
Have every post delivered to your inbox and get access to hundreds of useful design freebies.
Too often these days the word ‘Retro’ is associated with the Retro Futurism design movement. Whilst I love this movement, it has become a little over-used in recent times. Also, it makes me think – just what happened to plain old Retro?
Today I bring you several awesome projects showcasing retro style design. These focus less on bright colors and light effects, and more on old-school product design, faded colors, old typography, pop art etc… We hope that you enjoy going back in time with these effects, and find some inspiration in them for your day’s work!
“What would you do if you could travel back in time? Assassinate Marilyn Monroe? Go on a date with Hitler? Obviously. But here’s what I’d do after that: grab all the modern technology I could find, take it to the late 70′s, superficially redesign it all to blend in, start a consumer electronics company to unleash it upon the world, then sit back as I rake in billions, trillions, or even millions of dollars.”
I love this project, as Alex Varanese (a favorite artist of mine) takes modern technology and fits it into old-school retro designs. It’s amazing how well these sleek modern designs fit into a retro design theme, complete with grungy faded colors and typography:
Another great project from Alex Varanese. This time he designs his own retro style typeface. This is constructed from various retro objects, artifacts and patterns/textures. Because of this each letter becomes a highly detailed work of art, whilst the wider constructed words are hugely stylish.
This is one of my all time favorite retro projects. The artist has clearly done his research, as each piece shows a tremendous amount of retro authenticity. Even the simplest designs have ever letter, colors and blur applied perfectly to achieve a convincing retro result!
John Mattos uses a combination of political, social and technological motifs as a basis for his retro-styled works. The majority of his work uses vector techniques, yet his color-choices and work with adjustment layers gives them a very retro feel. Impressive stuff!
Tom is the founder of PSDFAN. He loves writing tutorials, learning more about design and interacting with the community. On a more interesting note he can also play guitar hero drunk with his teeth.
Do you know the basic tools in Photoshop but feel that your work is still looking average? Join our creative community at FanExtra and get the direction you need to take your work to the next level.
Amazing works, I really love the vintage retro look
Very nice, thx
I’m in the process of redesigning my site to pay homage to either the 50s or 80s (yeah, quite a range there!), and I definitely appreciate the history from past designs. I especially like Alex’s work, as I wish I still kept my original Atari 2600 for keepsakes!
Cheers,
Lee
Very Inspirational list of retro examples. Is there any good tutorials you can share for learning these kind of designs.
nice work keep up the good work
Some great retro artwork and a great source of inspiration. I really like Alex’s artwork as he has done an amazing job of combining new technology with a vintage retro look. Thanks for sharing.
good work
Thanks for the great comments guys!
I love all of these artists, but I have to admit that Alex’s artwork consistently blows me away.
very nice info