Member-only story
Everything Old is New Again
A love letter to retro design revival in the age of AI.
It began with the anti-smartphone movement and vinyl records, followed by Gen-Z’s preference for point-and-shoot cameras over the latest smartphone camera with a gazillion pixels. We are amidst a revival of retro and vintage aesthetics as we race towards complete digitisation. Film cameras are fetching big bucks; colours are muted. Bold fonts, grainy textures and mid-century design elements are making a strong comeback.
Everything old is new again.
As a web and graphic designer, I’m naturally sensitive to aesthetics. As a consumer, I’m sitting here typing out this article while listening to Khruangbin’s music: a mesh of classic soul and psychedelic funk.
I find it fascinating to examine the resurgence of vintage and retro aesthetics, so much so that Australia’s most mainstream apparel brand, Bonds, has jumped on the retro aesthetic bandwagon.
What is driving us (or maybe just me?) to painstakingly search for the perfect Lightroom presets that emulate the Kodak/Fujifilm/Ilford film stock of yesteryears?
