ASCIIstyle

ASCIIstyle is a term used to describe a design and artistic approach that relies on ASCII characters to convey imagery, typography, and visual information in text-only or monospaced contexts. It covers forms such as ASCII art, ASCII banners, and typographic compositions that exploit the fixed-width nature of ASCII to approximate shapes and textures without bitmap graphics.

Its roots lie in early computing and communication networks, where graphical user interfaces were limited and bandwidth was constrained. ASCIIstyle emerged within bulletin board systems, Usenet groups, and email signatures, evolving alongside ASCII art and later ANSI art, with tools like figlet enabling automated banner generation.

Techniques include arranging characters on a grid to form faces, logos, or scenes; using characters of varying density (for example #, @, % versus . and space) to suggest shading; and carefully choosing line breaks to preserve alignment. In modern contexts, ASCIIstyle often appears in code documentation, retro-themed design, and fan art, sometimes incorporating colors in extended ANSI variants.

Reception of ASCIIstyle is mixed: it is appreciated for its simplicity, portability, and nostalgic appeal, but viewed as obsolete in high-fidelity multimedia contexts. It remains influential in hacker and maker subcultures and persists in communities that celebrate retro computing, games, and minimalist aesthetics.

See also ASCII art, ANSI art, figlet, monospace typography.