The Art of Brutalism Web Design

Brutalism is a term often associated with Brutalist Architecture, however, recently this term has been attributed to an emerging style of web design. Brutalism web design is experimental, bold and distinct in style. It is a clashing combination of high contrasting colours, lacking gradients or shades, with a disjointed concrete copy.

A common belief is that this style of design is ‘aesthetically ugly’ and unfriendly to users. Though a stark contrast to many luxury sites, if executed well in conjunction with industry UX and accessibility standards, the raw approach can sometimes perform better than those sites which are conforming. This is mainly due to eye-catching creativity.

Although the results are promising, there hasn’t yet been an example of a luxury brand which has truly broken the boundaries of modern day web design whilst remaining functional and user friendly. It is an ongoing process of trial and error resulting in a high risk for prestigious, luxury brands of whom rely on the perfect customer experience.

Those currently excelling in this area, embarking on the first steps into experimenting with brutalism in combination with luxury include Balenciaga, Bloomberg and Fiorucci.

Bloomberg presents itself as a modern alternative to the traditional web style. The performance of the website is quick, information is clear and it has a wide range of functionality, made possible with the stripped back branding.

One of the benefits of using a raw, brutal style for your website, is the opportunity it provides to play with your campaign pages. Elements can be designed simply, allowing them to be skewed and disjointed without losing legibility. Due to the high contrast and lack of shades, colours outside the brand palette can also be easily implemented. There are endless creative opportunities for animation and mouse interaction too; They can be used in places traditionally avoided.

Websites capitalising on brutalism are at the forefront of web design. Although it is a new relatively trend, Verb believes it is the perfect fit for unorthodox luxury brands who wish to push the boundaries.

If you would like help with your web design or want to try some brutalism styling for your brand, please get in contact with us.