Brutalism: Defying UI

Written By Deirdre Roesch

Confession: I discovered the term brutalism for the first time about 6 months ago. As I flipped through DesignLab’s blog post on the topic, I was shocked to discover it didn’t have anything to do with violence or disgust.

Instead, brutalism is defined as “a raw, minimal style of design that embraces functionality over form and aesthetics.” In other words, it defies UI design best practices and intrigues visitors by creating websites they have never seen before.

Characteristics of Brutalism Include:

  • Bold

  • Eye-catching

  • Geometrical patterns

  • Honesty about materials

  • Integrity of function

  • Lightness

  • Minimalistic approach to layout

  • Optimism

  • Raw

  • Repetition

  • Simplicity

  • Social vision

Key Features:

  • Clashing color palette*

  • Honesty and transparency

  • Minimal CSS

  • Navigation and information hierarchy*

  • Raw and unpolished design elements*

  • Repeating patterns

*Bad for accessibility

With all of these wacky things in mind, I took a stab at designing a very simple landing page for a mock food website called “Unlikely Flavors.”

What do you think? Is it brutal enough for you? How does this landing page defy the rules of UI?

Deirdre Roesch
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