Kelly Presley, Negosentro | While every web design may be unique in its own way, it is the human train of thought to always try and categorize. This is why we come up with categories such as minimalism and sub-categories such as flat design. However, while these may currently seem as a driving force of web design, they are far from being the only player in the game. The design trend that is directly opposite to flat design is probably brutalism, which takes its roots from the mid-1900s architecture. At the moment, both of these designs have their fans in the digital world but which of them currently seems more perspective? Let’s find out!
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The characteristics of flat design
In order to start analyzing the future of these two designs, we need to start by analyzing and defining them. The simplest way to describe flat design would be to say that it is two-dimensional and that it heavily relies on flat shapes. Still, non-3D doesn’t necessarily mean that this design is dull or uninteresting. With the use of elements such as shadows, textures, and highlights, sites made in this design can appear particularly vivid.
Another thing worth mentioning is that it is incredibly easy to make a flat design into minimalist one, which could further help your page become more responsive. You see, every element you include into your design requires an additional HTTP request, which is why minimalist designs are less resource-intensive.
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How about brutalism?
On the other hand, where flat design depends on the simplicity of shape, brutalism takes a completely different approach. Brutalism heavily relies on the use of bold shapes and three-dimensional forms. Furthermore, brutalism often aims at the use of proportion and scale in order to create a unique impression through contrast. The color combinations used here are also quite unorthodox and you can often encounter the strangest crossovers of bland and flamboyant on the same page.
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Why do they work?
Seeing as how we are discussing these two designs, in particular, it is more than clear that each of them is effective in their own way. This raises another question, how can these so different methods both give positive results. Probably the main reason for such a massive boost in flat design’s popularity lies in its mobile-friendliness. You see, in the present-day world, the majority of people online are mobile-users. According to experts behind a prestigious web design agency, this makes the design touch-friendly which is completely invaluable.
As for the brutalism, you need to look at things from a completely different perspective. At the moment, there are nearly 1.26 billion active websites out there (and counting), which means that being unique is not as easy as you might have thought. Still, because minimalism restricts the number of options and combinations you can use at one time, brutalism might make you stand out a lot easier. Unfortunately, such a plan can backfire just as easily. No matter how random a brutalist design may appear, in order to be effective, it needs to be a product of careful consideration and research.
In conclusion
Finally, while it is possible that one of these two design trends might prevail in the future, it is highly unlikely that other trend will disappear entirely. Although flat design might be more pragmatic, perhaps even aesthetic, some of the recent surveys have shown that teenage and even younger millennial audiences respond quite positively towards brutalism. Be that as it may, every industry and even sub-niche within the industry has its own requirements and preferred methods. Needless to say, this makes it nearly impossible to give a definitive answer of which of these two trends is better.
