Brutalism is something that is always following the pack and not leading it. The web design is suitable for specific brands and individuals when handled with care unless it can deliver the wrong message resulting in lousy perception.
Some designing trends just come and go, while others have the potential to become an era and lead the industry. Similarly, web designs have their own aesthetic and presentation resulting in their long-term and short-term stay. Designs like Illustrative Web Design, Typography Web Design, and Memphis Web Design are some trendy and leading ones. On the other hand, Minimalist Web Design, Brutalist Web Design, and Flat Web Design are still an approach but not a popular choice.
And why is that happening? Why are subtlety, plainness, and raw things no longer welcomed?
It isn’t necessary to have a whole color palette and alluring graphics to gather spectators’ eyes. Sometimes, a website that doesn’t follow the rules can easily steal the show. It’s like being revolutionary and not fundamental. Many web designers would know the technicality and difference between the various designs. Furthermore, brutalism is a pattern that many want to follow to make their job less complicated. Still, it’s not the requirement of today. However, for those who don’t know what brutalism and brutalist web design is, let’s start with the introduction.
BRUTALIST WEB DESIGN – MEANING AND CONCEPT
What is the definition of brutalism in web design? Brutalism is a design style incepted in the 1950s in the field of architecture. Furthermore, it’s derived from the French word brut, which means “rough.” Its attributes like crudeness, plainness, and transparency define the design technique. The old Whitney Museum of American Art is an excellent example of brutalist architecture.
The concept of brutalism is that it goes by a large, raw-materials-built establishment with outstanding features. Coming to web design, the website of the Whitney Museum is a realistic imitation of web design brutalism. Here the resemblance is that brutalist websites are made using web-based raw materials.
Following are some of the distinguishing elements of the brutalist web design method:
- Unprocessed text
- Highlighted hyperlinks.
- Web-friendly colors
- System Fonts
- Backgrounds in solid colors with minimal or no decoration
- Sharp edges and geometric components
- Photos that haven’t been altered, such as borders, shading, or rounding.
- Open navigation
- Sections are divided by lines.
- Tables include information.
- Buttons with outlines
To put it more simply, one can say that brutalism is rugged, reactive, and unconcerned yet has comfort and penchant. Furthermore, the concept is evolving more for everyone to understand its spectrum better. Pascal Deville, the founder of brutalistwebsites.com, believes that “brutalism can be perceived as a light and optimistic concept in today’s time but with harshness and lack of concern to look comfy or easy. Therefore, one must figure out what kind of perspective you want for your company, as brutalist web design can come out as chilly and solemn at times.
PRINCIPLES OF BRUTALIST WEB DESIGN
Brutalism does not follow the fundamental principles of web design standards. But that doesn’t mean that brutalist UIs aren’t viable. The original goal of brutalist web design is to reduce design and construction to their bare essentials in order to make them more practical. Furthermore, it follows a distinct set of guidelines:
- Finish Your Work in Bare Minimum:
Waste is not tolerated in brutalist web design. Therefore, you only employ things essential enough to make an excellent website. You know the above elements; it also entails dealing with unstyled HTML. Furthermore, it utilizes default fonts, colors, and shapes, among other things, to keep the functionality straightforward. Thus, excessive information, distracting features, and slow-loading pages should not be a problem for visitors.
- Structure Provides Strength and Stability to the Project:
Again many would say that a harsh and crude website might seem primitive, but you can show a lot of strength and stability through this design style. Furthermore, the exposed structure of the UI on the web pages, like the separating lines, tables, and open navigation, can give a site a sturdy feel. Moreover, using basic and neutral tones of white, black, gray, tan, and copper will give a visibly solid structure to the website. Also, rough, imperfect UIs with hard edges contribute to a more professional-feeling website.
- Effective Utility and not Attractive Utility:
There is a considerable difference between ugly and stripped-down interfaces. And brutalism is nowhere near ugly; it’s just less effort with more focus on the information. However, many of you would consider a website with no jazz less interactive and engaging. But you can’t blame human nature for pleasing their visual senses. That said, brutalist web design isn’t really that ugly. Furthermore, there are plenty of examples of contemporary and modern brutalist websites with intricate designing and less extravagant.
- Deliver Transparency:
When brutalism first entered the scene, its practicality and efficiency were considered prime. The plainness challenged the artificial augmentations seen everywhere else. As such, today’s brutalism isn’t just helpful in conveying strength. Its rugged and imperfect interfaces can also get certain truths about a brand that words alone sometimes cannot. Brutalist web design enables brands to put their authentic selves out there with a complete sense of optimism.
BRUTALIST WEB DESIGN VS. MINIMALIST WEB DESIGN
Both brutalist and minimalist designs have different aspects, but they have one common characteristic. Both design styles are based on the concept of “less is more.” However, the understanding and presentation of that concept are different in both.
Brutalism applies the concept of “less is more” by logically reducing a website to its skeletal framework. Therefore, giving less importance to designing details and more to the functioning. On the other hand, minimalism tries to strike a balance between simplicity and beauty, so the finer points still matter. Furthermore, site designers meticulously plan out every detail about spacing, hierarchy, symmetry, and other factors.
Aesthetic is a term for designing standards, and brutalism is not really aesthetic. The idea is to take the resources and information and put them in perspective to communicate the message successfully. On the other hand, minimalist designers are more deliberate. The designers employ more UI elements and don’t shy away from designing or animation to direct attention to vital parts.
Another significant difference between these design trends is how practical they are to utilize. Minimalism is an evergreen design style that many consumers prefer because of its simplicity, appeal, and usable interfaces. Brutalism has a substantially shorter lifespan than minimalism. It also doesn’t have a lot of practical applications. It’s a that many artists follow who are either brutalist or experimental in their work.
The Internet has tested everything present on it. It knows all the a-z of brutalism. Brutalist web design is not like modern design trends such as minimalism or flat design, which have aesthetics. Furthermore, consumers have grown a liking for attractively appealing and engaging user interfaces. Also, the application of total brutalism can be shocking for onlookers. Therefore, a nice balance of brutalism and modern minimalism will be a safe method to experiment with web design. To learn more about such new concepts of web designing do follow our blogs. Also, we at Callsmaters have an extensive range of digital marketing services which you can choose for your online business growth. In addition, you can try certified online campaigns curated by skilled web specialties to create your online presence. On top of that, you can get the best in town SEO analysis coupled with web development services.