Inspiration for Design in Vintage Styles

The field of graphic design and illustration has bloomed rather extensively following the developments in media. For developers and designers everywhere, art provides sanctuary when all else fails. A rather prevalent style used in designing these days is the vintage aesthetic.

If you are a graphics designer and want to know what vintage means and how to design your content using vintage style and some alluring retro fonts, go through the following article.

• Part 1: What Does Vintage Style Mean in Design?
• Part 2: How to Identify Vintage Design Styles?
• Part 3: 10 Beautiful Vintage Fonts in Design
• Part 3: Vintage Video Effects in Wondershare Filmstock

Part 1: What Does Vintage Style Mean in Design?

Lately, the term "Vintage" has grown drastically in its use and applications. The throwbacks and blasts from the past have been seen everywhere. I'm sure you all will know what "Old" is because that is the most common word associated with the term "Vintage Style." But that "Old" can contain great depths in it. So let's take a closer look at what vintage really means in design.

Vintage is quite a diverse term, containing within it several tributes to various past eras. The styles and inspirational ideas that are part of the vintage aesthetic range through several decades. The design styles included in vintage themes can be punk, emo, gothic, the 80s themed designs, or grunge.

Have you ever found yourself longing for something from the past? Have you ever looked at something and instantly been transported back to your childhood? That feeling of nostalgia is a crucial element in vintage style. Vintage-themed designs are based on the concepts which make people feel at home, particularly their childhood home. I mean, we all have, at some point, wished we were a kid again, right?

The primary appeal of vintage style lies in the charm of getting to relive your past, or in some cases, other people's past. The simpler styles and aesthetics of vintage design awaken a deep feeling of longing or belonging, which is a good tactic in marketing. Vintage designs now feature various sub-cultural aesthetics that can impact every consumer, creating a feeling of deep-rooted nostalgia.

Part 2: How to Identify Vintage Design Styles?

If you have ever found yourself confused between the various vintage design styles like me and cannot distinguish Goth from grunge, here is the ultimate guide for you. You will find relevant information about some significant design styles for getting the perfect vintage aesthetic below.

1. Pop Art

Pop art was a major design inspiration that gained popularity after the spirit of rebellion took over the people of the UK and USA following World War 2. The culture first emerged in the 1950s and 1960s and has since served as a classic example of revolutionary art in the midst of chaos. As a result, pop art has been seen to be the most dominant in the design field.

The unorthodox and avant-garde characteristics of pop art definitely made it iconic for its day. Pop art is relatively easy to distinguish because of its peculiar and distinctive features. It is a way of taking the most mundane things and presenting them with a bang. Because the idea originated as a result of a rebellion against the privileges of fine art, pop art lacks somber themes like religion or revolution.

If you see something that gives off a vintage vibe and contains vivid colors, bold and interesting penning, featuring an everyday theme, it belongs to pop art. However, it is also generally targeted at a younger audience with its bizarre patterns and shapes and doesn't usually contain much emotion.

2. 70s/80s/90s

The retro designs from previous decades, particularly the 70s, 80s, and 90s, made a noteworthy comeback lately. Though each era had its own significant list of sub-cultural influences, designers generally mix these up to create the perfect blend of modern and vintage.

The 70s had all the rage and range in its aesthetic, from disco balls to bell-bottoms and bold colors to flowery patterns. This era of creativity can be distinguished by the intensive use of bold colors, flowery designs, curvy and versatile typography, and hippie patterns. The overall cheerful and relaxed vibes from the 70s make the decade distinguishable from others.

When talking about the 80s, the significant vibes are bold and crazy. Everything from clothing to music and graphics was shadowed by bright colors, neon everywhere, and some box office Sci-Fi hits. Cyberpunk and disco were the main influential themes everywhere in the 80s, including neon-colored palm trees and the iconic Memphis style.

The 90s were mainly focused on fashion and music, but design experiments were also highly influential. No longer following the classical psyche, the diversity and versatility of the 90s cannot be contained. Designs in the 90s featured dirty and distressed themes revolving around grunge, doodling, anti-design in all its raw and unapologetic hideousness, and rave culture.

3. Grunge

The grunge aesthetic is mainly related to fashion influence with greasy hair and worn-out clothing, but when talking about grunge in terms of visual art, the term holds in much more depth. First arising from Nirvana's dread-filled lyrics, the term is associated with loneliness, ennui, and desire for freedom.

One cannot deny the overall feeling of breaking the rules and spirit of rebellion while looking at designs featuring grunge. If you see distressed textures with the layering of grit and grime, edged with rough and ripped patches, consider it grunge. The theme uses crooked lines, rutted elements, and handwritten text in bad shape. Figurative and sarcastic themes are also a vital aspect of the grunge aesthetic.

4. Punk

The rebellion movement of punk has seen many ups and downs over the decades. The angst-filled theme represents the sufferings of lower-class people from the 70s, where the term first emerged. Angst-y teens found solace in angry and loud punk rock music. However, punk's raw and unapologetic themes were what made it so relatable among people of that era and made it rise to glory.

