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It’s characterized by its raw appearance and extremely simplistic and minimalist approach. Likewise, brutalist websites tend to be more focused on the functionality of what the website offers, rather than “distracting” the user with aesthetics or fancy visual interactions. In this article we'll take a look at what this trend is, where it came from, and where you can find examples of brutalist web design. Finally, we'll take a look at some tips for incorporating brutalism in your own web UX/UI design practice. Contemporary designers working in the brutalist aesthetic include Peter Bankov, Branimir Medic and Hamish Muir.They continue to develop the style's raw expressiveness in new applications from print to digital. There are also similar articles discussing visual hierarchy, Swiss design, graphic design movements, and Bauhaus graphic design.
Brutalist Parisian architecture is the subject of Song for the Mute's stunning new fashion campaign - Creative Boom
Brutalist Parisian architecture is the subject of Song for the Mute's stunning new fashion campaign.
Posted: Thu, 28 Jul 2022 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Examples & Best Practices of Brutalism in Web Design
The reason why brutalism has been able to jump between such wildly different design disciplines is that it tends to describe more of a mindset than visual characteristics. By exposing materials of construction, brutalism has nothing to hide. Brutalist designs often stick to a monochromatic palette, favoring black, white, and shades of gray. But it's not just about neutrality; stark contrasts can also have maximum impact.
Most influential architects

Like the slabs of concrete, digital brutalism lets you see the blank screen other designers might hide with color and texture. Like the rough edges of buildings, brutalist websites eschew all editing, showcasing default computer fonts and square, untreated photos. Designers must prioritize accessibility and strive to make brutalist designs inclusive. This can be achieved through techniques such as providing alternative text for images, using clear and legible typography, and ensuring proper color contrast.
A Look at the Bold and Unapologetic Style
According to Derby, it can be tricky to develop a neo brutalism UI design that adheres to accessibility standards and best practices. Ryan Haskins is a branding designer located in Los Angeles, California. For his personal portfolio website, Ryan uses an extreme version of brutalism. Vibrant colors, large geometric objects and the overuse of flashy photos create a visually striking design. This Wix website example screams "look at me" and engages visitors into browsing.
Derek McKechnie practices communication design, and his website showcases his experiments in printing. The website is full of geometric components with sharp edges, but once visitors start clicking around, they’ll notice that these objects are interactive. This is an excellent website example of how you can use microinteractions to enhance the user experience of a brutalist design. Brutalist architecture often exhibit sculptural qualities with their strong geometric shapes and massive forms.
Elements of brutalist graphic design
In 2016, the Washington Post reported that “the hottest trend in Web design is making intentionally ugly, difficult sites," an approach which they called “web brutalism." Images too are cropped or framed to appear like abstract graphic blocks. While not traditionally user-friendly, it demands attention and can be incredibly effective for punchy, message-driven interfaces.
Umer Ahmed's poster project The Brutalist is inspired by the iconic Ray Gun Magazine - Creative Boom
Umer Ahmed's poster project The Brutalist is inspired by the iconic Ray Gun Magazine.
Posted: Mon, 26 Jun 2017 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Neo brutalism Design Elements
Countries like the United Kingdom (where brutalism originated) adopted brutalism because it was a practical and low-cost way to build functional housing, educational institutions, and government buildings. The Soviet Union was another country that adopted brutalism post-WWII. It was also a way to reject the politeness and extravagance of the bourgeoisie. In other words, when you encounter a brutalist design, you certainly won’t miss it.
The punk influence helped bring into question the importance of design elements, rules, and the functionality of design pieces. Punk also influenced the rave-culture graphic design of the 90s and other 90s graphic design trends by encouraging these styles to break the rules of graphic design. If you've ever encountered a website characterized by bold elements, bright colors, and oversized, graphic typography, you've experienced neo brutalism design.
This architectural style, prevalent in the 1950s to 1970s, prioritizes functionality and honest expression of materials, featuring bold, geometric forms and minimal ornamentation. Initially embraced for its utilitarian vision and cost-effective construction, Brutalism left an indelible mark on urban landscapes worldwide. Though polarizing, some Brutalist structures gained iconic status, and the style’s enduring influence is still visible in contemporary architecture.
This style has arguably had the most profound effect on graphic design as a discipline since many of the principles of good design fall into the categories of Brutalism listed above. Besides the term Art Brut coined by Dubuffet, the French phrase Le Corbusier used for raw concrete is le béton brut. Swedish architect Hans Asplund used the term Nybrutalism ("New Brutalism") in 1949 when describing a rectangular, face-brick home in Sweden with exposed I-beams and concrete floors (the Villa Göth). New technologies were continuously being incorporated into the architecture.
The iconic cover, designed by Richard Hamilton, perfectly embodies the starkness and simplicity of Brutalist principles. The white canvas features just the band's name embossed in sans-serif type, creating a powerful and almost unsettling visual. Though the buildings themselves have a distinctive appearance, brutalism was (and is) about more than just the aesthetic appeal. During its rise in the ‘60s and ‘70s, it was the embodiment of a philosophy that championed functionality and social responsibility in design. Although its roots are firmly rooted in architecture since its emergence in the mid-20th century, brutalism is a style that’s also punctuated the graphic design scene throughout the decades.
All of these styles bring their own benefits, but the stark characteristics of brutalist designs mean it rejects the idea of polish and perfection in place of honesty and boldness. The first half of the afternoon session will explore the design of movement and the "otherworld" through various forms of media including choreography, fashion, embroidery and queer culture. Case study House 20(B) is one of my personal favorites of the Case Study Program. It also happened to one of the smallest and was the least expensive of the Case Study Houses to build. CSH 20(B) also demonstrates quite well that the relationship between the architects and the home owners need not be a clash of personal ‘wants’ versus design ‘solutions’.
Visitors can easily comprehend the information and navigate to a specific page. Elementor is the leading website builder platform for professionals on WordPress. Elementor serves web professionals, including developers, designers and marketers, and boasts a new website created every 10 seconds on its platform. But it’s a tricky design trend to master — not only in terms of technique but also in terms of when and where you apply it.
Unlike traditional buildings, which are often adorned with decorative elements, Brutalist structures are designed to showcase their materials, often resulting in an austere, monolithic appearance. This focus on the materials themselves is a central tenet of Brutalism, as architects sought to create buildings that were expressive of their materials and construction methods. Archerd Aparejo is a graphic designer working on design for magazines, posters, websites and exhibitions. This approach led him to finding a unique navigation design—images of physical book covers serve as menu options, leading users to individual projects from his portfolio. Kurt Champion is a graphic designer and art director based in the U.K. He uses brutalist aesthetics for his personal portfolio website, where he displays all his work and contact information.
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