Hi guys, quick correction re: images mentioned in 38:43. As pointed by @qhanny1 in the comments section and by Evan Collins directly to me, these images actually are from the Frutiger Aero heyday era and had been created in 2006 - 2007 by the Korean stock photo company called ASADAL. You can check them out at editphoto.asadal.com/best_all.htm courtesy of u/eunchaeyeon via r/FrutigerAero Reddit. Thanks again @qhanny1 & Evan for pointing this out!
I *adore* this aesthetic. Something about the juxtaposition of nature and plastic together makes my brain tingle just right. I’ll forever die mad that we didn’t achieve a solarpunk utopia using this aesthetic as a style guide. I’ve always loved that sort of aesthetic turning up in public spaces. I miss it.
its almost like plastic is why the environment is so fucked- stop acting like we had clean air in 2003 just because a corporate image tried to sell you a product
Realizing that generation alpha is going to be nostalgic for Corporate Memphis and minimalist web design is definitely a humbling dose of reality that my own nostalgia is not special.
@@monsieurlemon yes, even on the younger side of gen z (2007) this aesthetic defined my developmental years until I was 6-8, i remember the old toys, my parents desktop, tech commercials and the overall vibe of frutiger aero. I might've been young but I cant deny the extreme nostalgia depictions of this era evoke within me. I think especially for gen z as well was this aesthetic sort of defined by an "optimism" and "peace" coincided considerably with an early childhood which to many felt more free and happy, much to the contrast of modern living, adding to the nostalgia factor of this aesthetic.
@ComsiCaterpillar I wouldn't be so sure. As someone who has only just really "come of age", I still distinctly remember booting up my Wii, to play Kirby's Epic Yarn. It was a monday, but it must have been labor day. The aesthetic is still lived experience. Realistically, gen z, and all generations after us, will have little to no monoculture. As such, we will continue to look into past monocultures to find our inspiration, or continue to move forward with Memphis and minimalism, or even styles we can't even fathom at the moment. It's subcultures all the way down. Of course, I could just be a pretentious asshole, but that's a risk you run making comments late at night.
@monsieurlemon we did! I was born in 2003 and grew up playing Wii games. My childhood memories of past trips to supermarkets, stores and dentists are awash with this aesthetic. We earlier Gen Z people DEFINITELY grew up with Frutiger Aero.
@@kell_0741I hate when Millennials think you can't be nostalgic for something unless you spent your entire teenager and/or early adult years with it. Nostalgia is strongest when those things are experienced in childhood years.
I think for a lot of the zillenial cusps, this era represented all the hope of technology versus the headache and disillusionment it instills today. Like back then games for kids weren’t full of micro transactions, etc. Like when I think of that era I think of the optimism versus today’s rapidly deteriorating goodwill towards it
I see it the opposite way, many people were very skeptical and anti-consumerist and stuff. That's why this fake-nostalgia stuff (no offense, video creator) should not state things from the near past which cannot be clearly justified. I don't even think it is possible to tell what did people think at that time, because the world was already very fragmented at that time, and not that much different from the contemporary world as people want to believe.
I think that this era represented hope and optimism in terms of not being as corrupted as it is today, not from a conscious decision of the designers but because they didn't know yet how much they could manipulate and trap the user/consumer in their product. In the example you gave about games and microtransactions, kids back then didn't have a way to make online purchases so easily so most games didn't even have such features or were even online for that matter. Now you don't even need a parent's card to do it, it's just a tap away (unless they have set an authentication of some sort which again is a new implementation after parents complained about their children spending money too easily on games). Once companies realized the power they have over us, they took advantage of it. It's in our hands to show them that our money is our power as consumers but it has to be a collective effort to make any difference.
The fact that it's been replaced by a minimalistic, barren style just makes it even worse. Technology has flipped from being inviting, natural, and calming to stark and impenetrable. It's not just nostalgia, it really is worse now than it was then. The designs don't make as much intuitive sense on account of an absence of any visual metaphor, they are psychologically less easygoing to use and often outright made to stress you (see: emphasis on reds and yellows instead of blues and greens), and the practices of the companies making them is a hell of a lot more predatory. It's literally a visual reminder that the being optimistic or friendly cost too much, so they sold it all out. The only reasonable reactions are despair and/or rage. They made the perfect insult to anyone who grew up with these images.
@@SajtosNokedli I see this a lot coming from Americans, they seem to think the world and its design trends went downhill after 9/11 and it hasn't been the same since. While there were definitely some corporate trends in the 2000s seeping through the cracks that would rise to prominence in the 2010s, the decade still had a very distinct aesthetic which is completely nonexistent now. You can argue about how much frutiger aero paved the way for modern day corporate trends but the aesthetic downgrade of the 2000s to the 2010s is staggering.
while growing up in and being a child during the era i feel like that's why i feel like everything felt more colorful and happier not only cause of childhood wonder but also because of our surroundings being so optimistic for the future. now everything is so minimalistic and grim. i wish we could go back to the silly wonky colors
What I'm doing is starting with myself :) I try to surround myself with bright and vibrant, positive colors in my drawings, in the decor I buy, etc etc. I also dress in vibrant and fun colors a lot of the time. Hopefully it can start a positive impact even if it's only one other person that is inspired by me:)
Minimalism isn't bad, it's great actually. The issue is how corporations handle it, with such lazy designs that sacrifice too much detail and kill the life out of previous designs
Frutiger Aero is like an aesthetic equivalent of drinking a glass of water after brushing your teeth with a mint toothpaste. Whenever I see that aesthetic, it makes me think of Encarta Kids.
Do you ever just stop and watch the NPCs below soullessly marching and disappearing into the walls of fake buildings? It's so eerie and reminds me of Pyongyang down there or something.
Also Born in 2001 and can say I absolutely love this aesthetic. I loved how restaurants and everything used to look back then too 😌❤️ idk man but the colors, plastic, nature, and technology is absolutely Biss 💯
I am here for this. My favorite era of UI and product design. Less plastic than the 90s precursor to Frutiger (basically neo-60s plastic chic) and more abstract. Would love to see a return to this now that like….displays with more than 280p resolution.
I wish I could like this more then once. I didn't even know that this aesthetic had a name and now I'm riding the nostalgia train by binging videos about it. All thanks to this video.
The small revival of Frutiger Aero and it's popularity over the past couple years on the internet makes Frutiger Aero the Vaporwave of the Late 2000s Early 2010s not in just the Aesthetics but the music surround it too. if you listen to any Frutiger Aero playlist, it's basically a new wave of vaporwave but for late 2000s early 2010s kids
@tealover70 why don't people like you understand this is how culture and history works? Disney is literally based on the same old stories just told in different ways, superheroes are just based on archetypes and Greek mythos, these things are all connected. In the 70s they wanted to bring back things from the 50s or 60s you can't stop that
You're the first person to actually explain where the term "Frutiger Aero" came from. Most people just say "Well it was coined by some internet user some time ago" and never explain it past that
I searched online and found dat someone on Reddit found the origins of some of these backgrounds (38:40). They claim these were made around 2007-2008, by a Korean company. Rad! I can’t seem to link the post, but I believe a quick google search will bring it up (dat’s how I found it)
Big Thank you for your videos. I am a UI/UX-Designer, struggling at the moment with my work. My designs are good after Rules of UI-Design, but I have the feeling they are empty of creativity or a different perspective of problem-solving. Everything looks and feels the same. Your videos help me so much with research of Design styles and give me some much-needed empathy, which I did not get from books. Please keep up your great work! Edit: Btw, you seem to be a pretty cool guy!
Contemporary UI design feels a bit same-y for a good reason though: Inclusivity and Accessibility. I look back at my design work from 10-15 years ago and laugh at all of the form-over-function stylised nonsense. Content is where creativity is best expressed - images, video, copy etc. The best UI is one that goes completely unnoticed!
@@ProvocativeSloth That last statement is not true at all... The best UI/UX is the one that sticks to your memory, the one that catches your eye and makes you go "woah". I'm an absolute fan of Y2K UX design because it's all just so detailed and unique, every element feeling like it's own distinct piece of art that you'll remember fondly. UX that goes unnoticed is bland, and "just serviceable", that's not what should be strived for...
