I agree that 2010s are flat now, but somewhere in between those two there was this
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What is the 2000s aesthetic? For that matter, what's the 2010s?
- Thread starter Sun's Resting Place
- Start date
Well, I felt that 90's aesthetic was defined in the early 2000's.
The 2000's feels distinct on its own, but nothing stands out design wise. Everything feels like a mishmash these days since a lot of design takes inspiration from previous decades.
2000s is actually pretty easy: smooth clean white and chrome, aka Apple's main color scheme.
2010s is a bit harder, because of the shit-tons of shitposting that has dominated the decade, but I think Monodi has the right idea. That and whatever can constitute as retro 80s throwback (Stranger Things font?)
2010s is a bit harder, because of the shit-tons of shitposting that has dominated the decade, but I think Monodi has the right idea. That and whatever can constitute as retro 80s throwback (Stranger Things font?)
AOL(AIM and whatnot), Emo shit, Apple/iPOD products(commericials), Newgrounds(and the start of web-animations) stuff like that
I think it is also worth pointing out that these do not necessarily need to democratic, it is just a matter of whatever has remained as the most distinctive even if it was not the most broadly used. Usually music and film. The 60's for instance, were an age of minimalism and a lot of solid colors, but we remember it more for music related graphics than other industries designs
Here's what I think of for the 2000s
Indy record labels
iPods
Of course, Craigslist, circa 1966/1979/1995/2003/2011/2056
Target and Fred Meyer selling band shirts of bad bands
This and stuff like it
Indy record labels
iPods
Of course, Craigslist, circa 1966/1979/1995/2003/2011/2056
Target and Fred Meyer selling band shirts of bad bands
This and stuff like it
The 2000's: Over designed?
2010's: minimalist?
I guess that's the way I perceive it generally when it comes to aesthetic.
2010's: minimalist?
I guess that's the way I perceive it generally when it comes to aesthetic.
The 2000's aesthetic to me can be exemplified by this kind of thing:
I don't really like it, but I bet that in 20 years at maximum we will be revisiting and glorifying it. I still remember how the 80's were bashed all over the internet [I always liked the decade, however] and now it is PURE HYPE lol
I don't really like it, but I bet that in 20 years at maximum we will be revisiting and glorifying it. I still remember how the 80's were bashed all over the internet [I always liked the decade, however] and now it is PURE HYPE lol
Here's a good site for late 90s/early 2000s faux-futuristic aesthetic (liquid metal everywhere)
Other areas of inspiration
+Emo/pop punk/Hot Topic
+Myspace gaudiness
+Apple aesthetic (the Wii and DS fall under this as well)
+Anything from the first three Fast and the Furious movies
Other areas of inspiration
+Emo/pop punk/Hot Topic
+Myspace gaudiness
+Apple aesthetic (the Wii and DS fall under this as well)
+Anything from the first three Fast and the Furious movies
Also to add a bit, VH1 did one of the "I Love the" regarding the 00s called "I Love the New Millennium", and here is the title and the promo ad used for it:
2000s was skeumorphism and glass effects
See Windows Vista Start Orb (and the OS in general) and early iOS
2010s is flat minimalism
See Windows Vista Start Orb (and the OS in general) and early iOS
2010s is flat minimalism
2000s can't be defined I don't think. It has to be separated into halves.
So much change occurred from 06-10. They look like whole new worlds. 01 compared to 07 is night and day in style and everything else.
So much change occurred from 06-10. They look like whole new worlds. 01 compared to 07 is night and day in style and everything else.
I mean, we say this now, but I'm sure the early 60s were different from the late 60s and early 80s from late 80s.
Like everything, time and ignorance will smooth out the micro differences to create a coherent image.
The hell is this film? Is it any good?
EDIT: 33% on RT. Probably not.
Anyway, the I think about gradients and shiny stuff when I think about the 2000s desgin-wise.
I feel like American Pie signalled the 2000's style coming in and Friends with Benefits did the same for the 2010's. But I also think you can't really sum up these decades like you can the previous ones. Late 90's to mid 2000's seems to have its own thing going on.
Hell, people wanted to be anal about it, you could even separate decades into three portions. The 80s, for instance, you have the early 80s (1980-1982 or 83) which fells like the part that has evolved from the late 70s, more rock music, last signs of Disco, some of the clothing style still has that 70s-feels and somewhat more experimental and new sounds and styles. Then you have the mid-80s (1983 or 1984-1986) where the decade found itself. Finally, you have the late 80s (1987-1989), which not only served as the "over-producing" of the 80s style (hair became the biggest, music became the most poppy, colors became the brightest and such), but it also transitioned into the 90s by having certain "underground" scenes inching their way into the pop culture forefront. (kinda like how New Wave was considered underground during the 70s, but became a big part of the 80s, Alternative Rock kinda did the same. REM, Nirvana and grunge was starting to game more mainstream popularity, and Hip Hop started paving the way for 90s Gangsta Rap.
Though yeah, a decade aesthetic, when looking back, tends to be a meshup of different concepts of the time. Like, OP posted infamous blue and hot pink grid that seems, nowadays more than ever, synonymous with the 1980s, even though I think it was only used, maybe on an album cover or pop art and wasn't really that common back then, as far as being an overused "look" during the time that actual decade was in play. Hell, just from my recollection, that whole "neon vector" style was more early 80s style than anything seen in the mid-late 80s. Looked inspired by the kinda vector graphics of the game Tempest and these old bumpers I remember:
You merely have to look at a cultural barometer like Backstreet Boys album covers to get a real sense of how we transitioned popular design trends from the late 90s into the 2010s.
