What Is Brutalist Web Design?

If you remember our web design mistakes blog post, our last paragraph mentioned Ling Valentine’s LINGsCARS car-leasing website. We said how it had broken many web design rules, yet worked very well. This 2017 article considers how brutalist web design challenges conventional web design. In a Motherboard interview, Valentine urged designers to:

“be human. And truthful and honest”

For a business website, that raises practical questions about the relationship between personality and clarity. Can visitors find the information they need? Are the next steps obvious? Does the visual style support the message? A memorable page still needs to work for the people using it, including those on smaller screens.

Brutalist website concept with bold borders, large type and a raw grid layout.
Concept illustration: brutalist website concept with bold borders, large type and a raw grid layout.

The example also challenges the assumption that a polished surface is the only route to a distinctive identity. Deliberately unconventional imagery can give a page character, but its value should be judged against the business’s audience and purpose, not novelty alone.

Visual experimentation and usability

Brutalist web design challenges familiar visual conventions through raw, stripped-back or deliberately unconventional layouts. It does not remove the need for responsive behaviour and accessible navigation. In one way, it could be a more human approach to web design. On the other hand, it could be an ironic euphemism or catch-all term to justify bad design.

Perhaps there is a good case for brutalist web design. Is Punk Web Design a more appropriate term? Maybe so, given how the user interface of some sites are reminiscent of punk fanzines like Sniffin’ Glue. It also gives us a nostalgic feel for the era of Geocities websites and rotating ‘e’ icons for sending emails.

Choosing an approach for your business

At the time of this article’s original publication in May 2017, brutalist web design was attracting attention for challenging established visual conventions. We are unsure: we favour slickly produced websites that are easy on the eye and quick to load. Whether your desired design is brutalist, high gloss, or steampunk, we at Dreamkatcha will do our utmost to build a website that best reflects your business.

Dreamkatcha, 18 May 2017.

Contact Dreamkatcha today to discuss a start-up business, web design or logo design project.