@@ProvocativeSlothYou are right. Form has to follow the function accessibility is a always the crucial factor. I am a big fan of Rams and his 10 theses of good design. But I think there is also room for inspiration how designers from different areas solve problems or satisfy the users. At the end ist most of our work empathy and problem solving. I did a major redesign of apps in the IT company (b2b) I am working in. And users who knew our old UI love the redesign for all kind of reasons. I think the UI is by far not the selling point for a good product but it also doesn't go unnoticed when it is well done
I'm glad you touched on the corporatization of this look. You really downplay just how hated it was, though lol. I was in my early 20s when this aesthetic emerged. And lemme tell you... "some" people didn't hate the Frutiger Aero look of Windows XP (and print ad design, and packaging design), MOST people I knew hated it. Because of the exact corporatization you mention here. We saw it as the cold, sterile, inoffensive corporate failure to adopt the y2k aesthetic. Objectively, as UX design goes, it was absolutely brilliant for helping people previously intimidated by computers become familiar with it... but that was exactly the reason most people I knew hated it - it was VERY unthreatening, and was clearly "engineered" as opposed to having been designed by artists to reflect their own feelings about the time. The "corporatization" was visible to a lot of us when we saw it on software boxes and then-newer web design. The thing about y2k that was great was that it WAS humanist in the sense that it was a genuine expression of how we, the people familiar with technology's most recent developments, were feeling at the time (both the optimism & the pessimism). The emergence of the Frutiger Aero aesthetic, after the dot-com bubble had burst, was the result of the few surviving big corporations who now controlled technology dictating the aesthetic. On some level we were being gatekeepy, to be sure, but I think what hurt about it was that we could see now that the internet was about to be taken over by capitalism. What we'd wanted was for the people to rule that space, and Frutiger Aero was a sign that the plutocracy was about to. During y2k, the roughness of metalheart graphics, the matrix-style tiny-text-on-screen-for-flavor, and the monochromatic color schemes were all genuinely bad for user experience, accessibility, and branding, and by definition couldn't be for everybody. So Frutiger Aero came along with its market-researched color schemes and interfaces, and genuinely objectively fixed those problems and opened up the internet and computers and pocket technology to a wider audience than ever. And man.... those of us who already loved computers & the internet, especially those of us in the design world, absolutely HATED it. It was a bit of a slap to the face, an uncomfortable announcement that the "artistic" wild-west era of self-expression on the internet was definitely dead. (Also, those CG compositions & images were a PLAGUE on stock photo websites as early as 2006, so they definitely existed that far back, and they made my job very very hard until stock photo sites got better filtering. Those specific images on-screen may be recreations of what was around at the time, but they're extremely accurate. Especially that second one. It looks like SO many things I came across in about 2009 trying to get web sites done for some of my early clients. I hate those images so much lol)
This is a great post. I also remember being so excited for flat design to hit the iPhone, as it had already been bubbling up organically in design circles as a foil to Aero. Now I find myself more annoyed with flat design than I ever was with Aero, had no idea how bad it was about to get
this is really interesting, i was born in 2002 so grew up with my earliest encounters with technology being dominated by this aesthetic, but instead of nostalgia seeing this stuff fills me w a weird sense of kinda profound dread, n i think its for very similar reasons! im a computer science researcher now, but when i was younger n fascinated by all the new tech coming out around me, i idolised silicon valley, i was firmly sold on the corporate propaganda that the best way to experience/use tech in a liberatory fashion was to be an excel poweruser or be really good at customising windows/ios within the settings microsoft/apple gave you, and it was aero that both told me that and skinned the tools i was so invested in when i was about 10 i discovered the game modding/hacking scene and went pretty deep into that rabbit hole fast, and instead of aero those communities were built on peer-to-peer hacked flash file sharing on forums that had existed and not rly changed much since the late 90s, so still def the domain of that "inaccessible" y2k aesthetic, but the inaccessibility was part of what made it feel so new and magical for me - i learned the difference between "IT" and "computer science" n in my mind aero became indicative of the worst bits of restrictive sanitised soulless corporate-ness of IT, and y2k "wild west internet" aesthetics became symbolic of all the most freeing aspects of the underground hacking scene n later research in general (half of the most cutting edge projects in theoretical fields are still hosted on web1 looking sites) - it was aero that skinned the annoying properietary interfaces i wanted to reverse engineer to get more out of and the popups asking a kid with no money for license keys, and it was the y2k "matrix" aesthetic that shared decompilations and binary patches that freed me from that obviously this is just me trying to psychoanalyse the childhood memories n associations that make me feel so weird towards the aero aesthetic so maybe not super insightful, but yea super interesting to hear such similar feelings from the generation before me, n i think in many ways my feelings of hard-to-explain despair around the aesthetic are kinda downstream of the ways those existing communities responded at the time s.t. the ones i perceived as liberatory in some way actively eschewed it, n aero kinda makes me think of an alternate timeline where i never discovered those scenes n instead of being where i am today im stuck making spreadsheets and writing visual basic macros w my only understanding of tech being the scraps given to me by some bloated profit-driven disingenuously-"innovative" megacorp !!
@@pauloarthuralbuq9004it for sure is more boring and sterile, but they're equally corporate. might just be rose tinted goggles making ppl think it was somehow more authentic
My very earliest memory that i can recall is a very specific shade of deep blue that could bè associated with this era (I would date it to around 2006-2007)
I was born in the year 2000. To me this aesthetic was all about hope. We were getting important technological advances every single year, you could see noticeable improvements in your quality of life and entertainment. The aesthetics of the era promised us a future of solarpunk beauty, cleanliness and hope. It quickly devolved into the modern era cynicism and predatory corporatism that fights to strip technology from the little humanity it had. As you said this nostalgia is particularly painful because it reminds of a future I never got. Everything has gotten bleaker and less kind in general.
Making tech more humane made it more available. Making it more available made information easier to access. What we see now is essentially the same garbage that happened in the 90s and 2000s, we can simply see what the big corps are doing, the corporate world was as toxic as it is now. So, we can sorta claim that this aesthetic lead to its own downfall.
ironically the design of the computers themselves were shifting towards black boxes, so you'd have these colourful shapes beaming out of a nondescript black cube, that would maybe have a silver highlight if the designer felt particularly adventurous
For the sake of completeness, I now propose to make a video about Corporate Memphis and flat design in general. And despite my extreme dislike for it, and my happiness that its dominance in ugly design has led to the birth of neomorphism, I would still like to know its roots and the root causes of its emergence and popularization, in addition to the design of iPhone and Windows 8 icons.
I'm not nostalgic about the appeal, but design and marketing drive-force has changed from optimism to fear, guilt and self-confinement. My shampoo once had benefitial ingredients, now it is without harmful ingredients. Online technology was used to connect us, now it is used to shield us from 'stranger danger' by building barriers, regional content, surveillances and multi way authentications. My desktop processor's main feature was processing, now it is low consumption.
Yet the actual harmful ingredients in your old shampoo were still there, just hidden from view. And the old online technology might've been about connecting people if you lived in the US or some other major market, not in north-eastern Europe where basically nothing was easily available. And my current desktop CPU, which is quite a ways away from being the most powerful available, is 60-70W more power hungry.
gotta say, having grown up in the early 2000s, stranger danger was very prominent back then lol. i remember being shown PSAs of stranger danger in school usually hand in hand with DARE programs. honestly i would argue i saw that sentiment way more back then then now
Love that I caught this and just finished it right after u uploaded it! I'm 24 and I grew up with older brothers so I experienced a lot of the end of y2k as a kid and the rise of frutiger aero and metro. When I found out this aesthetic had a term last year, it was like unlocking a nostalgic longing + feeling I didn't even know how to put a name to.
I realize that future generations aren't going to experience the big boon in technology when this aesthetic was a big thing. I do see this aesthetic coming back sometimes In commercials. I love the video. Can you do early 2000s older brother core? That's what I have the most nostalgia from 😊
Thank you for being the only person I've seen to mention the relationship between new HD displays and the rise of this aesthetic. It always seemed clear to me that it was hugely instrumental in how common it was, but everybody else just seems to stick to the more emotional aspects which tbf are probably more fun to think and talk about.
For those of us who grew up with this aesthetic, potently reminding us how much happier we were as kids, these aesthetic images/media are nostalgic kill-shots
As someone who used Windows Vista, and also the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, this was one of the most nostalgic things ever in my opinion. I do see the criticisms and it is tailored to make you appreciate it in a way that feels a bit wrong, but I think the calming vibe of Frutiger Aero just helps with my Autistic self a lot sometimes, especially when it comes to the music. Oh boy I love the music.
I think Marconi Union and Carbon Based Lifeforms are great ambient bands with a soothing feel. Marconi Union was used in this video, their song "Weightless" is famous but I really like "Sleepless" and "These European Cities."
14:35 it’s weird that nowadays, we don’t think much in the future as we used to. It’s like now we’re living in the future and all the technology doesn’t focus in showing how it’s going to be what’s next, they are now focused in the present. The 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s had their own version of the future but mid 10’s and 20’s don’t
well, advertisers don't need to present the technology they're advertising as the future anymore. technology is so entrenched and normalized now, the only places where it hasn't expanded to are either held back due to external forces or created specifically to exist as tech-less spaces. it's both no longer a scary thing that "normal people" can't grasp, but it's also no longer the coolest new thing. it's just a tool most people use to do other things they need. not to mention the times we live in and the shit we've gone and are going through, in addition to news and social media making us all the more aware of all the human suffering in the world. i certainly find it difficult to maintain a positive outlook on a collective future when i know we can barely even coexist that's how i'm looking at it, at least
I think it's largely because we're starting to hit a plateau on what can be developed that will actually change the average persons life. Obviously huge strides are still being made in fields like medicine, etc. but for the average person, things have been more or less the same for a few years now. Mobile devices might be getting more powerful, but still look and work largely the same (no "going from buttons to touch screens" kind of jumps happening). And a lot of new developments don't feel like improvements at all (see: removing headphone jack, touch screens in cars, making everything another app that you have to download). Obviously for people who are more tech-savvy there's lots to look forward to but it's hard for the average consumer (or advertiser) to imagine the future of tech when it feels like we already got to the ideal future at one point and then made it worse.
10's had the zombie apocalypse, and now in the 2020's it looks like a lot of cyberpunk. So there is still a vision of the future. It's just pessimistic now.
I love the fruttiger aero aesthetic. It reminds me when i was younger and got my first computer during christmas 2004 and made my first experience with the internet, Xbox360, Windows Vista in 2005 - 2007. Even the first led-screen phones had this style. Everything feels so much brighter, optimistic and more inviting. The simplicity of this style makes it so timeless.
i love the duality of reactions to this video. like you, I grew up with this aesthetic, and am heavily nostalgic for it. it's funny that to me it doesn't feel corporatizied, but the modern day flattening does.
I also "grew up" with this aesthetic. I like it, but I wouldn't say I'm head-over-heels nostalgic for it. It just reminds me of Windows Vista, basically. Now that people are pointing out its "sterile" and "comporate" look, I can definitely see it. People tend to hate anything that becomes overly standardized and homogenized. Just look at the modern corporate minimalism people hate so much. Personally, I like minimalism and think the aesthetic works fine for certain things... The problem is EVERYTHING uses it and they're being minimalist to the point of just lazy in some cases.
i think its odd to completely miss the fact that windows xp was chasing mac os which was years ahead in this aesthetic, and you even showed an imac g3 in some of the stock footage.
that being said the analysis suggesting this aesthetic is forced by corporate America and ultimately failing to come across as natural was spot on. failing in every metric when compared to y2k.
