with clear grouping beats a sterile, empty one that hides essential functions behind menus. So can we call minimalism inherently user-friendly, or is it just another aesthetic trend that ignores how people actually work?