retroart

Retroart is a broad term for visual art that intentionally evokes the design, imagery, and cultural cues of past decades. It includes traditional media such as painting and illustration as well as contemporary digital works that imitate or remix older styles, from mid-20th-century advertising aesthetics to 1980s and 1990s graphic design. The aim is often nostalgia, reinterpretation, or critique of consumer culture rather than exact replication.

Common characteristics include period-appropriate color schemes, typography reminiscent of vintage posters or signage, halftone textures, grain and vignetting, and references to obsolete technologies such as radios, CRTs, or cassette decks. Compositional traits range from bold silhouettes and flat geometry to more collage-like juxtapositions, depending on the era being invoked.

Where it appears and influences: retroart is seen in posters, album artwork, packaging, video game art, and digital illustrations. Artists may foreground authentic period styles or blend them with contemporary techniques, producing hybrids that evoke memory while offering new commentary. Related movements include pixel art, synthwave, and retrofuturism, which share interest in nostalgia and imagined histories of technology.

History and reception: retro aesthetics have appeared across design fields since the mid-20th century and gained renewed popularity with online communities and visual culture in the 2000s and 2010s. Supporters view retroart as a craft-based celebration of style and memory; critics sometimes see it as nostalgia-driven or derivative.