The Negative Impact of Minimalism on Brands: Taking Mcdonald's Fast Food Restaurant Decoration as an Example

Abstract

In recent years, with the rise of minimalism, many McDonald's outlets have adopting a minimalist style, which has, to some extent, eroded the user experience. While minimalism offers a sense of freshness, it has lost the original lively and bustling atmosphere, creating an emotional distance for customers. This paper analyses how the minimalist trend weakens the emotional connection between the brand and its customers, from aspects such as emotional design. It argues that, as a restaurant associated with happiness and vitality, McDonald's store decor should be able to resonate with customers' emotions. However, overly minimalist designs fail to convey this kind of feeling, thereby having a certain negative impact on the brand image. Therefore, it is emphasised that brands must consider their own positioning and customers' emotional needs when following trends.This paper hopes that through the analysis of the McDonald's case, it will serve as a reminder to brands in sectors highly reliant on customer experience, such as food and beverage and retail, that when undertaking store design or brand image updates, they should be more cautious in balancing minimalism with brand identity. It is hoped that this will encourage brands to pay greater attention to customer emotional responses and avoid damaging their brand image by blindly following trends.