I like to treat design like writing. Pour all thoughts onto a page > organize thoughts > write the piece > edit > edit > edit. Every edit phase usually centers on condensing and removing fluff. In my experience, it's the same with design... likely because I'm an amateur. I have to overdesign something before I can start stripping away the unnecessary stuff. If I try to design something 'minimalist' from the start, I'm stifled.

To paraphrase the author, you don't add white space as much as you throw stuff out.

Aside: If I experienced any of the last five branding examples in the wild, I doubt I'd remember them. In these cases, minimalism = milquetoast design.