Visual Lexicon of Consumer Aesthetics From the 1970s Until Now

Posted4 months agoActive4 months ago

tontonius

71 points

17 comments

cari.instituteOtherstory

calmmixed

Debate

40/100

NostalgiaAestheticsDesign

Key topics

Nostalgia

Aesthetics

Design

The 'Visual Lexicon of Consumer Aesthetics' website showcases various aesthetics from the 1970s to the present, sparking discussion about its content, UI, and nostalgic value.

Snapshot generated from the HN discussion

Discussion Activity

Moderate engagement

First comment

Peak period

78-84h

Avg / period

4.3

Comment distribution17 data points

Loading chart...

Based on 17 loaded comments

Key moments

01Story posted
Sep 15, 2025 at 3:15 PM EDT
4 months ago
Step 01
02First comment
Sep 18, 2025 at 8:06 PM EDT
3d after posting
Step 02
03Peak activity
8 comments in 78-84h
Hottest window of the conversation
Step 03
04Latest activity
Sep 19, 2025 at 2:24 PM EDT
4 months ago
Step 04

Generating AI Summary...

Analyzing up to 500 comments to identify key contributors and discussion patterns

Discussion (17 comments)

Showing 17 comments

dtagames

4 months ago

2 replies

A good idea dragged down by poor UI and lack of content. These are just images with no context or explanation.

When did archival displays get such low information density? Not even the names of objects.

This is the page with the content they do have: https://cari.institute/aesthetics

Animats

4 months ago

1 reply

They didn't separate the actual designs of a period from retro looks at that period. See "Diner Klisch", which is more than half retro images.

Nice picture of the Aston-Martin Bulldog, listed under Cassette Futurism.[1][2] Clearly the ancestor of the Cybertruck.

MOMA (NYC), SFMOMA, and the Tate Modern have good design collections.

There's also the Color Association of the United States, which at one time determined what the "in" colors would be for each season, announcing this far enough in advance that fabric makers could plan production. They don't have that much clout any more.

They also once managed the consumer electronics color cycle, from white to black to cream to silver and back again. You thought that happened by accident?

[1] https://d2w9rnfcy7mm78.cloudfront.net/13599514/original_59cb...

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aston_Martin_Bulldog

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_Association_of_the_Unite...

sevensor

4 months ago

1 reply

What I find fascinating about the site is my own emotional reactions to the various collections. The message is, “this is how they manipulate you, and it works.”

> Color Association of the United States, which at one time determined what the "in" colors would be for each season, announcing this far enough in advance that fabric makers could plan production

Wild, I did not know this. I wonder when beige will come back.

Animats

4 months ago

> I wonder when beige will come back.

Beige was last in back in October 2023.[1]

You can read the past Color Alerts month by month for free. If you pay money, you get advance notice. There's a whole planning process.

[1] https://www.colormarketing.org/blog/2023-october-color-alert

Citizen_Lame

4 months ago

Mobile first, because who actually reads anymore?

rdtsc

4 months ago

1 reply

These are fun, I like that Encarta of the 1990s has it's own style -- Utopian Scholastic

https://cari.institute/aesthetics/utopian-scholastic.

DK (Dorling Kindersley) and especially Stephen Biesty's books use it, a lot of software in the 90s used it. I wouldn't say today it's particularly interesting or special objectively, but I personally like it mostly because of nostalgia.

dtagames

4 months ago

1 reply

I must disagree. Even Encarta had text. DK books are terrific precisely because they give small amounts of text right next to the image it relates to.

This site has no text.

rdtsc

4 months ago

I think it's more about the visual style overall with or without text. It's not just DK book but Designs for American Museum of Natural History and other example. Software packaging, especially from Microsoft had it.

The text is often a serif font, there is often a white background, and a heavy reliance of clip art. At least for me, it immediately clicked and I recognized it. I just had no idea it had a name and it's identified as a unified "style".

casey2

4 months ago

2 replies

Full of alot of hallucinations and misinformation not very useful nor fun/interesting.

tobr

4 months ago

1 reply

This is a serious project that has been going on for over a decade. In fact, it looks like it hasn’t been updated very much for the past four years or so. So, most of the content predates AI hallucinations. If you can point out specific examples of ”alot” of hallucinations and misinformation, that would be helpful.

madcaptenor

4 months ago

https://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/04/alot-is-bette...

thomassmith65

4 months ago

It seems a bit off to me, too. It would be much improved if they clarified which of the names they invented, and which are canonical. They know about the 'Memphis' esthetic, which suggests they didn't just wing everything. The other names are unfamiliar to me, and I'd like to know if it is ignorance on my part or invention on theirs. The site is a great idea, at any rate.

geuis

4 months ago

On mobile safari it just loads a "please donate" page with no actual link. No way to dismiss it or continue to the actual content.

jv0010

4 months ago

ai crawlers rubs hands

seriously this is a great trip down memory lane.

woctordho

4 months ago

I've been using https://aesthetics.fandom.com/wiki/Aesthetics_Wiki

cosmic_cheese

4 months ago