OS X’s “Aqua” UI was definitely the genesis of Frutiger Aero, not Windows XP. Steve Jobs made the request to the designers that “everything you see on-screen makes you want to lick it.” XP just imitated this radical new design concept.
In my opinion, OS X 10.1 (released a few months ahead of XP) sits somewhere on the border of the aesthetic. It's got the friendly gloss and skeuomorphism, but never adopted the kind of naturalistic themes that were so important to the style. You get a bit of it in the desktop background and maybe the window buttons, but it didn't index as heavily into it as XP did with its background and the overall color scheme.
27:48 THIS! This comment is exactly how some of the current aesthtetic is interpreted. The current aesthetic is essentially stemming from synthwave/chillwave, but there are ads and stuff that still have the previous bold colour style of the previous aesthetic (while using colours of the current aesthetic)
This is actually a very formal and well made video about my favorite aesthetic of all time. Not only did you talk about why it’s great and popular, you also talked about the bad parts of it and how it basically died, which not a lot of people would touch on that. Anyway, hope to see more great videos from you very soon.
Being someone who graduated high school in 2009 and lived their formative years with this aesthetic, the nostalgia hits hard here. The optimism of this design trend reflected the utopian future that the internet and tech was promising us, it felt like the Y2K aesthetic but in 720p high definition (that was considered the minimum of high def at the time btw). Of course that optimism existed in your office space and during commercial breaks between news coverage on the GWOT and the great recession but we won't worry about that. The Best Buy corporate campus in Richfield, Minnesota is a prime example of Frutiger Aero office design.
I am definitely nostalgic of it. I love Frutiger Aero. A big reason is because I hate what came after it, it makes me sad and nauseous to look at. We're going to have corporations try and lie to us anyway, so at least make it pretty and relaxing if we're going to see it everywhere... Maybe a revival would feel forced. But at least offices should be less depressing to look at, and we could imagine some places where a Frutiger Aero is used, but not everywhere Also thank you for putting the source of your image on every single image, I rarely see people do it even though they should.
Man I love these aesthetic videos. I have always been fascinated with this sorta stuff but didnt know there were descriptions and classifications and analysis of this until i found your channel. Now I've been going down the rabbit whole of all areas of aesthetics within a culture but honestly, none of the video essays I have found on YT compare to what you put out. Love the uploads.
i LOVE your setup!! i love how you deeply knew how to decor your setup and dress, and made an effort on doing it even though you didn't like the aesthetic. Love it! I want those bubbles and vase so much, loved the video!! Maybe liminal aesthetics on next videos?!
I grew up with this aesthetic everywhere on the realm of tech and advertising, and recently I've been so enchanted by it, like I rediscovered a precious and stimulating thing that I forgot about. And in honor to that I bought myself a rotating aquarium night lamp, it's great and has gave me lots of joy these past months :3
This is one of the best videos I've seen on UA-cam. It's incredibly well documented and analyzed. I really like aero. My first contact with tech was windows 95, I really love how simple and flat the interface looked. A couple of years later, I got a GameCube. It really felt like the begining of a new world, it's menu was really all 3D, which was fascinating and and it was a silvery-purple cube, rooting it's menu deep with the hardware. Almost like that 3D cube menu was literally what was under the hood of the console. Then a little later, I put my hands on Windows Vista, and it really struck me, the barrier of 2D/3D was blending, you could feel a lot of depth on the screen, and the menus. It felt like the screen and computer were no more limited. And it felt like that was the future ahead. Blending 2D with 3D, and evolving to full 3D interfaces. Back then we still had a lot of CRTs, blending the edges of textures, and some skeumorphic menus were looking so real, I couldn't always tell if it was something 3D, or some 2D realistic textures sliding on the screen. Aero really made me think that by 2020, 2D interfaces would be something of the past, and what I interpreted back then as realism would keep evolving and evolving, until everything became a Wii/GameCube menu. God I was wrong lol.
There was a prototype Windows 2005 Longhorn between XP and Vista. My friend and I followed its development and were fascinated by its actual and proposed design drafts at the time. As far as I remember the early screenshots had rounded transparent matt glass menus, like the Vista but the colors were black and orange And if you actually installed the beta, it would understand what you said to it on the mic which felt incredibly futuristic
Yep, you can take a look around BetaWiki to check build by build how it evolved. And of course, you can easily find the ISOs if you know where to look. rip WinFS tho.
Blessed by the new videoblessing of my favorite youtube channel, like a ray of cosmic light piercing through the grey veil of our aestheticless lives, fuzzying the very core. Sometimes, life indeed throws you a welcome surprise. Now, I am to excuse me a little hubris and enjoy this piece of maserful craft with a wiskey and a smile. My happiness is immeasurable and my day is saved. Lets dive in.🌐🌄 P.S. Love YOU,love the presentation, love THE PROPS, love the graphics, the structure, the HUMOR\jokes, all perfect. Every video is just a joy, the pure kind. P.P.S. Would love to see Aesthety cover cyberpunk, or maybe even punk in general? The 70s were a crazy era.
This is going to be a long comment with quite a few tangents, so, yeah... Oh! But first I´d like to thank you for putting so much effort into your videos. They are so good :-) I´m really glad you touched on the theme of re-living our past interactions with UI through nostalgia. It was something that you could say took me off-guard in a good way. Growing up, I do remember the UI of Windows operating systems before XP, but vaguely, really. Like they were there just for an instant. However, I remember Vista fondly; the slight changing of the transparency effect on the windows when changing the colors, it was so mesmerizing. [Side note here, because of my family background I´ve always been in direct contact with shiny, sparkling stones, so I guess those transparency effects somewhat reminded me of “home”... It might also be an association that my mind just created, but it would make sense, I guess.] Same thing goes for the PSP, DS/3DS and Wii. Their UI always felt like a safe, welcoming and abstract place where I could linger between adventures; somewhere far from any physical experience, purely aesthetic. I couldn´t have possibly put that into words back then (I was around 10 maybe?) but the sounds, the subtle movements and shades of changing colors felt somewhat otherworldly and were so appealing to me, like I could spend my whole day there, just letting all that “ambiance” (not entirely sure if you can call a digital UI an “ambience” but that is the best way I can try to describe it) in. I recently had a similar experience using the new 7 Eleven ATMs in Tokyo back in July. I´ve been to Japan a few times now and every time I went, except this one, I carried cash. This time, I had to use my card since I couldn´t get cash (not easy to get €/$ when you life in West Africa, even as a foreigner!) so I don´t really know when those ATMs were installed, but they looked fairly new, so my guess is between my last trip on 2019 and 2023. Back to the ATMs, I felt like I was 8 years old again the first time I used one of those ATMs... They were exactly what you´d expect from a future where “frutiger aero” became the dominant aesthetic or zeitgeist... The experience itself is so detached (at least, subjectively for me) from any physical reality but so natural at the same time. The flowy and elegant movements of fishes in an ethereal river in the background, the flower petals that gracefully appear or the screen, the 3D volume effects of the buttons, the sounds... Fleeting, yet so calming. Even the ATM itself is what I´d call an ode to an aesthetic that perfectly merges the natural through the artifice of technology; a way of seeing the world in a peaceful and calming state far from the inconveniences of physicality. But it goes beyond that, the designers that put together this marvel of ATMs even included natural materials like wood (might´ve been a good wood-like substitute tho) into the construction (most of them, in Tokyo, other cities had full plastic/metalic construction). The number keys, though, were an experience to my senses just by themselves ; it was not the materials, construction or quality, but the sounds they made what made them special. Each key had its own tone (like a piano key) when you pressed it. It was so beautiful, it was like playing a completely random and short-lived symphony in an ethereal realm every time I went to the ATM... It was so surreal to find such a peaceful and “abstract” terminal amid a bustling and sometimes confusing metropolis. It still boggles my mind that a terminal that was designed with so much thought and emphasis on aesthetics, has the most materialistic end I could possibly fathom; getting money. It may come off as a “you´re reading too much into it” thing, but I´ve had similar experiences in the past, particularly with UI´s . I´ve always been an extremely anxious person, and even if I don´t look like I´m having a panic attack, I´m internally not having a great time...That said, I´ve managed to make it better over the years. A bit of a tangent you might say (as advertised! haha) but now I understand why is it that UI´s (sound effects, on screen movement patterns, etc.) send comforting chills down my spine and why they (psychologically and physically) sooth me so much... It feels like I get my full HP back and all of my status conditions just vanished. I am not entirely sure how my brain got to the point of perceiving and identifying those types of UI with comfort but I guess I should thank it (as I thank you for your video) because it has kept me afloat during some really tough times; it has also made certain instants feel more special, so I guess it goes both ways... I never thought I´d find an explanation of why I love conceptual art, forms, ethereal color shades and gradients, even in clothing and decor! The purity of abstract form, I realize now, is, for me, so alien and yet familiar at the same time. If you´re this far on my Blible-length comment, I guess I should share other UI´s that I think are proof that frutiger aero still lives on, albeit in a way more discreet manner. A great example is the Microsoft Surface-style terminal they have at the Ad Museum in Tokyo (flowy visuals, and etherial sounds), part of the UI in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet (map, Pokédex, transparencies and the changing colors in the background of the PC boxes are very reminiscent of the PSP/PS3 UI). Also, the UI and general aesthetics of Digimon Cyber Sleuth (from EDEN to combat UI) could be somewhat considered (in my opinion) a mix between Y2K and frutiger aero too; not sure about this one tho, I might be just seeing things that are not there... I feel Digimon could be a fun topic to explore given the whole “digital and real world interacting” thing... Lastly, I´d really like to thank you (yet again haha) for your video. I did not wake up today thinking that I´d find so much about myself through someone that I´ve never met in real life. Guess that is part of the magic of the internet too ^_^
Most frutiger feels so corporate and dystopic, it's the fall of y2k for me, so hopeless, I hate it 😢 Despite being born at the beginning of the 2000s, I personally have a strong attachment to the Y2K and late 90s look, probably because I'm from Perú and we usually lag technologically. I even used my mothers 90s PC for most my early childhood and only got the frutiger Sony Ericson when I turned like 12. I think its kinda silly because even nowdays some of our microbuses still have cold purple lights and blast 2000s club music. Great video!! ❤
If you all want to feel this aesthetic and relive it, play this game: Sky, Children of The Light. The many open workd realms feel like a dream until the very end. Truly an experience. The game was made by the same company that made Jorney.
