Brutalism is best known as the modernist architectural movement distinctive for its rugged concrete construction and utilitarian lack of ornamentation popular in the 1960s and ’70s. But in recent months, the term has been applied to digital design, with “Brutalism” describing an emerging design style that favors rudimentary layouts and basic typefaces. It’s both a throwback to early web design and a rejection of the super-polished, user-friendly design so popular today.
This new form of Brutalism was originated by Pascal Deville, creative director at the ad agency Freundliche Grüsse, who started cataloging examples of it on his website, brutalistwebsites.com, in 2014. Since then, the aesthetic has only grown in popularity. Some designers even consider websites like Bloomberg, Drudge Report, and Adult Swim to exemplify Brutal web design. Earlier this year UX designer Pierre Buttin brutalized the designs of popular websites—Twitter, Google, Tinder—just for the fun of it.
They might be en vogue, but are Brutalist websites, apps, and interfaces good for the people who have to use them? A new satirical website called UX Brutalism mocks the trend by calling out how terrible it is for users.
With digital design, as with anything else, new trends tend to emerge in reaction to whatever is fashionable at the moment. UX Brutalism pokes fun not only at the heavy-handed aesthetic of the moment, but the overly polished, formulaic design that Brutalism rebels against.