Tina Worboys | Jan 31, 2025
The whole film is visual treat for any fan of the brutalist movement; the uncompromisingly confident design style, architecturally characterized by solid, expressive concrete forms which never fail to elicit a reaction. Although arguably a fitting term, the word Brutalism doesn’t come from its stark boldness but from a twist on the French phrase ‘béton brut’ coined by the Bauhaus legend Le Corbusier, literally meaning ‘raw concrete’.
Brutalism shunned decoration and instead celebrated raw materials at work, often elevating them beyond purpose alone. It was the cold, harsh face of beauty and thoroughly intoxicating.
Here the straightforward, utilitarian typography and minimal embellishments are used so artfully that it’s still my first memory when recalling the film. I absolutely loved it (I did love the whole film too, not just the typography. Very glad of the intermission though).
After many years creating all sorts of designs, from brands to gardens, it still surprises me that something so seemingly simple can ignite such a powerful response. But the right details, handled in the right way can move us almost inexplicably. True I can be a design nerd but it makes a difference, get it right and it communicates so much, get it wrong and it either screams equally as loud but with all the wrong words or goes unseen, your message ultimately falling silent.
The Design Museum recently posted a great quote from the graphic design legend Paul Rand:
Design can be art.
Design can be aesthetics.
Design is so simple, that’s why it is so complicated.
It’s true! Seemingly small details bring with them more baggage than there’s time to unpack. All those tiny triggers, carefully choreographed by the designer, are setting thoughts, feelings, judgements and memories alight whether we realise it or not.
We are such visual creatures, bombarded with images every minute, most of which are acknowledged by the subconscious alone. From colours and textures, to masses and voids, everything invites a reaction no matter how small; a connection, an understanding, a reference, a moment. As designers every choice we make is a building block in evoking such a response, communicating an idea and taking the viewer on a journey of our choice.
So yes, it is worth sweating the small stuff. Those incremental nudges in the kerning, those tiny decisions are the difference between creating an emotive connection and just more visual noise.
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