Another Sky player too huh. nice. although I feel that it's not just frutiger aero, (although prairie definitely fits it.) it's more like "here is this giant world with a bunch of different aesthetics"
Definitely the best video I've seen on this topic. Really appreciate the amount of research you put into this and the Y2K video - the quality and care really show!!
As a generic 2004 kid, I always loved and continue to LOVE frutiger areo and skeuomorphic designs. They're so pleasant and easy on eyes and make up a more comforting experience. Not saying that today's minimalistic flat designs will get me uncomfortable etc, BUT, they just fail at looking good and just nice as they involve minimalistic effort to make ..
Easy on the eyes? I had to run Win XP with the silver theme to make me not want to gouge my eyes out. The bright, clashing, oversaturated colors wore an eyesore, imo.
i remember when my college campus got a new building added to the campus, and the new buidling had the frutiger areo design and aesthetic, it looked so sleek and modern compared to the older campus buildings :o
Yes, the 1980s to y2k was massively FUN! Generation Ascend, take over please. My son sent me this. It's like youre making meditation vids for tech people. ❤
Back then growing up in this era i just felt like everything was trying to be futuristic, and futuristic at the time was bubbly, fully of joy and comfort and finished. Pleasing to understand how good wind and water can feel with a smooth finish of the hopeful and innevitable future, a perfected attempt to blend technology and nature together as to look indestinguishable from eachother but not out of place. Obviously now its completely haywire and fucked up because its a night and day difference.
I first fell in love with the aesthetic when my family got Windows Vista in 2008, after a whole ass childhood with Windows 98 (we didn't get XP at all until my dad got a notebook with that years later), looking at Vista was like stepping into the future. It was the prettiest thing I've ever seen. These days I connected with FA via looking at the Aesthetics Wiki page and being a part of the FA subreddit.
Thank you ! Awesome video once again ! Imo most UA-cam video essays are bad and pseudo intellectual , but your videos are so well researched and scripted! I learn so much .
Aesthety, fascinating video as always! I love how broad your perspective is, from UI to graphic design and environmental design, and grounding it all in the cultural and social context of the era. Could you make a video on solarpunk some day? I’m so interested in something that seeks to counter the pessimism of climate anxiety and cyberpunk aesthetic
It's not just "this aesthetic is nostalgic" it says "these are the elements of this aesthetic and here is why each element was used, and the context and reasoning for it."
I'm just now finding this, and I'm very excited to watch a 40+ minute video about frutiger aero Edit: Absolutely amazing video. I'm very glad to see such a deep dive into one of my favorite 2000s aesthetics that actually touches on its origins and deeper meaning. Very interesting and well produced content.
This was a really good analysis. I was born in the 80s, so the Fruitger Aero (FA) design phase doesn't hold the same nostalgic intensity for me that it clearly does for younger peeps. But this is largely because I always perceived it as a commercial movement, rather than a genuine facet of popular culture. That FA was both birthed and propagated by corporate interests differentiates it from, say, the grunge aesthetic of the 90s, or Memphis design aesthetic of the 80s, or arts-and-craft aesthetic of the 70s, which had their roots in artistic and ideological movements that were only later exploited by universal market forces. I was never "convinced" by the 3D-rendered clean vibrant tech-sleekness of the 00s - to me it always felt as if the design techniques weren't advanced enough for the optic they were attempting to create. Kind of like the computer-generated voices that have narrated UA-cam and Tiktok videos for the last 10 years, which will doubtless have their own nostalgic value in a decade or so, but at the moment just sound like unrefined technology. Far from any sense of humanisation or environmental aura, I've always found most of the FA design spectrum cold, clinical, fake, and propagandistic. But all that said, it also backgrounded an exciting period of my life, where my own fresh adulthood matured alongside the hopeful advances of technology... before the horrific eventual realities of both became evident.
First off, I wanna mention that I’m so happy you made this deep dive into frutiger aero! I absolutely loved your Y2K video (despite not exactly growing up in that time) and have been reminiscing over the era of frutiger aero. A lot of the nostalgia definitely comes from the whimsical feeling of being a kid outside on a summer day and enjoying nature. Or being at a target and looking at all the cool technology. You definitely see this aesthetic a whole lot on things like soap bottles, and it makes me happy to see most soap brands have an aesthetic at least similar to it still. Great video! I’m excited for whatever you make next! Also, I love what you do with the room for this video and your Y2K one. It really enhances the experience :)
Kenzo Flower Ad (2007) immediately came to mind after I finished watching your video. As someone who grew up during this time, I feel you represented it well. Great work!
I still believe that frutiger aero is pretty futuristic. Having been a kid while the aesthetic was prevalent in every corner of reality, I had hoped so much that this would become our future. For now, I'll just keep my rose tinted glasses on as I remember a hope I had for a lost future. The aesthetic is so fresh feeling. Like a cold glass of water or minty gum. It's why it's one of my favorite aesthetics. I'm actually listening to frutiger aero wii music as we speak.
This is a really cool video. I love fruitger aero because it reminds me of my childhood. When I lived in St Petersburg, Ru in the late 00s it was everywhere.
Amazing as always, love your deep dives. And yes, you're very knowledgeable 🥰. So yeah, frutiger aero.... not much of a nostalgia hit point for me as the y2k millenium look, but so recognizable as very ad oriented. I remember first seeing it displayed in computer monitors mid 2002 in shop windows, those bubly cyan oceans and yellow exotic fishes demanding my full attention as a curious kid. I was so young, but already had a feeling the world was changing fast then, and boy it did. The digital era was in full blown effect. PS: Love Profusion is a bop
You really did a good job. The previous video was a survivor era. The costume looked like a bulletproof vest. And then it is the safety of the techno naturalistic sanctuary. The carefree zen yoga aesthetic was just the oposite of the gritty, depressing indy rock, punk goth era. When Nirvana led to yoga. Like a vegetarian biting in a fresh watermelon after a long winter. Just like the 70 was era of country music. 2007 Was still a era of soft punk, extreme sport and mountain dew. "Extrem Eh"
Love the Mirror’s Edge music in the background :) As others have pointed out, that game and it’s soundtrack themselves are a very distinct product of that era.
As someone who's a part of a large frutiger aero online community, I really appreciate this video being made. It's made so perfectly visually, and showcases perfect examples that aren't talked about enough. The music is top tier, and your explanations are on point. Thank you for this!
LOVE your videos dude! It’s interesting to me I was growing up with this as a kid but I don’t have any particular attachment to it. I got into tech early and was much happier with the cleaner designs that replaced it
when i think of frutiger aero, i remember in the early 2010s when i was really little, i was at the mall and saw an advertisement poster next to the escalator and it was the android logo but with lots of details
![The Hunger Games Aesthetic Analysis [Part 1] - Understanding Design References](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/pxdqhGCAcK4/mqdefault.jpg)
![The Hunger Games Aesthetic Analysis [Part 1] - Understanding Design References](/img/tr.png)
Hi guys, quick correction re: images mentioned in 38:43. As pointed by @qhanny1 in the comments section and by Evan Collins directly to me, these images actually are from the Frutiger Aero heyday era and had been created in 2006 - 2007 by the Korean stock photo company called ASADAL. You can check them out at editphoto.asadal.com/best_all.htm courtesy of u/eunchaeyeon via r/FrutigerAero Reddit. Thanks again @qhanny1 & Evan for pointing this out!
I enjoy your work with the futuristic 2000 vid, brought back memories and even learned alot of terms to actually explain what theme I like and why
12:16 you mean it can't be overestimated?
I *adore* this aesthetic. Something about the juxtaposition of nature and plastic together makes my brain tingle just right.
I’ll forever die mad that we didn’t achieve a solarpunk utopia using this aesthetic as a style guide. I’ve always loved that sort of aesthetic turning up in public spaces. I miss it.
Plastic + ecology doesnt match anymore 😔
its almost like plastic is why the environment is so fucked- stop acting like we had clean air in 2003 just because a corporate image tried to sell you a product
Realizing that generation alpha is going to be nostalgic for Corporate Memphis and minimalist web design is definitely a humbling dose of reality that my own nostalgia is not special.
@ComsiCaterpillar did gen z even grow up with this? idk
@@monsieurlemon yes, even on the younger side of gen z (2007) this aesthetic defined my developmental years until I was 6-8, i remember the old toys, my parents desktop, tech commercials and the overall vibe of frutiger aero. I might've been young but I cant deny the extreme nostalgia depictions of this era evoke within me. I think especially for gen z as well was this aesthetic sort of defined by an "optimism" and "peace" coincided considerably with an early childhood which to many felt more free and happy, much to the contrast of modern living, adding to the nostalgia factor of this aesthetic.
@ComsiCaterpillar I wouldn't be so sure. As someone who has only just really "come of age", I still distinctly remember booting up my Wii, to play Kirby's Epic Yarn. It was a monday, but it must have been labor day. The aesthetic is still lived experience.
Realistically, gen z, and all generations after us, will have little to no monoculture. As such, we will continue to look into past monocultures to find our inspiration, or continue to move forward with Memphis and minimalism, or even styles we can't even fathom at the moment. It's subcultures all the way down. Of course, I could just be a pretentious asshole, but that's a risk you run making comments late at night.
