Thoughts on Neubrutalism?

I’m curious to hear about your opinions of this web UI design trend.

Personally, I think it feels rather heavy on the eyes with thick black borders, bold typography and highly saturated color schemes. It makes everything looking like a cartoon.

I do think it has its place, but I’ve yet to see many good examples aside Gumroad.

My opinion on any trend is to ignore it until it goes away.
Using any kind of style should match the intent of the content, not just cuz everyone else is using it.
And I’m not going to search whatever the heck gumroad is.

True, chasing trends has never been the move.

Also, Gumroad is just an e-commerce platform for creators.

When I first saw what’s being called neubrutalism, I assumed it was the result of someone taking the notion of mobile-first too far and failing to adjust how things looked on larger displays.

Anyway, I’ve been bored with the state of website UI design for years now. Content management system themes/templates/frameworks contributed to imposing a bland sameness in web design. In addition, the ever-growing complexity of behind-the-scenes technology (most of it unnecessary, in my opinion) has stifled design innovation even more.

As for neubrutalism, I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I think it’s a bit clumsy and awkward. On the other hand, I’m happy to see a least a little movement in breaking through the doldrums that have passed as web design for the last ten years.

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Focus on what your customers need, with change of time, new things will come! Main focus is to grow business and to satisfy clients.

The real issue with a “Trend” is that it is just that—a Trend. It is not meant to last but a short period. I have always believed that those who follow the latest Trend will soon find their design out of style and will have to do a makeover. I have seen many, many Trends come and go in my 50-year career and the outcome is always the same.

Good design basics never go out of style. If one wants to design according to the latest Trend, all well and good—but soon, they will just have to adjust to fit the next “Trend.” Instead, I would rather create something new and different based upon good design principles. Then, who knows, I might just be creating the next Trend!

Calling all trendies (as in “foodies”): What are the popular trends?

I can think of a couple –

  1. “Make it pop”
  2. “Make the logo larger” (same as no. 1)
  3. “Use the Pantone colour of the year”

All suggestions are welcome!

  1. “More Grunge. It needs to be more gritty”
  2. “Edgy. Put so much of the word off the paper you don’t even know what it says. It heightens the suspense.”
  3. “I’ll get you those files first thing in the morning.” Yep, that’s a trend that never ends.
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Never claimed the ability to count is something a graphic designer should be good at. Neither are spelling, grammar, and writing.

In my opinion, this web UI design trend can be visually overwhelming. The prominent black borders, bold typography, and saturated colors create a cartoonish effect. While it has its place, I haven’t come across many impressive examples, except for Gumroad.