Particularly how the Y2K hype played into the very thin veneer of futurism and tacky fonts. Very contrast-y and washed out images seemed popular in the late 90s/early 2000s. Don't forget tacky fonts.
1997:
1999:
2000:
2001:
2005:
2007:
2013:
Towards the end we start to get more into warmer/more natural tones and (relatively) simplified typography that is minimal and tries to stay out of the way (2005 is still kind of trying to offend, though).
As soon as I read the thread title I was going to say "Look at the Backstreet Boys and NYSNC" ... You beat me to it and did it better than I could have!
Basically all of their album covers are perfect examples of what was a really common, cliched design style from those years. From the faux 3D bevel, to the color blocking stroke, to the faux retro, to the "shards" look, to the clean serif one at the end... It's all like perfectly typical of our age.
2000s for me will forever be represented by forum signatures:
I would have thought of this as like late 90s, but yeah, it's so hilariously awesome and bad. You can make a direct 1:1 relationship between these and WinAmp Skins.
Maybe it's from spending so much of that decade on computers, but that, the blue/green Windows XP theme, and Aero from Windows Vista really do scream 2000s design to me.When I think of 2000's, I remind myself of the Aqua interface from mac OSX
I quite miss mac's aqua days and back when the iPhone ui had textures and skeuomorphic design. Even vista blew my mind back then. Everything popped out at you, and it all looked so shiny and colorful like it was candy or marbles.I agree that 2010s are flat now, but somewhere in between those two there was this
2010s aesthetic is definitely square pictures with filters and reposts of memes with infuriating compression artifacts
2000s aesthetic
I would believe you if you told me that this was taken in 1998, 2008, or yesterday.
You merely have to look at a cultural barometer like Backstreet Boys album covers to get a real sense of how we transitioned popular design trends from the late 90s into the 2010s.
Particularly how the Y2K hype played into the very thin veneer of futurism and tacky fonts. Very contrast-y and washed out images seemed popular in the late 90s/early 2000s. Don't forget tacky fonts.
1997:
1999:
2000:
2001:
2005:
2007:
2013:
Towards the end we start to get more into warmer/more natural tones and (relatively) simplified typography that is minimal and tries to stay out of the way (2005 is still kind of trying to offend, though).
This is actually a solid metric.
2000's is old Kanye.... 2010's is new Kanye.
I didn't listen to old Kanye at the time, but honestly I feel like that transition from his soulful stuff to where he is now actually does feel like the different feels of the decade.
I still think of the 00's as that xenosaga like japanese sci fi jrpg look, especially the music
2000s - grey on black, like a dark rainstorm before the doom of us all.
2010s - raging hellfire, flames that lick the apex of the stratosphere. Nothing but torment, destruction, and woe.
2020s - blackness and the deathly cold of open, empty space.
Actually 2000's can probably be defined by iPod design, Crazy Frog, flip phones, and shit like that. I do think we all agree the colors are kinda muted. Also, paranoia and rampant idiotic patriotism in the States. 2000's were the pinnacle of grimdark / serious edgy era (late 90's had less serious edginess).
2010's has a lot of minimalism in software, but I'm not sure that's present everywhere... Hugely cynical era in comedy, communications, etc. It's all irony and cynicism. Really a new Gen X vibe.
2010s - raging hellfire, flames that lick the apex of the stratosphere. Nothing but torment, destruction, and woe.
2020s - blackness and the deathly cold of open, empty space.
Actually 2000's can probably be defined by iPod design, Crazy Frog, flip phones, and shit like that. I do think we all agree the colors are kinda muted. Also, paranoia and rampant idiotic patriotism in the States. 2000's were the pinnacle of grimdark / serious edgy era (late 90's had less serious edginess).
2010's has a lot of minimalism in software, but I'm not sure that's present everywhere... Hugely cynical era in comedy, communications, etc. It's all irony and cynicism. Really a new Gen X vibe.
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Basically, and early 2000's is just a flatter more matte/metallic version the glossy look- much like Windows XP.
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This is what I think of from the 00s. A lot of that xtreme sort of look with those abstract, spacey, vaguely technological graphics. Stuff I'd expect to see in the background of a DDR song or on the cover of a trance album.2000s for me will forever be represented by forum signatures:
Hoo boy, you nailed it. This is it. This is the answer.Speaking of bad CGi, I remember how much I used to hate "In The End" not only because it was the worst song and the biggest hit in that album, but also because of the crappy CGi they used on the videoclip, lol.
The music video to In the End is 2000s aesthetic boiled down to a few short minutes.
Early 2000s in the UK I remember was all moshers and skaters. Lots of baggy trousers and chains .
And everything was silver. Remember when VCRs were silver? And 9 out of every 10 cars was the same silver?
I think it probably is harder to boil down to a simple aesthetic like you can for the 60s to the 90s. The internets maybe forced us to cycle through trends quicker.
And everything was silver. Remember when VCRs were silver? And 9 out of every 10 cars was the same silver?
I think it probably is harder to boil down to a simple aesthetic like you can for the 60s to the 90s. The internets maybe forced us to cycle through trends quicker.