@monsieurlemon we did! I was born in 2003 and grew up playing Wii games. My childhood memories of past trips to supermarkets, stores and dentists are awash with this aesthetic. We earlier Gen Z people DEFINITELY grew up with Frutiger Aero.
@@kell_0741I hate when Millennials think you can't be nostalgic for something unless you spent your entire teenager and/or early adult years with it. Nostalgia is strongest when those things are experienced in childhood years.
I think for a lot of the zillenial cusps, this era represented all the hope of technology versus the headache and disillusionment it instills today. Like back then games for kids weren’t full of micro transactions, etc. Like when I think of that era I think of the optimism versus today’s rapidly deteriorating goodwill towards it
I see it the opposite way, many people were very skeptical and anti-consumerist and stuff. That's why this fake-nostalgia stuff (no offense, video creator) should not state things from the near past which cannot be clearly justified. I don't even think it is possible to tell what did people think at that time, because the world was already very fragmented at that time, and not that much different from the contemporary world as people want to believe.
I think that this era represented hope and optimism in terms of not being as corrupted as it is today, not from a conscious decision of the designers but because they didn't know yet how much they could manipulate and trap the user/consumer in their product.
In the example you gave about games and microtransactions, kids back then didn't have a way to make online purchases so easily so most games didn't even have such features or were even online for that matter. Now you don't even need a parent's card to do it, it's just a tap away (unless they have set an authentication of some sort which again is a new implementation after parents complained about their children spending money too easily on games).
Once companies realized the power they have over us, they took advantage of it. It's in our hands to show them that our money is our power as consumers but it has to be a collective effort to make any difference.
The fact that it's been replaced by a minimalistic, barren style just makes it even worse. Technology has flipped from being inviting, natural, and calming to stark and impenetrable. It's not just nostalgia, it really is worse now than it was then. The designs don't make as much intuitive sense on account of an absence of any visual metaphor, they are psychologically less easygoing to use and often outright made to stress you (see: emphasis on reds and yellows instead of blues and greens), and the practices of the companies making them is a hell of a lot more predatory. It's literally a visual reminder that the being optimistic or friendly cost too much, so they sold it all out. The only reasonable reactions are despair and/or rage. They made the perfect insult to anyone who grew up with these images.
@@SajtosNokedli I see this a lot coming from Americans, they seem to think the world and its design trends went downhill after 9/11 and it hasn't been the same since. While there were definitely some corporate trends in the 2000s seeping through the cracks that would rise to prominence in the 2010s, the decade still had a very distinct aesthetic which is completely nonexistent now. You can argue about how much frutiger aero paved the way for modern day corporate trends but the aesthetic downgrade of the 2000s to the 2010s is staggering.
I really agree with your comment
while growing up in and being a child during the era i feel like that's why i feel like everything felt more colorful and happier not only cause of childhood wonder but also because of our surroundings being so optimistic for the future. now everything is so minimalistic and grim. i wish we could go back to the silly wonky colors
What I'm doing is starting with myself :) I try to surround myself with bright and vibrant, positive colors in my drawings, in the decor I buy, etc etc. I also dress in vibrant and fun colors a lot of the time. Hopefully it can start a positive impact even if it's only one other person that is inspired by me:)
I agree but I do like the “bright” minimalistic design with few primary colors and simple design. It’s like everything now is a hue.
@@Li_Toblerlove this
@@byersvhs thank you! Sending love back
Minimalism isn't bad, it's great actually. The issue is how corporations handle it, with such lazy designs that sacrifice too much detail and kill the life out of previous designs
Frutiger Aero is like an aesthetic equivalent of drinking a glass of water after brushing your teeth with a mint toothpaste.
Whenever I see that aesthetic, it makes me think of Encarta Kids.
Using Mirror's Edge music is really fitting. It's probably the most "Frutiger Aero" game/soundtrack ever.
Do you ever just stop and watch the NPCs below soullessly marching and disappearing into the walls of fake buildings? It's so eerie and reminds me of Pyongyang down there or something.
Man. This aesthetic dominated my childhood as a kiddo born in 2001. And its so weird to have the memory of it dredged up from the depths of my mind-
Also Born in 2001 and can say I absolutely love this aesthetic. I loved how restaurants and everything used to look back then too 😌❤️ idk man but the colors, plastic, nature, and technology is absolutely Biss 💯
Born in '98 here, can't stand this aesthetic. Feel so corporate and sterile.
I am here for this.
My favorite era of UI and product design. Less plastic than the 90s precursor to Frutiger (basically neo-60s plastic chic) and more abstract.
Would love to see a return to this now that like….displays with more than 280p resolution.
its literally not abstract though stupid
I wish I could like this more then once. I didn't even know that this aesthetic had a name and now I'm riding the nostalgia train by binging videos about it. All thanks to this video.
The small revival of Frutiger Aero and it's popularity over the past couple years on the internet makes Frutiger Aero the Vaporwave of the Late 2000s Early 2010s not in just the Aesthetics but the music surround it too. if you listen to any Frutiger Aero playlist, it's basically a new wave of vaporwave but for late 2000s early 2010s kids
As a kid I always wanted to eat whatever that was in Garnier commercial.
You’re not alone lol 🙋🏽♂️
I’m ready for the Frutiger Aero comeback
Does it can be Neumorphism?
@@ankoe0803 yes combined with haptics its a welcomed UI
Osx will do it first.
No, leave it in the past. We need to move on.
@tealover70 why don't people like you understand this is how culture and history works? Disney is literally based on the same old stories just told in different ways, superheroes are just based on archetypes and Greek mythos, these things are all connected. In the 70s they wanted to bring back things from the 50s or 60s you can't stop that
Frutiger Aero brings me memories of MSN malware, leaked personal pictures and videos, P2P networks, the use of bluetooth and VoIP software
You're the first person to actually explain where the term "Frutiger Aero" came from. Most people just say "Well it was coined by some internet user some time ago" and never explain it past that
WAKE UP NEW AESTHETY VIDEO DROPPED
LET’S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
I searched online and found dat someone on Reddit found the origins of some of these backgrounds (38:40). They claim these were made around 2007-2008, by a Korean company. Rad!
I can’t seem to link the post, but I believe a quick google search will bring it up (dat’s how I found it)
@@kingcoveryepic thank you so much for your info! I've made a correction and pinned it in the comment section.
I need to go to sleep😢
Big Thank you for your videos. I am a UI/UX-Designer, struggling at the moment with my work. My designs are good after Rules of UI-Design, but I have the feeling they are empty of creativity or a different perspective of problem-solving. Everything looks and feels the same. Your videos help me so much with research of Design styles and give me some much-needed empathy, which I did not get from books. Please keep up your great work!
Edit: Btw, you seem to be a pretty cool guy!
Contemporary UI design feels a bit same-y for a good reason though: Inclusivity and Accessibility.
I look back at my design work from 10-15 years ago and laugh at all of the form-over-function stylised nonsense.
Content is where creativity is best expressed - images, video, copy etc.
The best UI is one that goes completely unnoticed!
Thanks! I'm happy to have helped - people like you are the reason that gets me going!
@@ProvocativeSloth That last statement is not true at all... The best UI/UX is the one that sticks to your memory, the one that catches your eye and makes you go "woah". I'm an absolute fan of Y2K UX design because it's all just so detailed and unique, every element feeling like it's own distinct piece of art that you'll remember fondly. UX that goes unnoticed is bland, and "just serviceable", that's not what should be strived for...
@@ProvocativeSlothYou are right. Form has to follow the function accessibility is a always the crucial factor. I am a big fan of Rams and his 10 theses of good design. But I think there is also room for inspiration how designers from different areas solve problems or satisfy the users. At the end ist most of our work empathy and problem solving. I did a major redesign of apps in the IT company (b2b) I am working in. And users who knew our old UI love the redesign for all kind of reasons. I think the UI is by far not the selling point for a good product but it also doesn't go unnoticed when it is well done
@@Aesthetythank you so much
I'm glad you touched on the corporatization of this look. You really downplay just how hated it was, though lol.
I was in my early 20s when this aesthetic emerged. And lemme tell you... "some" people didn't hate the Frutiger Aero look of Windows XP (and print ad design, and packaging design), MOST people I knew hated it. Because of the exact corporatization you mention here. We saw it as the cold, sterile, inoffensive corporate failure to adopt the y2k aesthetic.
Objectively, as UX design goes, it was absolutely brilliant for helping people previously intimidated by computers become familiar with it... but that was exactly the reason most people I knew hated it - it was VERY unthreatening, and was clearly "engineered" as opposed to having been designed by artists to reflect their own feelings about the time. The "corporatization" was visible to a lot of us when we saw it on software boxes and then-newer web design.
The thing about y2k that was great was that it WAS humanist in the sense that it was a genuine expression of how we, the people familiar with technology's most recent developments, were feeling at the time (both the optimism & the pessimism). The emergence of the Frutiger Aero aesthetic, after the dot-com bubble had burst, was the result of the few surviving big corporations who now controlled technology dictating the aesthetic.
On some level we were being gatekeepy, to be sure, but I think what hurt about it was that we could see now that the internet was about to be taken over by capitalism. What we'd wanted was for the people to rule that space, and Frutiger Aero was a sign that the plutocracy was about to.
During y2k, the roughness of metalheart graphics, the matrix-style tiny-text-on-screen-for-flavor, and the monochromatic color schemes were all genuinely bad for user experience, accessibility, and branding, and by definition couldn't be for everybody. So Frutiger Aero came along with its market-researched color schemes and interfaces, and genuinely objectively fixed those problems and opened up the internet and computers and pocket technology to a wider audience than ever. And man.... those of us who already loved computers & the internet, especially those of us in the design world, absolutely HATED it. It was a bit of a slap to the face, an uncomfortable announcement that the "artistic" wild-west era of self-expression on the internet was definitely dead.
