brutalism – Design & UI skill for AI agents

Brutalism

> "Raw materials exposed. An intentional rejection of polish, gradients, and soft shadows."

When to Use

Use this sub-style when the user's request matches the aesthetic described above. This is a child reference of the design-it skill and is not meant to be triggered directly.

Core Principles

1. Unstyled Components: Default browser styling for buttons, inputs, and links is celebrated.

2. Exposed Structure: Grid lines, tables with visible borders, and stark boundaries are used instead of whitespace to separate content.

3. Anti-Aesthetic: Intentional awkwardness. Elements might slightly overlap in a way that feels broken, or use system default fonts.

Visual DNA

• Colors: High contrast, often clashing. Pure #0000FF blue for links, #FF0000 red for accents, on stark white or #C0C0C0 grey backgrounds. Industrial Chic palette fits best.
• Typography: Courier New, Times New Roman, Comic Sans, or default sans-serifs. No web fonts.
• Visuals: Dithered images, pixelated graphics, or heavily compressed jpegs.

Web Implementation

• Use standard HTML tags without overriding their default appearance whenever possible.
• CSS Example:

body {
  background-color: #ffffff;
  color: #000000;
  font-family: monospace;
}

/* Expose the structure */
.brutalist-container {
  border: 1px solid #000;
  padding: 10px;
}

.brutalist-section {
  border-bottom: 2px dashed #000;
  margin-bottom: 20px;
  padding-bottom: 20px;
}

/* Default-looking button but massive */
.brutalist-btn {
  background-color: #c0c0c0;
  border: 2px outset #ffffff;
  border-right-color: #000000;
  border-bottom-color: #000000;
  color: #000000;
  font-family: sans-serif;
  font-size: 24px;
  padding: 10px 20px;
  cursor: pointer;
}

.brutalist-btn:active {
  border-style: inset;
}

/* System link blue */
a {
  color: #0000FF;
  text-decoration: underline;
}

App Implementation

SwiftUI

struct BrutalistView: View {
    var body: some View {
        VStack(alignment: .leading, spacing: 0) {
            Text("BRUTALISM")
                .font(.custom("Courier New", size: 32))
                .foregroundColor(.black)
                .padding(10)
                .border(Color.black, width: 2)
            
            Divider().background(Color.black).padding(.vertical, 20)
            
            Button(action: {}) {
                Text("CLICK_HERE")
                    .font(.custom("Courier New", size: 24))
                    .foregroundColor(.blue)
                    .underline()
            }
            .padding(10)
            
            // Raw structural container
            VStack(alignment: .leading) {
                Text("System Status: RAW").font(.custom("Courier New", size: 14))
            }
            .padding()
            .border(Color.black, width: 1)
        }
        .padding()
        .frame(maxWidth: .infinity, maxHeight: .infinity, alignment: .topLeading)
        .background(Color.white)
    }
}

• Style semantic Button and Link controls to look raw; underlined Text alone does not provide button or navigation behavior.
• Use .border(Color.black, width: 1) instead of backgrounds or shadows.
• Force monospace fonts like Courier New or Menlo.

Flutter

class BrutalistScreen extends StatelessWidget {
  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    // DO NOT use MaterialApp theme or Scaffold if possible,
    // or strip them down completely.
    return Scaffold(
      backgroundColor: Colors.white,
      body: SafeArea(
        child: Padding(
          padding: const EdgeInsets.all(16.0),
          child: Column(
            crossAxisAlignment: CrossAxisAlignment.start,
            children: [
              Container(
                padding: const EdgeInsets.all(8),
                decoration: BoxDecoration(
                  border: Border.all(color: Colors.black, width: 2),
                ),
                child: const Text(
                  'BRUTALISM',
                  style: TextStyle(
                    fontFamily: 'Courier',
                    fontSize: 32,
                    color: Colors.black,
                  ),
                ),
              ),
              const Padding(
                padding: EdgeInsets.symmetric(vertical: 20),
                child: Divider(color: Colors.black, thickness: 2),
              ),
              GestureDetector(
                onTap: () {},
                child: const Text(
                  'CLICK_HERE',
                  style: TextStyle(
                    fontFamily: 'Courier',
                    fontSize: 24,
                    color: Colors.blue,
                    decoration: TextDecoration.underline,
                  ),
                ),
              ),
            ],
          ),
        ),
      ),
    );
  }
}

• Prefer semantic buttons with custom raw styling; a GestureDetector alone requires explicit focus, keyboard and accessibility support.
• Build UI out of raw Containers with Border.all(color: Colors.black) and Text widgets.
• Use TextDecoration.underline to indicate interactivity.

React Native

const BrutalistScreen = () => {
  return (
    <View style={{ flex: 1, backgroundColor: '#FFFFFF', padding: 16 }}>
      <View style={{
        borderWidth: 2,
        borderColor: '#000000',
        padding: 10,
        alignSelf: 'flex-start'
      }}>
        <Text style={{ fontFamily: 'monospace', fontSize: 32, color: '#000' }}>
          BRUTALISM
        </Text>
      </View>
      
      <View style={{ height: 2, backgroundColor: '#000', marginVertical: 20 }} />
      
      <TouchableOpacity activeOpacity={1}>
        <Text style={{
          fontFamily: 'monospace',
          fontSize: 24,
          color: '#0000FF',
          textDecorationLine: 'underline'
        }}>
          CLICK_HERE
        </Text>
      </TouchableOpacity>

      <View style={{
        borderWidth: 1,
        borderColor: '#000',
        padding: 16,
        marginTop: 40
      }}>
        <Text style={{ fontFamily: 'monospace', color: '#000' }}>
          System Status: RAW
        </Text>
      </View>
    </View>
  );
};

• Strip away all native feel. Do not use react-native-elements or react-native-paper.
• Set activeOpacity={1} on TouchableOpacity so there is no smooth fade — it should just click instantly.
• Use pure hex colors: #FFFFFF, #000000, #0000FF.

Jetpack Compose

@Composable
fun BrutalistScreen() {
    Column(
        modifier = Modifier
            .fillMaxSize()
            .background(Color.White)
            .padding(16.dp)
    ) {
        Box(
            modifier = Modifier
                .border(2.dp, Color.Black)
                .padding(10.dp)
        ) {
            BasicText(
                text = "BRUTALISM",
                style = TextStyle(
                    fontFamily = FontFamily.Monospace,
                    fontSize = 32.sp,
                    color = Color.Black
                )
            )
        }
        
        Spacer(Modifier.height(20.dp))
        Box(modifier = Modifier.fillMaxWidth().height(2.dp).background(Color.Black))
        Spacer(Modifier.height(20.dp))
        
        BasicText(
            text = "CLICK_HERE",
            modifier = Modifier.clickable { },
            style = TextStyle(
                fontFamily = FontFamily.Monospace,
                fontSize = 24.sp,
                color = Color.Blue,
                textDecoration = TextDecoration.Underline
            )
        )
    }
}

• Use BasicText instead of Text to bypass Material theme defaults.
• Build structural lines using Box with .background(Color.Black).
• Use semantic controls with raw styling. Retain button roles, keyboard activation, focus and feedback.

Do's and Don'ts

• DO: Use harsh, high-contrast borders (1px solid black) around everything.
• DON'T: Use border-radius, drop shadows, or smooth transitions. If it animates, it should pop instantly (0s transition).

Limitations

• This is a styling reference and does not replace environment-specific validation, accessibility testing, or expert review.
• Ensure appropriate contrast ratios and responsive behaviors are verified separately.