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Retro is a shortening of ‘retrospective’ meaning ‘looking back’. It’s consciously derivative or imitative of trends, models, fashions or attitudes of the recent past. The word has been in use since the 1970s to describe new artefacts that self-consciously refer to particular modes, motifs, techniques and material of the past.

Jesus that’s boring, right?

Retro has actually been in practise long before the use of the word really existed. William Morris adopted medieval production and stylistic models in book design in 1891. Back then retro wasn’t a thing, a style or trend, it was the artist’s idea and creativity that decided to produce his work that way. He certainly didn’t do it to gain followers on Twitter or send out a press release.

Still a bit boring?

16bit Heaven

As a kid I lived and breathed Alex Kidd in Miracle World. It was simple, had a great story, was easy to play and looked great. A million miles away from your Halo and GTA12 or whatever the kids are playing these days I know, but still for its time it was immense.

It’s quite easy for developers to re-create a game like this nowadays, with the huge growth in technology, a massive back catalogue to draw from and always advancing skills. But why do people want to recreate the magic?

It’s damn cool that’s why. I’ve seen some stunning examples of retro gaming design and my favourite has to be Kung Fury. Hello There absolutely nailed the Streets of Rage design direction, conjuring up fond memories of weekend-long Mega Drive marathons in thirty somethings everywhere.

This is a great example of research and technique really paying dividends. Retro design isn’t about making something look like it’s from the past, it’s about doing all the research and using all the techniques that actually made it in the past.

Digital Goes Retro

Let’s face it, retro design was a popular trend in digital, and probably still is… Somewhere! Over-used brushes, textures and old school typography has defined the term. For me though, retro design isn’t about re-installing your brush set, using a worn paper background or downloading a free font style from the internet. For me the same applies - research and technique.

What comes with trends is the question, how can we do this quicker? It’s proven to work so how do I get the look they’ve achieved fast? You’ll see a wealth of typefaces free for download that tick the retro box. Yes, some are good but this just puts retro into a deeper trend hole and discourages lazy creatives from conducting the necessary research and learning the tried and tested techniques to create something truly authentic.

Summary

Retro design for me is all about research. Pulling together all the derivative and imitative trends, styles and most importantly techniques from the past to create an accurate, visually interesting story.

There I said it. Do your research people.

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