3 ms·

I think neobrutalism is the wrong name. I think it gives it a gravitas that is undeserved. This is better described as word95 or ms-bobism. The colours, the st

I think neobrutalism is the wrong name. I think it gives it a gravitas that is undeserved. This is better described as word95 or ms-bobism. The colours, the style is firmly rooted in the mid 90s graphic design style of liberated desktop publishing. Brutalism was all about function over form, using concrete to make a space that is functional, large light and bright.

ogogmad 5y ago
Brutalism has earned a bad reputation, so this term is at best backhanded praise if not an insult. I personally much prefer a realistic 3-dimensional "skeuomorphic" design to flat-looking stuff. Highly technical imitation of reality is quite pleasing on the eyes. It also looks more serious, while the flat stuff often looks like a cartoon for nursery children.
- NoGravitas 5y ago
  I'd rather say brutalism has a divisive reputation.
theandrewbailey 5y ago
Yeah, this seems to have more in common with Memphis design than brutalism. https://cari.institute/aesthetics/memphis-milano https://cari.institute/aesthetics/memphis-milano
neilk 5y ago
Yep, the new style is far more obviously inspired by 1990s design. Right down to the use of yellow. There was no such thing as “clashing” or “too high contrast” in the 1990s. Another poster references Memphis design - that was a huge influence but there’s more going on. In the 1990s we also had desktop publishing tools in the hands of non-credentialed designers, but the resolution and color gamut of screen and page was low. So you had indie artists producing bold, simple shapes, indie cartoons, deconstructed typography. The internet revolution created a market to synthesize these trends. The shock of the new was important. It got boiled down into a style which tried to be both as industrially loud as possible - high contrast, highly saturated colors - but also quirky, with little elements of cartoons or typography that seemed to be falling apart. Differences: Web3 seems to stick with the bold sans-serifs that everything has been converging on. Possibly due to the need to look good on mobile. Also, the 90s loved acid green, perhaps because it almost transcended print. Web3 seems to like a saturated yellow, but not the brightest possible yellow - one that’s reminiscent of print! I see a lot of the 90s in the web3 aesthetic. It might be nostalgia (a 30something designer has childhood memories of that time) but also they have the same goal: to shock people into paying attention, to appeal to youth, to create FOMO in the old in the middle of a gold rush.

ogogmad 5y ago

Brutalism has earned a bad reputation, so this term is at best backhanded praise if not an insult. I personally much prefer a realistic 3-dimensional "skeuomorphic" design to flat-looking stuff. Highly technical imitation of reality is quite pleasing on the eyes. It also looks more serious, while the flat stuff often looks like a cartoon for nursery children.

NoGravitas 5y ago
I'd rather say brutalism has a divisive reputation.

theandrewbailey 5y ago

Yeah, this seems to have more in common with Memphis design than brutalism. https://cari.institute/aesthetics/memphis-milano https://cari.institute/aesthetics/memphis-milano

neilk 5y ago

Yep, the new style is far more obviously inspired by 1990s design. Right down to the use of yellow. There was no such thing as “clashing” or “too high contrast” in the 1990s. Another poster references Memphis design - that was a huge influence but there’s more going on. In the 1990s we also had desktop publishing tools in the hands of non-credentialed designers, but the resolution and color gamut of screen and page was low. So you had indie artists producing bold, simple shapes, indie cartoons, deconstructed typography. The internet revolution created a market to synthesize these trends. The shock of the new was important. It got boiled down into a style which tried to be both as industrially loud as possible - high contrast, highly saturated colors - but also quirky, with little elements of cartoons or typography that seemed to be falling apart. Differences: Web3 seems to stick with the bold sans-serifs that everything has been converging on. Possibly due to the need to look good on mobile. Also, the 90s loved acid green, perhaps because it almost transcended print. Web3 seems to like a saturated yellow, but not the brightest possible yellow - one that’s reminiscent of print! I see a lot of the 90s in the web3 aesthetic. It might be nostalgia (a 30something designer has childhood memories of that time) but also they have the same goal: to shock people into paying attention, to appeal to youth, to create FOMO in the old in the middle of a gold rush.