4 ms·

Love the function-first design approach -- e.g., "start with left-aligned black text on a white background, and to apply styling only to solve a specific proble

by toss1 8y ago

Love the function-first design approach -- e.g., "start with left-aligned black text on a white background, and to apply styling only to solve a specific problem."! But I'm not sure that "Brutalist" is the best name for it, as it carries a connotation of harsh, even ugly architecture designed around the materials, which brutalizes the user, whereas this web design is all about presenting the content in the best, least distracting way for the user ("When in doubt, do what Tron does: fight for the users."). Sure the name is edgy & gets attention, but...

oh_sigh 8y ago
People don't need to know what the name of a style is in order to enjoy it or not enjoy it.
tzahola 8y ago
Brutalism doesn’t “brutalize” anyone... “The term brutalism is derived from the French betón brut, meaning “raw concrete”.”
- pseudalopex 8y ago
  The French is where the name comes from, but the English is how a lot of people feel about it.
LarryL 8y ago
I completely agree, I was about to write the same: that name is VERY badly chosen, it conveys the wrong idea to anybody who has not read the origin of the term, and makes it sound horribly pretentious (something I hate). Whereas the ideas are quite sound (and common sense). I also find it weird, to say the least, that so many people seem to rediscover those ideas that have been known -and advocated- FOREVER by people with a clue (look at Jacob Nielsen for an example). I also enjoy the irony that the writer uses a VERY BIG font for the titles (H1), that "brutalizes" (LOL) my eyes, especially the HUGE title of the article: they are MUCH too big. BTW, it's "béton brut" not "betón brut", the typo makes it seem really weird for french people. Cf. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9ton_brut https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9ton_brut .
- buildbuildbuild 8y ago
  The term is not the author's (though perhaps it was misunderstood), it is a fairly established style in current web design culture: http://brutalistwebsites.com/ http://brutalistwebsites.com/ https://www.google.com/search?q=web%20brutalism https://www.google.com/search?q=web%20brutalism
  - tzahola 8y ago
    These are the exact opposite of what the original post is advocating for.
- alvah 8y ago
  "Look at Jacob Nielsen for an example" Indeed - my copy of his "Designing Web Usability" was published in 2000, and the OP is basically a re-statement of the principles in this book.

by toss1 8y ago

oh_sigh 8y ago

People don't need to know what the name of a style is in order to enjoy it or not enjoy it.

tzahola 8y ago

Brutalism doesn’t “brutalize” anyone... “The term brutalism is derived from the French betón brut, meaning “raw concrete”.”

pseudalopex 8y ago
The French is where the name comes from, but the English is how a lot of people feel about it.

LarryL 8y ago

I completely agree, I was about to write the same: that name is VERY badly chosen, it conveys the wrong idea to anybody who has not read the origin of the term, and makes it sound horribly pretentious (something I hate). Whereas the ideas are quite sound (and common sense). I also find it weird, to say the least, that so many people seem to rediscover those ideas that have been known -and advocated- FOREVER by people with a clue (look at Jacob Nielsen for an example). I also enjoy the irony that the writer uses a VERY BIG font for the titles (H1), that "brutalizes" (LOL) my eyes, especially the HUGE title of the article: they are MUCH too big. BTW, it's "béton brut" not "betón brut", the typo makes it seem really weird for french people. Cf. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9ton_brut https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9ton_brut .

buildbuildbuild 8y ago
The term is not the author's (though perhaps it was misunderstood), it is a fairly established style in current web design culture: http://brutalistwebsites.com/ http://brutalistwebsites.com/ https://www.google.com/search?q=web%20brutalism https://www.google.com/search?q=web%20brutalism
- tzahola 8y ago
  These are the exact opposite of what the original post is advocating for.
alvah 8y ago
"Look at Jacob Nielsen for an example" Indeed - my copy of his "Designing Web Usability" was published in 2000, and the OP is basically a re-statement of the principles in this book.