What’s old is new again, and one lasting trend in website design is incorporating vintage and retro elements. From vintage posters to weathered magazine adverts, these comforting images have inspired designers to create unique and stunning websites. This design movement is effective in attracting audiences; it transports them to a dearly remembered time and place.

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This sense of nostalgia can be used to form a bond of familiarity with a brand new product or service. This comfort factor allows audiences to feel safe and secure when engaging in a new venture. People are drawn to interesting designs that have great character and resonate with them personally. The retro styles and concepts remind audiences that these had once been an essential part of our lives in the past.

There are iconic elements that can easily be identified when looking at any retro and vintage design, I have categorized them in four groups (although there maybe more).

Clothing

The style of clothing strongly influences the era the website design is trying to represent. The styles and colours of the clothing worn by both men and women add to the vintage and retro theme. They give an authentic finish to any design.

Target Scope

Web Designer.ro

Sottocostoska

Mail Chimp

Bulletpr

Typography

For decades the art of typography has given rise to some amazing, elegant and beautiful designs. These impressive styles still have a lasting impression, echoing today’s work. Please take a look at the modern website designs vintage and retro typography have inspired.

Level 2D

Sparkys Garage

All Starlanes

Circus.fm

1800 Tequila

Deschutes Brewery

Dollar Dreadful

1927

Dawg House Design Studio

Henning Magic

Sprocket House

Technology

Vintage and retro technology looks rustic and oversized compared to the sleek and chic gadgets of today. But vintage technology is
aesthetically pleasing and reminds audiences of how far we have come. I noticed a cassette tape in one design below, this takes me back to the time when I used to buy and play them. There is also an old sewing machine, an aeroplane and a classic car! These make a great focal point in the designs below; they complete the vintage theme effectively.

The New York Moon

Custom Designs

Dale Inghram

Thrush Exhaust

Filigrooves

Gloobs

Repair Jeans

Setting

Earlier I mentioned that vintage and retro websites ‘transport audiences a dearly remembered time and place’ some website designs are actually trying to do this, Media Boom have a made a vintage movie style intro to their site, the camera effectively pans around a location that looks as if we have been taken back in time. Beefeater gin have create a scene, Eric’s empire looks like a retro comic book setting and the Posh bridal salon looks like an authentic shop, it is so vintage it makes me wonder what classic gems are hiding inside.

Beefeater Gin

Media Boom

Posh Bridal Salon

Erics Empire

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