There's something profoundly honest about brutalist design. In a world of smooth gradients, subtle shadows, and polished perfection, brutalism stands apart—raw, uncompromising, and unapologetically itself.
Why Brutalism?
The digital landscape has become homogeneous. Open any startup's landing page and you'll find the same patterns: the same hero sections, the same illustration styles, the same carefully curated emptiness. It's beautiful, certainly, but it's also boring.
Brutalism offers an alternative. It says: here is the structure. Here are the materials. Nothing is hidden. Nothing pretends to be something it isn't.
"Brutalism is about being honest about what something is made of."
The Principles
1. Exposed Structure
In brutalist architecture, you see the concrete, the beams, the infrastructure. In digital brutalism, we expose the grid, the borders, the raw elements that make up our interfaces.
.card {
border: 3px solid #1A1918;
box-shadow: 4px 4px 0 #1A1918;
background: #F5F3F0;
}
No gradients softening the edges. No subtle transitions hiding the structure. The design is what it is.
2. Intentional Roughness
Perfection is overrated. A slight rotation, an intentional misalignment, a raw edge—these imperfections make a design feel human.
3. High Contrast
Brutalism doesn't whisper. It speaks clearly, boldly. Black on white. Thick borders. Typography that demands attention.
Applying It to the Web
Building a brutalist website isn't about being ugly or difficult. It's about:
- Clarity: Every element serves a purpose
- Honesty: The design doesn't pretend to be something it isn't
- Intentionality: Every choice is deliberate
The Human Element
What I love most about brutalist design is its humanity. In an age of AI-generated content and template-driven websites, brutalism feels handmade. It feels like someone cared about every decision.
That's the beauty of brutalism. It's not about following trends—it's about making conscious choices and standing by them.
This is how I approach my work. Raw. Intentional. Uncompromising.