It’s called “brutalism,” and it harkens back to simpler, zanier Internet times.
As frontend web designers, we spend so much time writing clean code, finding the perfect starter theme, checking work on every screen size imaginable, obsessing about load times, only to find that the latest design trends balk at best design practices. Will this extreme reaction to homogenized design last, or will it inspire a less boxy way to present on the web?
I remember the early days of the web when we actually thought so-called brutalist design looked good. After all, if we had a tool available, why not use it? Why not use them all? At the same time. A few of my sites had so much shit moving and flashing that they no doubt triggered seizures around the world.
Everything old is new again. My, my.
Brutalism is not retro. It’s not cool. It’s just bad design.
Good design should be invisible.
Good design must yield to the mission.
Brutalism?
The early 1980s are over. You already missed out.
So don’t do it.
Ever.
Source: The hottest trend in Web design is making intentionally ugly, difficult sites – The Washington Post