(Also, those CG compositions & images were a PLAGUE on stock photo websites as early as 2006, so they definitely existed that far back, and they made my job very very hard until stock photo sites got better filtering. Those specific images on-screen may be recreations of what was around at the time, but they're extremely accurate. Especially that second one. It looks like SO many things I came across in about 2009 trying to get web sites done for some of my early clients. I hate those images so much lol)
I think flat design is worse than fugire aero
This is a great post. I also remember being so excited for flat design to hit the iPhone, as it had already been bubbling up organically in design circles as a foil to Aero. Now I find myself more annoyed with flat design than I ever was with Aero, had no idea how bad it was about to get
this is really interesting, i was born in 2002 so grew up with my earliest encounters with technology being dominated by this aesthetic, but instead of nostalgia seeing this stuff fills me w a weird sense of kinda profound dread, n i think its for very similar reasons! im a computer science researcher now, but when i was younger n fascinated by all the new tech coming out around me, i idolised silicon valley, i was firmly sold on the corporate propaganda that the best way to experience/use tech in a liberatory fashion was to be an excel poweruser or be really good at customising windows/ios within the settings microsoft/apple gave you, and it was aero that both told me that and skinned the tools i was so invested in
when i was about 10 i discovered the game modding/hacking scene and went pretty deep into that rabbit hole fast, and instead of aero those communities were built on peer-to-peer hacked flash file sharing on forums that had existed and not rly changed much since the late 90s, so still def the domain of that "inaccessible" y2k aesthetic, but the inaccessibility was part of what made it feel so new and magical for me - i learned the difference between "IT" and "computer science" n in my mind aero became indicative of the worst bits of restrictive sanitised soulless corporate-ness of IT, and y2k "wild west internet" aesthetics became symbolic of all the most freeing aspects of the underground hacking scene n later research in general (half of the most cutting edge projects in theoretical fields are still hosted on web1 looking sites) - it was aero that skinned the annoying properietary interfaces i wanted to reverse engineer to get more out of and the popups asking a kid with no money for license keys, and it was the y2k "matrix" aesthetic that shared decompilations and binary patches that freed me from that
obviously this is just me trying to psychoanalyse the childhood memories n associations that make me feel so weird towards the aero aesthetic so maybe not super insightful, but yea super interesting to hear such similar feelings from the generation before me, n i think in many ways my feelings of hard-to-explain despair around the aesthetic are kinda downstream of the ways those existing communities responded at the time s.t. the ones i perceived as liberatory in some way actively eschewed it, n aero kinda makes me think of an alternate timeline where i never discovered those scenes n instead of being where i am today im stuck making spreadsheets and writing visual basic macros w my only understanding of tech being the scraps given to me by some bloated profit-driven disingenuously-"innovative" megacorp !!
@@pauloarthuralbuq9004it for sure is more boring and sterile, but they're equally corporate. might just be rose tinted goggles making ppl think it was somehow more authentic
my god we talk shit about flat rn but we're gonna miss it once it turns to just dots or whatever the fuck 😂
My very earliest memory that i can recall is a very specific shade of deep blue that could bè associated with this era (I would date it to around 2006-2007)
I was born in the year 2000. To me this aesthetic was all about hope. We were getting important technological advances every single year, you could see noticeable improvements in your quality of life and entertainment. The aesthetics of the era promised us a future of solarpunk beauty, cleanliness and hope.
It quickly devolved into the modern era cynicism and predatory corporatism that fights to strip technology from the little humanity it had.
As you said this nostalgia is particularly painful because it reminds of a future I never got. Everything has gotten bleaker and less kind in general.
It feels like something went wrong and we're living in the bad timeline.
Making tech more humane made it more available. Making it more available made information easier to access. What we see now is essentially the same garbage that happened in the 90s and 2000s, we can simply see what the big corps are doing, the corporate world was as toxic as it is now. So, we can sorta claim that this aesthetic lead to its own downfall.
the world wasnt hopeful when frutiger aero was big you stupid little kid- kind of the opposite
ironically the design of the computers themselves were shifting towards black boxes, so you'd have these colourful shapes beaming out of a nondescript black cube, that would maybe have a silver highlight if the designer felt particularly adventurous
Hell yes
This art/design era was my literal entire childhood right up to graduating high school
For the sake of completeness, I now propose to make a video about Corporate Memphis and flat design in general.
And despite my extreme dislike for it, and my happiness that its dominance in ugly design has led to the birth of neomorphism, I would still like to know its roots and the root causes of its emergence and popularization, in addition to the design of iPhone and Windows 8 icons.
I'm not nostalgic about the appeal, but design and marketing drive-force has changed from optimism to fear, guilt and self-confinement.
My shampoo once had benefitial ingredients, now it is without harmful ingredients.
Online technology was used to connect us, now it is used to shield us from 'stranger danger' by building barriers, regional content, surveillances and multi way authentications.
My desktop processor's main feature was processing, now it is low consumption.
Very interesting take, thanks for sharing!
Yet the actual harmful ingredients in your old shampoo were still there, just hidden from view. And the old online technology might've been about connecting people if you lived in the US or some other major market, not in north-eastern Europe where basically nothing was easily available. And my current desktop CPU, which is quite a ways away from being the most powerful available, is 60-70W more power hungry.
gotta say, having grown up in the early 2000s, stranger danger was very prominent back then lol. i remember being shown PSAs of stranger danger in school usually hand in hand with DARE programs. honestly i would argue i saw that sentiment way more back then then now
Love that I caught this and just finished it right after u uploaded it! I'm 24 and I grew up with older brothers so I experienced a lot of the end of y2k as a kid and the rise of frutiger aero and metro. When I found out this aesthetic had a term last year, it was like unlocking a nostalgic longing + feeling I didn't even know how to put a name to.
The Aesthetic GOAT is BACK and DOES IT AGAIN.
I realize that future generations aren't going to experience the big boon in technology when this aesthetic was a big thing. I do see this aesthetic coming back sometimes In commercials. I love the video. Can you do early 2000s older brother core? That's what I have the most nostalgia from 😊
Thank you for being the only person I've seen to mention the relationship between new HD displays and the rise of this aesthetic. It always seemed clear to me that it was hugely instrumental in how common it was, but everybody else just seems to stick to the more emotional aspects which tbf are probably more fun to think and talk about.
For those of us who grew up with this aesthetic, potently reminding us how much happier we were as kids, these aesthetic images/media are nostalgic kill-shots
I love this type of visual style
As someone who used Windows Vista, and also the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, this was one of the most nostalgic things ever in my opinion. I do see the criticisms and it is tailored to make you appreciate it in a way that feels a bit wrong, but I think the calming vibe of Frutiger Aero just helps with my Autistic self a lot sometimes, especially when it comes to the music. Oh boy I love the music.
I think Marconi Union and Carbon Based Lifeforms are great ambient bands with a soothing feel. Marconi Union was used in this video, their song "Weightless" is famous but I really like "Sleepless" and "These European Cities."
14:35 it’s weird that nowadays, we don’t think much in the future as we used to. It’s like now we’re living in the future and all the technology doesn’t focus in showing how it’s going to be what’s next, they are now focused in the present. The 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s had their own version of the future but mid 10’s and 20’s don’t
well, advertisers don't need to present the technology they're advertising as the future anymore. technology is so entrenched and normalized now, the only places where it hasn't expanded to are either held back due to external forces or created specifically to exist as tech-less spaces. it's both no longer a scary thing that "normal people" can't grasp, but it's also no longer the coolest new thing. it's just a tool most people use to do other things they need.
not to mention the times we live in and the shit we've gone and are going through, in addition to news and social media making us all the more aware of all the human suffering in the world. i certainly find it difficult to maintain a positive outlook on a collective future when i know we can barely even coexist
that's how i'm looking at it, at least
the future for people now is AI, unfortunately
I think it's largely because we're starting to hit a plateau on what can be developed that will actually change the average persons life. Obviously huge strides are still being made in fields like medicine, etc. but for the average person, things have been more or less the same for a few years now. Mobile devices might be getting more powerful, but still look and work largely the same (no "going from buttons to touch screens" kind of jumps happening). And a lot of new developments don't feel like improvements at all (see: removing headphone jack, touch screens in cars, making everything another app that you have to download). Obviously for people who are more tech-savvy there's lots to look forward to but it's hard for the average consumer (or advertiser) to imagine the future of tech when it feels like we already got to the ideal future at one point and then made it worse.
10's had the zombie apocalypse, and now in the 2020's it looks like a lot of cyberpunk. So there is still a vision of the future. It's just pessimistic now.
I love the fruttiger aero aesthetic. It reminds me when i was younger and got my first computer during christmas 2004 and made my first experience with the internet, Xbox360, Windows Vista in 2005 - 2007. Even the first led-screen phones had this style. Everything feels so much brighter, optimistic and more inviting. The simplicity of this style makes it so timeless.
i love the duality of reactions to this video. like you, I grew up with this aesthetic, and am heavily nostalgic for it. it's funny that to me it doesn't feel corporatizied, but the modern day flattening does.
I also "grew up" with this aesthetic. I like it, but I wouldn't say I'm head-over-heels nostalgic for it. It just reminds me of Windows Vista, basically.
Now that people are pointing out its "sterile" and "comporate" look, I can definitely see it. People tend to hate anything that becomes overly standardized and homogenized. Just look at the modern corporate minimalism people hate so much. Personally, I like minimalism and think the aesthetic works fine for certain things... The problem is EVERYTHING uses it and they're being minimalist to the point of just lazy in some cases.
BIG THANK YOU! BIG THANK YOU! THANKS A LOT FOR THIS VIDEO!
The most consistently excellent channel on UA-cam, please continue taking as long as you need on each installment
I've been looking forward to this one since your Y2K video! 🎉 Yay!
Bring Frutiger Aero back. Everything is so dull and serious now. Frutiger Aero made technology more exciting back in the early 2000’s
i think its odd to completely miss the fact that windows xp was chasing mac os which was years ahead in this aesthetic, and you even showed an imac g3 in some of the stock footage.
that being said the analysis suggesting this aesthetic is forced by corporate America and ultimately failing to come across as natural was spot on. failing in every metric when compared to y2k.
