Many designers want websites that offer a refreshing change from the norm. This is where web brutalism comes in. This visual style inspires a new movement in website design, which is distinctive and impactful. It allows brands to stand apart from the crowd.
This article will discuss web brutalism and show examples of websites adopting this trend.
What is web brutalism
Web design brutalism is a design style that emphasizes raw and unpolished aesthetics. Websites with a brutalist style use bold typography, high-contrast color schemes, and rough graphics. This style can be used to give a website a unique identity. It conveys boldness and a sense that it is daring.
The evolution of brutalism in the design industry
The word “brutalism,” originated in architecture, is now used to describe a design style. The term “brutalism” is derived from the French “beton brut,” meaning “raw concrete.” This style was popular in Europe and North America in the middle of the 20th century. This style was characterized by geometric shapes (using raw materials like concrete, brick, and metal to highlight forms) and focusing on functionality rather than ornamentation.
Brutalist architectural design peaked between the 1950s-1960s. However, in the 1970s, it began to fade because many perceived it as inhuman and cold. Brutalist aesthetics have been adopted in other design fields, such as fashion, art, and graphic design.
What are the qualities of web brutalism
The brutalism style has faded from modern architecture. However, it is being revived in web design by many designers.
Designers who employ the brutalist style aim to create works that are not affirmative. They prefer rawness and simplicity to refinement. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what a brutalist site is since brutalism is a collection style. However, it’s possible, to sum up a few common qualities.
Bold Typography
Websites are visited for their content, so it is only natural that web designers want to ensure users can easily find it. Web designers use large fonts and straightforward typography to give the text more visual weight.
High-contrast color schemes
The use of high contrast helps to convey critical information and a feeling of raw energy. Interestingly, you can achieve this with only one color. This is why many brutalist sites experiment with monochromatic color schemes.
Minimalist Graphics
Graphics in brutalist web designs are usually minimalistic due to their roughness and need for refinement. Web designers use simple pictures to draw attention to content.
Craigslist provides a great example of a website designed with a brutalist look. It has been a minor redesign in the past 20 years. Visitors can easily understand the information and navigate a specific webpage.
Use brutalist aesthetics for web design to get the most out of it
Web brutalism is no different. It has both advantages and disadvantages. Here are some of the benefits brutalism can offer web designers.
A memorable experience: Brutalist Web Design stands out and creates a unique user experience.
Focus on the core content of a website: Well-designed brutalist websites remove unnecessary visual distractions to focus visitors’ attention.
Fast loading: Brutalist website design features minimal graphics and shorter load times for users, especially those with slow internet connections.
Improved accessibility: Bold type and high contrast color schemes in brutalist designs can enhance accessibility for those with color blindness or visual impairments.
The downsides of using brutalist web design
The brutalist design has some significant disadvantages as well, including:
This design style is only for some. The raw, unpolished aesthetics in brutalist designs can turn off some users, who prefer refined and polished designs.
Websites that embrace brutalism can be challenging to navigate. Brutalist website design uses unconventional navigation techniques, which may need to be clarified for the audience.
Here are 11 examples of violent websites
Take a look at the best sites with brutalist aesthetics. These websites all have something in common: their creators didn’t follow the rules, and their designs were anything but conventional. These websites can steal the show thanks to their bold design.
Studio Push
Studio Push is a multidisciplinary, international studio specializing in graphic design, creative coding, and other related fields. The studio’s brutalist style conveys a strong personality. The featured art in the collection can be viewed by clicking on any part of their website. This design is characterized by bold typography and clashing colors in some areas.
Kurt Champion
Kurt Champion, a graphic design and art director from the U.K. His portfolio website displays his entire work as well as his contact information. Kurt’s site is an exception to the rule of many brutalist websites that can have navigational issues. Kurt divides his website content into cards. Visitors can filter the content using toggles at the top labeled “Work,” “about me,” and “Fun Stuff.”
Jeremy Baxter
Jeremy Baxter, a visual artist from Colorado, is also a filmmaker, photographer, and musician. The website for his portfolio features a brutalist look with a black-and-white color scheme and bold typography. The font complements the punk-rock atmosphere created by Jeremy.
Teacher. how
Georgia Anne Muldrow has an online institute called Teachers. Muldrow provides online tools for music production. The design of her site uses solid colors for the backgrounds. There are no gradients or decorations. This design choice helps to improve the visual hierarchy of the page. The brutalist text blocks reinforce the message well with the relevant imagery. This design is also notable for the way that sections are visually divided from one another. The background color is used to do this.
Derek McKechnie
Derek McKechnie is a communication designer whose site showcases his printing experiments. Visitors will notice the website has a lot of sharp-edged geometric elements, but as they click around, visitors will discover that these objects are interactive. On mouse hover, silhouettes become images. This is an excellent example of using micro-interactions in a brutalist style to enhance the user’s experience.
Kid Arake
Kid_Aroke’s site is a portfolio and artist’s website for the designer and artist. The website is a classic early 2000s design, with slightly blurred text in the left panel and images on a pale yellow background. This simple design choice helps to convey the brutalist feel of the early web days.