Brutalism (web)
Sites that show their raw materials: default fonts, blue underlined links, visible structure, zero polish. Ugly on purpose and proud of it.
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What it is
Web brutalism borrows its name from architectural Brutalism, where raw poured concrete was left exposed instead of being clad in something prettier. The web version leaves the raw material of the page exposed: browser default fonts, unstyled blue underlined links, visible table and border structure, system form controls, hard edges, high contrast, no rounded corners, no gradients, no soft shadows.
Reach for it when polish reads as insincere. Fast, honest, text-forward sites use it well: personal sites, manifestos, indie software, art and fashion labels that want to look like they refuse to try. Craigslist and Hacker News are the accidental ancestors; Bloomberg features, Balenciaga's storefront, and the archive at brutalistwebsites.com are the deliberate ones.
Gotcha: brutalism gets confused with neobrutalism, which is a different animal (thick black outlines, offset drop shadows, loud flat colors, a very designed look). And raw is not the same as broken: keep real focus rings, keep contrast legal, keep tap targets big. Ugly on purpose is a style, unusable by accident is a bug.
Ask AI for it
Build this page in a web brutalist style: no CSS framework aesthetic, no rounded corners, no gradients, no box shadows. Use browser default or system fonts (Times, Courier, Helvetica), plain blue underlined links, 1px solid black borders, raw system form controls, and pure black text on white with one harsh accent color. Left-align everything and expose the document structure: real headings, visible rules and table borders, no decorative wrappers. Constrain body copy to a readable measure of roughly 60 to 80 characters per line. Keep visible focus outlines and accessible contrast.