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Neubrutalism is taking over the web?

hype4.academy

171–180 of 204 posts

Re: Neubrutalism is taking over the web?

#171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

True, I was thinking about that too. But one aspect of brutalist architecture is "showing how it's made", making infrastructure visible, making structural apparatus visible. And making raw materials visible for what they are, not trying to make them look like something they're not. That's part of it's "rawness" too, as I've always understood it -- it's not just about using concrete. That part does seem to some extent…

I think that context matters. Coming out of the 1940's, where fascism preyed on nostalgia and fear, brutalism brings forward a concept of the future that is both fearless and lacks nostalgia. Not seeing the world through your imagination of how you want to see it, but how it really is. Unlike Albert's Spear's or Mussolini's Roman and Greek inspired pieces (setting EUR aside), a brutalist view is honest, simple, and l…

Good points. There's probably no way for any contemporary design to capture that historical contextual element of brutalism (or modernism in general), that was a stance particular to that period of time, you can't have that same stance toward the past/future now with an extra 100 years of past behind us and what has happened in it...

(And of course it should be said that both Italian and German fascist architecture could also be big into modernism, and a "concept of the future that is fearless", and even in some ways "lacks nostalgia". Fascism is nothing if not contradictory.)

I still think there's something notable about the "draw attention to it being a computer screen" that is notable about the designs in OP -- that OP doesn't actually discuss much -- whether or not we call it "brutalism". Interestingly though, I also want to say it kind of wants to draw attention to it's artificiality in a way that seems very contrary to brutalism. Perhaps since the computer screen is such an artificial "simulacrum" kind of environment in the first place, to draw attention to it's true nature is to promote a kind of artificiality, when to draw attention to the true nature of a physical building was in the 20th century thought of as a dismissal of artifice.

Anyway, this is maybe getting pretty far afield, but interesting stuff!

Re: Neubrutalism is taking over the web?

#173
It's amazing how most people here don't understand the concept of trends. Trends affect everyone subconsciously. And they apply to everything, but especially easily superficial things.

No one is immune to them. They are the driving force behind the design languages changes that periodically update the web. It's not much different from how interior design and clothing change over time.

It's funny because most people are intimately in tune with the fashion of a thousand different things, from shirts to web page buttons to the politics of their social group, but somehow almost completely unaware of these things consciously.

It's because they don't have a strong concept of metacognition or understanding of how belief structures work.

Re: Neubrutalism is taking over the web?

#174
post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If a site or app has a dated design, I usually discount it. I assume that it is going to be outdated in functionality as well. And that it will have a myriad of unsolved bugs, none of which is ever going to be fixed. New bugs have one advantage over old bugs: they have a better chance of somebody caring enough to fix it.

Ignoring the fallacy that dated design equals outdated functionality... I'd assume the opposite in regards to bugs: My assumption would be that older software has fewer bugs since, the longer the software is used, the more likely it is for bugs to be discovered.

For bugs to be fixed, changes have to be made. If software is unchanged, by definition it will have the original bugs.

It's not always clear if software is actually changed. A changelog is useful in that regard, but you won't get that everywhere. Dated looks is a heuristic for: was build long ago, has had no changes since.

Heuristics aren't proofs of course, but you so rarely get proofs in real life anyway.

Re: Neubrutalism is taking over the web?

#175
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "Brutalism" doesn't come from "brutal" but from "brut", meaning raw or unaltered. ...and when something has that quality, you say that it's brutal .

Not according to the dictionary. brutal, adjective savagely violent: a brutal murder. • unpleasant or harsh • direct and without attempting to disguise unpleasantness

A dictionary that doesn't capture every nuance, who'd have thunk it?

Re: Neubrutalism is taking over the web?

#176
post #57
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, Figma designers aren’t good at design. Thousands of people would disagree with you.

Except there’s not much “neubrutalism” in Figma’s design. Some borders are thicker than usual, that’s about the extent of it; it’s otherwise quite similar to every other landing page. (Yes, it uses a lot of soft shadow.) Looks like OP tried really hard to find examples for something that’s allegedly taking over the web.

Check this one out: https://config.figma.com/events/figma-config-2022/home

Re: Neubrutalism is taking over the web?

#177
I don't really see much of this as brutalism. Fully opaque drop shadows just don't make any sense; a brutalist design wouldn't have drop shadows.

For me, the ideal UI brutalism would be black-and-white Macintosh System 6. For web brutalism, I'd generally consider "as little styling as possible; keep close to browser defaults with the changes you need for usability and readability".

Re: Neubrutalism is taking over the web?

#179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Correct, brutalism is concerned with total utilitarianism and a complete lack of artifice but, every brutalist structure i’ve had the displeasure to work in sucked for humans to occupy and interact with. They completely prioritize artifice over functional matters.

There are a number of brutalist academic libraries that I find delightful to be inside of, using them for library purposes. Somehow it's a style suited for libraries? I went to school here, and this one from the OUTSIDE I don't love, but on the INSIDE it's actually a delightful place to read, browse the stacks, study, or nap. And has been beloved by generations of students. https://www.oberlin.edu/mudd-center Univers…

You may be right. My hometown's library and civic center (pool, gym, meeting rooms) are brutalist, and I always found them delightful.

Re: Neubrutalism is taking over the web?

#180
post #48

> Brutalism is a 1950’s architectural trend that was abandoning all decorations, and creating brutally simple buildings made from concrete. They often weren’t even painted to emphasize their brutal nature. So big, brutal blocks of concrete. The word "brut" came from French "Béton brut" which means "raw concrete" — has nothing with how "brutal" we perceive it to be. There's lots of architecture articles covering this…

Correct, brutalism is concerned with total utilitarianism and a complete lack of artifice (the material is irrelevant, although a lot of brutalist architecture is made from concrete). It contrasts itself with minimalism by taking it to the extreme and creating an almost anti-human aesthetic. This makes it appropriate for buildings that are looking to evoke anti-human ideals; churches and monasteries (divinity of God…

>This makes it appropriate for buildings that are looking to evoke anti-human ideals; churches and monasteries

Have you seen an actual monastery? An actual old church (at least 700 years) kept in its original style?

They are as far as you can get from just utilitarian, to the point that they are impractial in many ways.

Nobody needs, or have any use for, a 120 foot ceiling, except to impress visitors by showing them the glory of God. Nobody needs the entire outside of the building having a row of stone Gargoyles hand carved in the smallest details, but they are there.

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