#is there like. a frutiger aero related term??

[kidfur]

does anyone know what kind of design this is called?? the soft bubbly colorful but not too shiny skeuomorphs found in winxp and 3d jumpstart games. its probably in other places too but this is where i see it most. ik a lot of people love very shiny skeuomorphs and aero and thats why those tend to be more popular but i really wish i had a word to look for design like This bc it scratches my brain so good

[skinks]

how do you keep finding these incredibly niche and incredibly awesome aesthetics

omg WELL, I will try to be concise here!!

basically it started because I got really into vaporwave relatively early in its existence, I think I discovered it in around 2013. Now, something about there being an entire online named Artistic Movement with clear design principles was extremely cool to me, and 2013 is also the earliest I can find a use of the term “junglepunk” on my blog, because this is the term I was using as a personal placeholder for the type of stuff that I have since discovered is being called utopian scholastic. I figured, if there wasn’t a “vaporwave” equivalent for the art/media niche I remembered so vividly, I would just call it something of my own.

So, I came to this newer discovery because in the decade since getting into vaporwave I’ve followed just… so many aesthetic blogs. One of my absolute favourites is @newwavearch90 but I love going on an adventure down various tumblr rabbit holes of related blogs and posts. I also watch a lot of design history videos on youtube, as well as having an interest in lost media, old web stuff, analog horror ARGs, stuff like that. For example, this guy’s video about clip art is very interesting:

And so, a few months ago youtube recommended me THIS video and as soon as I saw the thumbnail I was like oh holy shit, I know exactly what style of design this is talking about. Anyone who used Windows XP would recognise this:

And once again, like the vaporwave discovery, the realisation that there are ongoing efforts being made to classify design movements of which I have vivid living memory was like… mindblowing to me. For some reason, lol. My appreciation for vaporwave has always been through a reflective filter of the media produced during that time, my response to it is really my response to the media, as opposed to having any real emotional connection to the actual time period and places the media is portraying.

And so after discovering Frutiger Aero I googled it, and came across the CARI (Consumer Aesthetics Research Institute) site. They work to catalogue and index this exact stuff, the aesthetics and reasoning behind all these different movements. It’s also co-founded by the same guy who runs @newwavearch90. Finding the actual names of the aesthetics I have the most emotional connection/nostalgia for has been less of a stroke of luck, but more because I’ve been snooping around the types of blogs and websites where I just happened to see certain posts tagged either Global Village Coffeehouse or Utopian Scholastic, then the giant lightbulb goes off. The relief of putting a name to a sound, an image, a feeling that was so important and exciting and comforting to you in the past, that has shaped so much of your taste and interests in the years since.

I think the base concept of “aesthetics” in general has gotten a bad rap in recent years. I know it can be grating to see teenagers try to categorise their whole identities into the easily consumed “aesthetic”, but we can’t ignore how much ageism and specifically misogyny is wrapped up in that assessment. Like, yes, where once there were just preps and goths it can be depressing to see teenagers (especially teen girls) ask themselves whether they are “old money east coast quiet luxury aesthetic girlies” or “mallpunk y2k whimsigoth aesthetic girlies” - but the problem isn’t in teens trying to find their identity, it’s that social media pushes the search for identity specifically through consumerism.

Teens liking aesthetics on tiktok just isn’t my concern. I’m far more interested in how art and design aesthetics relate to consumerism, to technological advances, to socio-political cultural context, to societal values. Why did these aesthetics arise at the time they did, and why were they popular, why did they fall out of the zeitgeist etc.

So yeah, to be not at all concise in any way; it’s because this stuff fascinates me and I love researching it 🥳

[meeravandaseera]

My Love-Hate towards the Frutiger Aero Aesthetic

The aesthetic which one commonly refers to as >>Frutiger Aero<< is a staple of my inspirations, especially considering my soft spot for water-related things. That sub-genre of the aesthetic featuring aquatic motifs is referred to as Frutiger Aqua or Helvetica Aqua Aero.

Ever since I had seen this glowing aquarium with the spinning fish or the soap bottles featuring a seascape as if the bottle is an aquarium itself, I had been adoring it. The beautiful, colorful coral reefs and fish contrast so nicely from the hue of blue that reflects in such an aquarium or soap bottle. Not only that, it elicits a comforting sense of hope and or either nostalgia. I absolutely liked how this concept of natural underwater motifs paired with early 21st century items or technology. Some of such instances with such an optimistic and welcoming feel can be found in the wii game called Endless Ocean: Blue World and Wii Sports Resort and the show called H2O: Just Add Water. Endless Ocean: Blue World featured technology of the early 2000s with a beautiful ocean. In such examples, the colors of the entire scenery look vibrant and look so gorgerous with the ocean. H2O: Just Add Water featured mermaids who used technology of that time. It looked like a neat harmony between early 21st century advancement and technology and nature or the sea.

However, some could say that the style as a whole was just a marketing tactic. It did stem from products and advertisements primarily and that is why it may have been pretty much only serving as such. It may seem like a tactic in order to get one accustomed to technology and supposedly keeping a balance between nature and technology, basically serving as a false, optimistic fish hook which is just intended for luring one into purchasing certain products. Such vibrant, good-looking designs paired with nature elements provided us with a gateway of making the products feel comely and fine. One knows how, for example, plastic from such aquariums or soap bottles damages the ocean itself. Around the time of releasing this, AI-generated Frutiger Aero works tend to be abundant and do reduce the magic of the aesthetic alongside.

While I am glad that this kind of feel, style or aesthetic got a name and traction, I fear that some may continue to exploit it, yet this can apply to literally almost anything.

The aesthetic still does appeal to me very much as it seems to pair a waterperson with technology in a neat way. As a style itself, it still tends to be so much better than this cheap minimalist style that is widespread in the sea of media and looks upon releasing this. It seemed more like that the style of Frutiger Aero catered towards the actual consumers and not just for making a profit. Frutiger Aero is still a tide of making the world feel better for oneself if they really like it, me included. One does not need to solely sea the aesthetic seemingly for its commercial uses, but instead for the hopeful feel it spreads. It did somewhat pave a tide of optimism and hope that we could make technology not as damaging. This aesthetic is also suggested to be popular for its environmental aspects since in these times as of publishing this many tend to be more environmentally conscious in general. This article dives into this aesthetic alongside and goes more in-depth: What is frutiger aero, the aesthetic taking over from Y2K? - Dazed https://www.dazeddigital.com/life-culture/article/58103/1/what-is-frutiger-aero-aesthetic-tiktok-msn-messenger-windows-vista-noughties

In spite of that, it is a style that deeply resonates with me for reasons aforementioned like creating a hopeful balance between technology and nature. It also just simply looks very beautiful on the whole, especially with contrasts between nature and tech or in terms of color like it being vibrant, colorful or just reddish tones meeting blue tones.

(If any sources are not viewable, consult an archival site)

Thanks for diving into this! :>

[liminaltey]

What are special interests/hyperfixations like for you guys? How would you describe it?

For example, *one* of my top major special interests is liminal space/frutiger aero and related aesthetics

Seeing frutiger aero, liminal space, dream/weird and nostalgiacore genuinely does something positive to my brain, it brings me solace when stressed, it brings me peace as my insomniac brain starts to shut down from falling asleep in the early morning hours of dawn

it’s a deep joy hard to explain, hard to reach in terms of words but it’s glowing so bright I don’t need to reach it to feel it, kinda like how I don’t need to touch the sun to feel its warmth or how I don’t need to touch the moon for its silver light to touch my soul

I think that’s how special interests feel to me personally