Neubrutalism, also spelled neobrutalism, uses emphatic outlines, bold blocks, heavy type, and hard shadows within an often orderly interface.
Pink interface controls and yellow buttons use thick black borders and hard offset shadows.
A smiling sun, arrow, flower and checkerboard tile use bright flat colors and black outlines.
A red car appears inside a yellow interface window surrounded by bold controls and geometric shapes.
Overlapping pink and yellow interface panels combine chunky borders, graphic icons and hard shadows.
ABOUT THIS STYLE
Type
Interface pattern
Categories
Expressive
Digital
Disciplines
Graphic Design
UI Design
Period
Contemporary UI trend of the 2020s. NN/g published its definition in April 2025. No fixed founding date is asserted.
Label status
contemporary label
Origins and attribution
NN/g (Hayat Sheikh, 2025) defines neobrutalism, or neubrutalism, as an evolution of brutalism with high contrast, blocky layouts, bold colors, thick borders and solid, unblurred drop shadows, more colorful and orderly than brutalist web design. Designer Michał Malewicz described it as a new style that merges chaotic visuals with good typography. The name borrows from architectural Brutalism, but it is a different thing.
Research source
nngroup.com · hype4.academy
Reviewed
2026-09-24
Images generated by
GPT-6 Extra High
RELATED STYLES
INGREDIENTS
Thick borders, solid shadows without blur, flat fills, large labels, and clearly bounded interface elements.
POSSIBLE APPLICATIONS
A workshop page, a creative tool, or a compact site with a strong graphic personality.
WAYS TO EXPLORE
Pair expressive headings with clear body text and orderly controls. Explore the same layout with different border weights, shadow offsets, and two or three contrasting color fills.
OFTEN CONFUSED WITH
In interface comparisons, Neubrutalism’s emphatic outlines, flat fills and hard shadows can overlap with Brutalism’s raw or minimally styled web applications. Brutalism also has architectural and graphic contexts. Neumorphism, a similar-sounding label, uses soft paired shadows and molded-looking surfaces.
SOURCES
Visual examples are original AI-generated studies.