As new software and coding emerges, the minimalist web design trend that has dominated for over a decade is giving way to new styles, most notably maximalism and brutalism.
Brutalist design is a concept that has been around for many decades in architecture, posters, and art, but it is now making its way to web design.
A brutalist website can best be described as a minimalist approach, but much stronger. Not quite maximalism, but instead an approach that foregoes simple designs and clean lines, much like the early days of web design before the mid-2000s.
Bold, colourful, and eye-catching are three traits of brutalism’s graphic design styles. It has a rugged approach that runs counter to the minimalist notions of optimism and lightness. Instead of being somewhat delicate, it hits like a hammer thanks to its stark approach. Brutalism uses dark backgrounds, white and lime green text colours, and monospaced typography to get its point across. This can be a great tool to increase conversions as buttons, links and call to actions really stand out and can jump off the page due to the lack of ambiguity on what you’re meant to be clicking on.
Attributes of brutalist web design
There are powerful reasons why a brutalist new website is becoming more popular today, especially with new software programs that overcome some of the issues that the older form was troubled with two decades ago.
Stark: There is nothing subtle about brutalist design. It is straightforward, obvious, and a powerful way to convey your website to the public. It’s use of bold colours, simple text, and stripped-down approach offers a counterpoint to the minimalism that has dominated web design for over a decade. The logo design will likely be two-tone with a bold type.
Promotes Conversation: While part of brutalism website design appeal is because it is a new trend, there is little doubt that it causes conversations which mean more engagement. When people see the bold use of colour contrasted with the simple text layout, some may find it ugly, but there is little doubt that it catches their attention and causes greater engagement. User experience is improved due to the lack of clutter, images and videos.
Fast: Brutalism in web design means no videos, high-resolution images, or other large files that slow the download of websites to computers, laptops, and mobile devices. In other words, visitors will enjoy not having to wait for the website to download which creates a better positive impression of your site.
The Future of Brutalism
While there is little doubt this form of web design is on the rise, it’s also true that like all trends it will fade over time. How fast it loses its momentum is not known, but given its harsh, in-your-face style, it may not last as long as the current minimalism trend in web design, but that remains to be seen as it grows in popularity among graphic designers.
However, there are already slight changes happening to the brutalism design concept, subtle changes that take away some of the harshness, colour, and bold approach that makes it more accepting to audiences. While brutalism may not appeal to everyone, especially those who have grown use to the aesthetic qualities of minimalism, it’s also true that it does get people’s attention right off the bat and takes full advantage of new software programs and code for web design.