OS X’s “Aqua” UI was definitely the genesis of Frutiger Aero, not Windows XP. Steve Jobs made the request to the designers that “everything you see on-screen makes you want to lick it.” XP just imitated this radical new design concept.
Y2k feels more dystopian while frutiger aero is more blissful.
I thought the g3 was supposed to be the pinnacle of y2k.
In my opinion, OS X 10.1 (released a few months ahead of XP) sits somewhere on the border of the aesthetic. It's got the friendly gloss and skeuomorphism, but never adopted the kind of naturalistic themes that were so important to the style. You get a bit of it in the desktop background and maybe the window buttons, but it didn't index as heavily into it as XP did with its background and the overall color scheme.
babe wake up, aesthety dropped a new video
27:48 THIS! This comment is exactly how some of the current aesthtetic is interpreted. The current aesthetic is essentially stemming from synthwave/chillwave, but there are ads and stuff that still have the previous bold colour style of the previous aesthetic (while using colours of the current aesthetic)
You attention to detail is your gift❤ please more from the 90s to late 2000s
This is actually a very formal and well made video about my favorite aesthetic of all time. Not only did you talk about why it’s great and popular, you also talked about the bad parts of it and how it basically died, which not a lot of people would touch on that. Anyway, hope to see more great videos from you very soon.
Being someone who graduated high school in 2009 and lived their formative years with this aesthetic, the nostalgia hits hard here. The optimism of this design trend reflected the utopian future that the internet and tech was promising us, it felt like the Y2K aesthetic but in 720p high definition (that was considered the minimum of high def at the time btw). Of course that optimism existed in your office space and during commercial breaks between news coverage on the GWOT and the great recession but we won't worry about that.
The Best Buy corporate campus in Richfield, Minnesota is a prime example of Frutiger Aero office design.
I am definitely nostalgic of it. I love Frutiger Aero. A big reason is because I hate what came after it, it makes me sad and nauseous to look at. We're going to have corporations try and lie to us anyway, so at least make it pretty and relaxing if we're going to see it everywhere...
Maybe a revival would feel forced. But at least offices should be less depressing to look at, and we could imagine some places where a Frutiger Aero is used, but not everywhere
Also thank you for putting the source of your image on every single image, I rarely see people do it even though they should.
Man I love these aesthetic videos. I have always been fascinated with this sorta stuff but didnt know there were descriptions and classifications and analysis of this until i found your channel. Now I've been going down the rabbit whole of all areas of aesthetics within a culture but honestly, none of the video essays I have found on YT compare to what you put out. Love the uploads.
i LOVE your setup!! i love how you deeply knew how to decor your setup and dress, and made an effort on doing it even though you didn't like the aesthetic. Love it! I want those bubbles and vase so much, loved the video!! Maybe liminal aesthetics on next videos?!
I’ve been waiting for another one of these videos for a while, and you have once again delivered.
thank u for picking music tracks that perfectly encapsulate this aesthetic 😭😭 the mirrors edge soundtrack fits it so well
I grew up with this aesthetic everywhere on the realm of tech and advertising, and recently I've been so enchanted by it, like I rediscovered a precious and stimulating thing that I forgot about.
And in honor to that I bought myself a rotating aquarium night lamp, it's great and has gave me lots of joy these past months :3
This was so enjoying to watch. Thank you so much
This video was so awesome to watch ! Discovering the intricacies of Frutiger Aero on many levels was interesting thanks !
This is one of the best videos I've seen on UA-cam. It's incredibly well documented and analyzed.
I really like aero. My first contact with tech was windows 95, I really love how simple and flat the interface looked. A couple of years later, I got a GameCube. It really felt like the begining of a new world, it's menu was really all 3D, which was fascinating and and it was a silvery-purple cube, rooting it's menu deep with the hardware. Almost like that 3D cube menu was literally what was under the hood of the console. Then a little later, I put my hands on Windows Vista, and it really struck me, the barrier of 2D/3D was blending, you could feel a lot of depth on the screen, and the menus. It felt like the screen and computer were no more limited. And it felt like that was the future ahead. Blending 2D with 3D, and evolving to full 3D interfaces. Back then we still had a lot of CRTs, blending the edges of textures, and some skeumorphic menus were looking so real, I couldn't always tell if it was something 3D, or some 2D realistic textures sliding on the screen.
Aero really made me think that by 2020, 2D interfaces would be something of the past, and what I interpreted back then as realism would keep evolving and evolving, until everything became a Wii/GameCube menu. God I was wrong lol.
There was a prototype Windows 2005 Longhorn between XP and Vista.
My friend and I followed its development and were fascinated by its actual and proposed design drafts at the time. As far as I remember the early screenshots had rounded transparent matt glass menus, like the Vista but the colors were black and orange
And if you actually installed the beta, it would understand what you said to it on the mic which felt incredibly futuristic
Yep, you can take a look around BetaWiki to check build by build how it evolved. And of course, you can easily find the ISOs if you know where to look. rip WinFS tho.
Blessed by the new videoblessing of my favorite youtube channel, like a ray of cosmic light piercing through the grey veil of our aestheticless lives, fuzzying the very core. Sometimes, life indeed throws you a welcome surprise. Now, I am to excuse me a little hubris and enjoy this piece of maserful craft with a wiskey and a smile. My happiness is immeasurable and my day is saved. Lets dive in.🌐🌄
P.S. Love YOU,love the presentation, love THE PROPS, love the graphics, the structure, the HUMOR\jokes, all perfect. Every video is just a joy, the pure kind.
P.P.S. Would love to see Aesthety cover cyberpunk, or maybe even punk in general? The 70s were a crazy era.
YESSSSS omg I’ve been falling down this rabbit hole lately, cannot wait to dive into this video ❤
This is going to be a long comment with quite a few tangents, so, yeah... Oh! But first I´d like to thank you for putting so much effort into your videos. They are so good :-)
I´m really glad you touched on the theme of re-living our past interactions with UI through nostalgia. It was something that you could say took me off-guard in a good way. Growing up, I do remember the UI of Windows operating systems before XP, but vaguely, really. Like they were there just for an instant. However, I remember Vista fondly; the slight changing of the transparency effect on the windows when changing the colors, it was so mesmerizing.
[Side note here, because of my family background I´ve always been in direct contact with shiny, sparkling stones, so I guess those transparency effects somewhat reminded me of “home”... It might also be an association that my mind just created, but it would make sense, I guess.]
Same thing goes for the PSP, DS/3DS and Wii. Their UI always felt like a safe, welcoming and abstract place where I could linger between adventures; somewhere far from any physical experience, purely aesthetic. I couldn´t have possibly put that into words back then (I was around 10 maybe?) but the sounds, the subtle movements and shades of changing colors felt somewhat otherworldly and were so appealing to me, like I could spend my whole day there, just letting all that “ambiance” (not entirely sure if you can call a digital UI an “ambience” but that is the best way I can try to describe it) in.
I recently had a similar experience using the new 7 Eleven ATMs in Tokyo back in July. I´ve been to Japan a few times now and every time I went, except this one, I carried cash. This time, I had to use my card since I couldn´t get cash (not easy to get €/$ when you life in West Africa, even as a foreigner!) so I don´t really know when those ATMs were installed, but they looked fairly new, so my guess is between my last trip on 2019 and 2023.
Back to the ATMs, I felt like I was 8 years old again the first time I used one of those ATMs... They were exactly what you´d expect from a future where “frutiger aero” became the dominant aesthetic or zeitgeist... The experience itself is so detached (at least, subjectively for me) from any physical reality but so natural at the same time. The flowy and elegant movements of fishes in an ethereal river in the background, the flower petals that gracefully appear or the screen, the 3D volume effects of the buttons, the sounds... Fleeting, yet so calming. Even the ATM itself is what I´d call an ode to an aesthetic that perfectly merges the natural through the artifice of technology; a way of seeing the world in a peaceful and calming state far from the inconveniences of physicality. But it goes beyond that, the designers that put together this marvel of ATMs even included natural materials like wood (might´ve been a good wood-like substitute tho) into the construction (most of them, in Tokyo, other cities had full plastic/metalic construction). The number keys, though, were an experience to my senses just by themselves ; it was not the materials, construction or quality, but the sounds they made what made them special. Each key had its own tone (like a piano key) when you pressed it. It was so beautiful, it was like playing a completely random and short-lived symphony in an ethereal realm every time I went to the ATM... It was so surreal to find such a peaceful and “abstract” terminal amid a bustling and sometimes confusing metropolis. It still boggles my mind that a terminal that was designed with so much thought and emphasis on aesthetics, has the most materialistic end I could possibly fathom; getting money.
It may come off as a “you´re reading too much into it” thing, but I´ve had similar experiences in the past, particularly with UI´s . I´ve always been an extremely anxious person, and even if I don´t look like I´m having a panic attack, I´m internally not having a great time...That said, I´ve managed to make it better over the years. A bit of a tangent you might say (as advertised! haha) but now I understand why is it that UI´s (sound effects, on screen movement patterns, etc.) send comforting chills down my spine and why they (psychologically and physically) sooth me so much... It feels like I get my full HP back and all of my status conditions just vanished. I am not entirely sure how my brain got to the point of perceiving and identifying those types of UI with comfort but I guess I should thank it (as I thank you for your video) because it has kept me afloat during some really tough times; it has also made certain instants feel more special, so I guess it goes both ways... I never thought I´d find an explanation of why I love conceptual art, forms, ethereal color shades and gradients, even in clothing and decor! The purity of abstract form, I realize now, is, for me, so alien and yet familiar at the same time.
