1980s Archives

The 1980s: A Decade of Iconic, Eclectic and Retro Design Trends

In recent history, the 1980s style stands out as an era of vibrant colors and unforgettable subcultures. This vibrant decade, remembered fondly by Generation X and rediscovered by Millennials and Generation Z, left an indelible mark. It was a time of experimentation, flamboyance, and individuality, particularly in the realm of graphic retro design. As we revisit the 80s, we find a treasure trove of inspiration in its dynamic design trends. 1980s Retro Design: An Era of Unmatched

An Astounding New Display Font from Connary Fagen

Designer Connary Fagen describes his new Mezzotint CF font as, "a daring and playful display typeface perfect for logotypes, posters, and editorial use. High-contrast strokes, flared serifs, aqueous connections, and inky terminals give Mezzotint CF its striking and rakish personality." Mezzotint CF is an achievement far beyond the written descriptions above. On seeing Mezzotint CF for the first time, we agree with "striking," but the overall power of Mezzotint CF is such that

A Font Inspired by Too Many Energy Drinks

"Disclaimer: An unhealthy amount of energy drinks were consumed while creating this product." So states Set Sail Studios regarding this fabulous, colorful explosion that also spells words: New Retro. Set Sail's Sam Parrett is the one sacrificing his health so we can take a retro trip to the high-energy '80s and '90s—when energy drinks contained ingredients that are now banned in the USA. This bold, bright superset is roughly bookended by break dancing's break out and the aforementioned

Floppy Disk Design Mockups: Vintage Magic from Indieground

One day our A.I. overlords will find it charming and quaint that human beings made "mockups" of the earliest versions of the technology that would eventually evolve into mechanized alpha predators ruling the solar system from castles within Neptune's atmosphere, pressure-proof kingdoms where the immortal machines replicate beneath diamond rain. But for now, these realistic Floppy Disk Mockups will remind some of us of how we needed them to transport data from one computer to another. For

Mocking the Past with Cassette Tape Mockups

Hey, Indieground, leave us 1980s veterans in peace! Sure, we know those cassette tapes. They were in our collection when we deejayed the junior high dance in 1981. Turntables? Mixes? Mashups? Nope. We brought our Panasonic tape player from home, and we played your cassettes into a microphone that was taped onto the table and connected to the school's Public Announcement System. A rocking setup for a rocking evening where we didn't stop believing and we approached our first crush with Open

Hot Rush Forward, Cool Memories Rush Back

How people perceive past decades oscillates between facts and nostalgic reinvention. In Midnight in Paris, the main character's novel begins, "Out of the Past was the name of the store, and its products consisted of memories: what was prosaic and even vulgar to one generation had been transmuted by the mere passing of years to a status at once magical and also camp." The main character time travels to 1920s Paris, only to fall for a woman that disdains the decade he so reveres, longing

Manifold Extended CF: An Elongated Take On A Connary Fagen Classic

Releasing type designs into the retail market beginning in 2014, Connary Fagen is perhaps one of the most successful type designers in the YouWorkForThem family. Based in Salt Lake City, Connary’s work has consistently landed repeated spots in our top ten fonts of the year listings and one look at his work speaks to the reason why. Before dedicating much of his time to typography, Connary previously worked in the graphic design industry. In those early days of his career, he’d often

Bring Back the 1980s With Revive 80 From Tom Chalky

Tom Chalky is a graphic designer, typographer, and illustrator based in the United Kingdom. A skilled hand-letterer, Tom is “obsessed with the handwritten, handpainted, and imperfect.” His work carries an undeniably human touch, favoring work that balances vintage and contemporary aesthetics. He enjoys crafting hand-written type designs and restoring illustrations from eras long since passed. Tom is also highly supportive of the careers of other graphic designers, which inspired

Evoke The Spirit Of Late 20th Century California With Starlit Drive

Set Sail Studios is an online marketplace that offers tools and design resources for graphic designers around the world. It was established by Sam Parrett, a graphic designer and experienced typographer who has a clear preference for handcrafted letterforms. His work is consistently passionate and gorgeously-rendered, typically featuring script lettering that speaks with a unique voice and tone. Sam's background working in the music industry certainly left its mark on all of his future work.

A ‘Soft-Serve’ Sans Serif From Connary Fagan: Visby Round CF

When it comes to strong type design, the name, "Connary Fagan," should be at the top of your list of typographers. His work is consistently well done, providing graphic designers with letterforms that boast beautifully executed architecture and extensive functionality. As a graphic designer and typographer, Connary has a solid background in illustration, art direction, branding and identity, and he crafts his type designs to suit the varied needs of other graphic designers. Having worked

A Dynamic Slab Serif From Connary Fagan: Visby Slab CF

Connary Fagan has really created a name for himself in the field of typography, a well-earned status if his portfolio is anything to go by. A graphic designer and typographer with a solid background in identity, branding, art direction, and illustration, Connary has a deep understanding of the role that typography plays in quality graphic design because he was able to recognize it in his own work. He sought to comprehend more about the mechanics behind good type design, which eventually led

A Contemporary Vintage Sans And Script Duo From TypeType: TT Backwards

Established as one of St. Petersburg's very first digital type foundries in 2013, TypeType is dedicated to collaboration with graphic designers and typographers. When Ivan Gladkikh and Alexander Kudryavtsev founded TypeType, they might not have imagined the level of success the foundry would experience in the years to come, a prosperity that's due to their steadfast work ethic and high standards for type design. TypeType's products are geared toward the contemporary graphic designer,

Argent CF Offers Expressive Sophistication

Connary Fagen has a considerable background in art direction, branding and identity, illustration, UI and web design, and motion graphics. As a prolific graphic designer, Connary has an exceptional understanding of the role that typography plays in his field of work, a perspective that aided his incredible success as a typographer. He began designing fonts as means of supplementing his own font library, later offering them to the rest of the graphic design world. One of his most

Addington CF Offers Sophistication And Incredible Versatility

Connary Fagen is a graphic designer and typographer with a substantial background in art direction, identity, illustration, web and UI design, motion graphics, and of course, type design. "As a designer, I noticed early on how much typography affected the quality of my work," Connary told us. "I wanted to better understand the mechanics behind good type, which led to me developing original typefaces." This skill set also enabled him to augment his own font library, strengthening areas he

Articulat Sans by Connary Fagen

Articulat CF is a new take on the timeless Swiss typography style. Strong, sharp and well-spoken, Articulat was built from scratch to be versatile, charismatic and legible. Always in style, use it for a hit of mid-century beauty – reimagined for the 21st century with more flavor and individuality. Download Articulat CF Font Articulat CF was published by Connary Fagen on October 12,

Argent CF by Connary Fagen

Argent CF is a new serif font family from Connary Fagen, featuring charming and expressive letterforms, a tall, breathable x-height and a compliment of italics. Open, fluid shapes evoke another time and place; the thinnest weights are airy and smart, while the super bold weight is candid and brassy. Argent CF contains 6 weights + 1 superweight, italics, ligatures, support for numerous Latin-alphabets. As well, Connary has been known to provide free, ongoing updates, bug fixes and new

Download Manifold CF Font

Connary Fagen posted another great sans design titled Manifold. Manifold is a sans-serif family built for legibility and a utilitarian style. A versatile typeface inspired by the cold precision of a classic computer terminal, softened by modern sensibilities. Manifold's unified letterforms and midrange x-height work for longer copy. Alternatively, track it out to lend a sophisticated look to titles and headlines. Five weights, a set of obliques and extended forms suit the font well for any

Popular Posts

Categories

Archives

1980s