There are several characteristic features of punk designs. As the idea was composed of everything "anti," i.e., anti-establishment, anti-elitism, and anti-conventional, the distorted and layered art was a key part of punk. Collages and stencil lettering here and there haphazardly marks the foundation of punk. The anarchist and raw form of punk are still influencing modern designs.

5. Baroque

Baroque style is an important part of the Western Art movement, first emerging in Europe in the late 16^th century and flourishing until the early 18^th century. It is one of the most influential and dominant architectural and structural art styles in Europe, aimed to evoke the emotions and passion of the viewer. Baroque paintings and sculptures from a delicate yet assertive stance.

Evolving from the classic forms of the Renaissance, the modern baroque style features a blatant expression of emotions in the rawest forms, emphasizing self-confidence and physical aspects of eloquence. Baroque flair is often seen in design projects with characteristic elements such as florals and rosettes, repeating and intricate patterns of motifs, and ornamental designs usually in gold.

6. Gothic

The gothic design was first seen to peak in the post-Romanesque period, with Gothic architecture being pre-dominant in the influential culture. The trend has since inspired numerous design styles and creators globally. Emerging from religious origins and being dominant in cathedrals and abbeys, Goth culture has since extended its roots and is now found everywhere.

The significant themes in Gothic design styles are those of dark and gloomy imagery, portraying a somber mood. Gothic style's dim and somewhat frightening traits contain cool and neutral colors such as blues, blacks, and purples. Gothic fonts are highly stylized and feature thick stems in block letters. The dusky and melancholic themes are a distinctive aspect of the Gothic design style.

Part 3: 10 Beautiful Vintage Fonts in Design

To add that perfect vintage touch to your designs, you will need the perfect font. Hence, we have compiled a list of the 10 best retro fonts to help you achieve the task.

1. Trincha Typeface

Trincha typeface is a hand-crafted customized font style. This is the perfect vintage font to give you grunge vibes. The bold letters with hand-painted Sans Serif design give off a completely distraught look.

2. The Northwest

Northwest is a modern vintage font style that can be used in your designs. This capital design font contains multiple styles for use in both print and digital ways.

3. Les Paul

Inspired by the 50s and 60s, Les Paul features 7 styles that you can use in any combination to get the retro vibes in your design.

4. Gatsby

Gatsby is a true retro font containing 5 different style combos in a sans serif design to give you grunge aesthetics.

5. Wolder

Wolder is another hand-painted retro-themed font family that features a rough texture to add the vintage theme to your design. The casual style can be used in various ways for vintage designs.

6. Mac Laurent

This 1900's inspired font is a unique retro style perfect for adding retro vibes to your design.

7. Bayshore

Bayshore is the perfect slanted script for 80s themed designs featuring neon and tube lights, usable for logos and marketing.

8. Rumble Brave

Rumble Brave retro-themed font gives the perfect balance between style, delicacy, and luxury. Use it to add a retro touch to your designs.

9. Moonface Script

Moonface Script is a bold yet elegant font style. Based on the 20^th-century typing style, this retro font is perfect to use on coffee shop windows or friendly environments.

10. Artisan

The Artisan font contains a diverse family that can be used for different purposes. In addition, the font style features several different font types and styles that are highly versatile.

Part 4: Vintage Video Effects in Wondershare Filmstock

For video creators looking for tools to elevate their content, we highly recommend using Wondershare Filmstock. This subscription-based service is an all-in-one resource tool that can make your videos achieve the heights of glory that they deserve. Following are some vintage-style video effects for you.

Retro Vintage Pack

A nifty collection of retro look effects to make retro-style videos.

Vintage Film Pack

Some overlays range from grungy to old-fashioned to make your video like an old film.

Vintage Labels Pack

Rustic label effects that harken back to the 90s.

Conclusion

Retro or vintage aesthetics has always been greatly appreciated by designers and developers. The retro style contains a charm and aura that cannot be denied or suppressed by modern chic designs. You can now add that vintage touch to your designs using the vintage fonts and the sub-cultural design aesthetics mentioned above.

Besides, Filmstock contains a library containing stock videos, sounds, images, etc. So do try the vintage effects of Filmstock for your next video in Filmora video editor.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

• What is a vintage aesthetic?

The term vintage aesthetic involves various sub-cultural aesthetics that induce periods from the past. "Vintage" is a large term that includes several cultural and traditional influences on clothing, art, architecture, and music, etc. The term includes periods from the 60s to 90s; and other styles such as punk, goth, hip-hop, grunge, etc.

• What is modern vintage design?

A modern vintage design features items from a specific period in history. It mixes them with relatively new events that are not necessarily a part of that design style or aesthetic. It focuses on merging modern-day ideas with concepts of the past.

• What is the best retro font?

Some of the best retro fonts which you can feature in your vintage style design posts include bold and all-caps fonts such as Bayshore, Rumble Brave, Roister, Dear Saturday, etc.

• What are the best vintage colors?

The best vintage colors to give your items that perfect vintage vibe can be green, light pink, shades of blue, etc. These can include classic red, classic blue, olive green, dark burgundy, crimson, pale yellow, and harvest gold in different combinations.