If you´re this far on my Blible-length comment, I guess I should share other UI´s that I think are proof that frutiger aero still lives on, albeit in a way more discreet manner. A great example is the Microsoft Surface-style terminal they have at the Ad Museum in Tokyo (flowy visuals, and etherial sounds), part of the UI in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet (map, Pokédex, transparencies and the changing colors in the background of the PC boxes are very reminiscent of the PSP/PS3 UI). Also, the UI and general aesthetics of Digimon Cyber Sleuth (from EDEN to combat UI) could be somewhat considered (in my opinion) a mix between Y2K and frutiger aero too; not sure about this one tho, I might be just seeing things that are not there... I feel Digimon could be a fun topic to explore given the whole “digital and real world interacting” thing...
Lastly, I´d really like to thank you (yet again haha) for your video. I did not wake up today thinking that I´d find so much about myself through someone that I´ve never met in real life. Guess that is part of the magic of the internet too ^_^
loved your y2k video!!! you always go in depth to these aesthetics.
I remember this esthetic very vividly, the green with the silver was like a welcome to something new, like the days of tomorrow.
Most frutiger feels so corporate and dystopic, it's the fall of y2k for me, so hopeless, I hate it 😢
Despite being born at the beginning of the 2000s, I personally have a strong attachment to the Y2K and late 90s look, probably because I'm from Perú and we usually lag technologically. I even used my mothers 90s PC for most my early childhood and only got the frutiger Sony Ericson when I turned like 12.
I think its kinda silly because even nowdays some of our microbuses still have cold purple lights and blast 2000s club music.
Great video!! ❤
If you all want to feel this aesthetic and relive it, play this game: Sky, Children of The Light. The many open workd realms feel like a dream until the very end. Truly an experience. The game was made by the same company that made Jorney.
Another Sky player too huh. nice. although I feel that it's not just frutiger aero, (although prairie definitely fits it.) it's more like "here is this giant world with a bunch of different aesthetics"
loved your way of pronouncing tech. im a bit sad but its nothing next to the joy of seeing you upload
Definitely the best video I've seen on this topic. Really appreciate the amount of research you put into this and the Y2K video - the quality and care really show!!
Waited so long for this.
As a generic 2004 kid, I always loved and continue to LOVE frutiger areo and skeuomorphic designs.
They're so pleasant and easy on eyes and make up a more comforting experience.
Not saying that today's minimalistic flat designs will get me uncomfortable etc, BUT, they just fail at looking good and just nice as they involve minimalistic effort to make ..
Easy on the eyes? I had to run Win XP with the silver theme to make me not want to gouge my eyes out. The bright, clashing, oversaturated colors wore an eyesore, imo.
@@MarchuxProductions m8 I'm talking about win vista/7 era
i remember when my college campus got a new building added to the campus, and the new buidling had the frutiger areo design and aesthetic, it looked so sleek and modern compared to the older campus buildings :o
Yes, the 1980s to y2k was massively FUN!
Generation Ascend, take over please. My son sent me this. It's like youre making meditation vids for tech people. ❤
Yes! I’ve been waiting for you to do a video on this style; i’ve seen so many aesthetic accounts pop up on Instagram
Yeeaaaah, you're back!!!❤
Back then growing up in this era i just felt like everything was trying to be futuristic, and futuristic at the time was bubbly, fully of joy and comfort and finished. Pleasing to understand how good wind and water can feel with a smooth finish of the hopeful and innevitable future, a perfected attempt to blend technology and nature together as to look indestinguishable from eachother but not out of place.
Obviously now its completely haywire and fucked up because its a night and day difference.
I first fell in love with the aesthetic when my family got Windows Vista in 2008, after a whole ass childhood with Windows 98 (we didn't get XP at all until my dad got a notebook with that years later), looking at Vista was like stepping into the future. It was the prettiest thing I've ever seen.
These days I connected with FA via looking at the Aesthetics Wiki page and being a part of the FA subreddit.
26:06 I know that place. Yeah, it feels like Frutiger Aero. Despite there's some expansions in later years, they still kept this.
Thank you ! Awesome video once again ! Imo most UA-cam video essays are bad and pseudo intellectual , but your videos are so well researched and scripted! I learn so much .
dude, quality as always!
Aesthety, fascinating video as always! I love how broad your perspective is, from UI to graphic design and environmental design, and grounding it all in the cultural and social context of the era. Could you make a video on solarpunk some day? I’m so interested in something that seeks to counter the pessimism of climate anxiety and cyberpunk aesthetic
These videos always make me feel such a deep sense of nostalgia. Moreso than any other videos on these subjects. Very well done 👍
It's not just "this aesthetic is nostalgic" it says "these are the elements of this aesthetic and here is why each element was used, and the context and reasoning for it."
such a pretty aesthetic. i find frutiger aero oddly comforting.
I'm already nostalgic about this dystopian era of media we're in right now.
I'm just now finding this, and I'm very excited to watch a 40+ minute video about frutiger aero
Edit: Absolutely amazing video. I'm very glad to see such a deep dive into one of my favorite 2000s aesthetics that actually touches on its origins and deeper meaning. Very interesting and well produced content.
This was a really good analysis.
I was born in the 80s, so the Fruitger Aero (FA) design phase doesn't hold the same nostalgic intensity for me that it clearly does for younger peeps. But this is largely because I always perceived it as a commercial movement, rather than a genuine facet of popular culture. That FA was both birthed and propagated by corporate interests differentiates it from, say, the grunge aesthetic of the 90s, or Memphis design aesthetic of the 80s, or arts-and-craft aesthetic of the 70s, which had their roots in artistic and ideological movements that were only later exploited by universal market forces.
I was never "convinced" by the 3D-rendered clean vibrant tech-sleekness of the 00s - to me it always felt as if the design techniques weren't advanced enough for the optic they were attempting to create. Kind of like the computer-generated voices that have narrated UA-cam and Tiktok videos for the last 10 years, which will doubtless have their own nostalgic value in a decade or so, but at the moment just sound like unrefined technology.
Far from any sense of humanisation or environmental aura, I've always found most of the FA design spectrum cold, clinical, fake, and propagandistic.
But all that said, it also backgrounded an exciting period of my life, where my own fresh adulthood matured alongside the hopeful advances of technology... before the horrific eventual realities of both became evident.
First off, I wanna mention that I’m so happy you made this deep dive into frutiger aero! I absolutely loved your Y2K video (despite not exactly growing up in that time) and have been reminiscing over the era of frutiger aero. A lot of the nostalgia definitely comes from the whimsical feeling of being a kid outside on a summer day and enjoying nature. Or being at a target and looking at all the cool technology. You definitely see this aesthetic a whole lot on things like soap bottles, and it makes me happy to see most soap brands have an aesthetic at least similar to it still. Great video! I’m excited for whatever you make next!
Also, I love what you do with the room for this video and your Y2K one. It really enhances the experience :)
Kenzo Flower Ad (2007) immediately came to mind after I finished watching your video. As someone who grew up during this time, I feel you represented it well. Great work!
I still believe that frutiger aero is pretty futuristic. Having been a kid while the aesthetic was prevalent in every corner of reality, I had hoped so much that this would become our future. For now, I'll just keep my rose tinted glasses on as I remember a hope I had for a lost future. The aesthetic is so fresh feeling. Like a cold glass of water or minty gum. It's why it's one of my favorite aesthetics. I'm actually listening to frutiger aero wii music as we speak.
This is a really cool video. I love fruitger aero because it reminds me of my childhood. When I lived in St Petersburg, Ru in the late 00s it was everywhere.
I love frutiger aero
Amazing as always, love your deep dives. And yes, you're very knowledgeable 🥰. So yeah, frutiger aero.... not much of a nostalgia hit point for me as the y2k millenium look, but so recognizable as very ad oriented. I remember first seeing it displayed in computer monitors mid 2002 in shop windows, those bubly cyan oceans and yellow exotic fishes demanding my full attention as a curious kid. I was so young, but already had a feeling the world was changing fast then, and boy it did. The digital era was in full blown effect.
PS: Love Profusion is a bop
Currently watching this knowing I will be sleep deprived tomorrow. But it’s all good, I literally can’t fall asleep yet and caffeine exists
Just finished watching this and Y2k videos and they were absolutely amazing! So much research went into them, and the analysis was great
Thanks! Glad you like them!
Great video as always! Id love to see new one about solar punk
I love how frutiger aero is getting attention again!
I love this channel. Keep going!
The fact you picked Nintendo background music is soo golden. They go hand in hand :)
You really did a good job.
The previous video was a survivor era. The costume looked like a bulletproof vest.
And then it is the safety of the techno naturalistic sanctuary.
The carefree zen yoga aesthetic was just the oposite of the gritty, depressing indy rock, punk goth era.
When Nirvana led to yoga.
Like a vegetarian biting in a fresh watermelon after a long winter.
Just like the 70 was era of country music. 2007 Was still a era of soft punk, extreme sport and mountain dew. "Extrem Eh"
Love the Mirror’s Edge music in the background :)
As others have pointed out, that game and it’s soundtrack themselves are a very distinct product of that era.
As someone who's a part of a large frutiger aero online community, I really appreciate this video being made. It's made so perfectly visually, and showcases perfect examples that aren't talked about enough. The music is top tier, and your explanations are on point. Thank you for this!
LOVE your videos dude!
It’s interesting to me I was growing up with this as a kid but I don’t have any particular attachment to it. I got into tech early and was much happier with the cleaner designs that replaced it
Wow this was 10/10 of a video. I didn't realize how nostalgic it was until you emphasized it several times (😜) - subbed also!
Pls return, this channel is gold
captivating and informative, keep em coming
also Solar Fields music is the cherry on top
A 40 plus minute doco on one of my favourite aesthetics yes! Yes yes!
The Smart ForTwo 451 is the embodiment of Frutiger Aero in automotive design.
when i think of frutiger aero, i remember in the early 2010s when i was really little, i was at the mall and saw an advertisement poster next to the escalator and it was the android logo but with lots of details