Neobrutalism CSS Generator | Hard Shadow & Brutalist UI Maker

Neobrutalism CSS Generator

Create trendy, high-impact web components. Generate Figma-style hard shadow CSS and thick borders instantly to build the perfect brutalist CSS button or pricing card.

Component Type
Shadow Offset X 6px
Shadow Offset Y 6px
Border Width 3px
Border Radius 0px
Background Color
Invalid Hex Code
Shadow & Border Color
Invalid Hex Code
Neo-Brutalism

What is Neobrutalism UI Design?

Neobrutalism (or neo-brutalism) is a web design philosophy that rebels against the hyper-polished, soft-blurred “corporate Memphis” aesthetic that dominated the web throughout the 2010s. By embracing stark contrasts, raw typography, and jarring geometry, it intentionally looks like raw HTML layered with MS Paint logic.

Using our neobrutalism CSS generator, you can instantly replicate this aesthetic. The style is primarily defined by high-contrast, primary background colors (often pastels or vibrant yellows/pinks) juxtaposed immediately against thick, pitch-black borders.

How to Generate Brutalist CSS Buttons & Cards

Constructing a brutalist CSS button generator style manually requires dialing in very specific padding, border, and shadow mechanics. Here is how to achieve the look perfectly:

  1. Set the Border Thickness: Unlike modern “flat” design where borders are practically invisible (1px light gray), brutalism demands a border: 3px solid #000; or thicker. It acts as a harsh framing device.
  2. Minimize the Radius: Early brutalism used a border-radius: 0px for a sharp, aggressive box. More recent, friendly iterations (often called “Soft Brutalism”) utilize a slight radius (4px – 8px) to make the geometry slightly more inviting.
  3. Apply the “Mechanical Press” Hover: When a user hovers over a brutalist element, it shouldn’t slowly fade. It should snap mechanically. Ensure the “Push Down” hover checkbox is checked to generate the transform: translate(x, y) CSS state that pushes the button down into its own shadow.

The Secret: Hard CSS Box Shadows

The defining characteristic of this entire UI trend is the shadow. A traditional box shadow utilizes a heavy blur radius to simulate soft lighting (e.g., box-shadow: 0px 10px 25px rgba(0,0,0,0.1);).

Neobrutalism uses a hard shadow CSS generator hack. By explicitly setting the blur radius and spread radius to 0px, the browser renders a solid, unblurred block of color offset behind the element.

💡 The Hard Shadow Formula: box-shadow: [X-offset] [Y-offset] 0px 0px [Color];
Example: box-shadow: 6px 6px 0px 0px #0f172a;

Why SaaS Companies Love Figma-Style CSS Borders

If you have used the design tool Figma, you are familiar with its UI—thick black borders and stark outlines. This Figma style CSS borders aesthetic has exploded across SaaS landing pages, and for good reason: it is incredibly effective for conversion rates.

In standard web design, elements tend to blend together. Neobrutalist UI components physically refuse to be ignored. When you place a bright yellow button with a thick black outline and a heavy drop shadow on a white background, the user’s eye is forcefully drawn to it. It makes Call To Actions (CTAs) undeniable.

Accessibility and Color Contrast Rules

While neo-brutalist UI design is visually striking, it carries severe risks regarding Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) if implemented poorly. The primary concern is color contrast.

Because brutalism frequently uses stark black text, you must ensure your background color (the “fill” of the button or card) is light enough or vibrant enough to maintain a minimum 4.5:1 contrast ratio. Avoid using dark navy or deep red as a background fill if your text and border colors are black; the text will become entirely unreadable for users with visual impairments.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I make a hard shadow in CSS?

To create a hard shadow, you use the standard box-shadow property but set both the blur radius and the spread radius strictly to 0px. For example: box-shadow: 8px 8px 0px 0px #000000; creates a solid black block offset by 8 pixels.

How does the brutalist button hover effect work?

The mechanical “push down” effect is achieved by using the transform: translate(x, y) property on the :hover state. You translate the button to match the exact X and Y coordinates of the box shadow, and simultaneously reduce the box shadow to 0px, making it look like the button was pressed physically into the screen.

Is Neobrutalism bad for mobile responsiveness?

No, the CSS itself is perfectly responsive. However, thick borders and massive offset shadows take up physical pixel space on the screen. On very small mobile devices, you may need to reduce the shadow offset from 8px to 4px using a media query to prevent horizontal scrolling issues.

Scroll to Top