Everyone gets “The 90s” look wrong and I hate it
Couple years ago I saw these two board games at the store back to back. Well, not saw them per se, but ya know. Spied them out of the corner of my eye. And for a moment without reading the text, I couldn’t tell you which was which decade at first. Funny. Either they were in a rush to get these out the door or they wanted their throwback trivia game boxes to look uniform. I didn’t think too much of it.
Only, from then on I started seeing it MORE. Every time someone markets a 90s or 80s throwback...
Goddammit they’re identical! What??! How did we let this happen? As a 90s survivor and a designer, this drives me up a wall.
Look, I know I’m late to the party to complain about “the 90s look” when we’re just starting to get sick of the Y2K nostalgia train. But c’mon, the 90s were not The 80s: Part Two™
Trust me when I say that we weren’t all wearing neon trapezoids up until the year 2000. The 90s look being peddled is so specific to the tail end of the 80s and an early early part of the 90s - a part of the 90s when it wouldn’t stop being the 80s. This is Memphis design being conflated with the wrong decade.
Keep reading for a long ass graphic design history lesson and pictures of old soda and fast food.
Specifically, the look is Memphis Milano, self-named by the Italian design house Memphis Group. Starting in the early to mid 80s, they made all sorts of furniture, fabrics and sculptures that were like a Piet Mondrian grid painting under heavy radiation. Their whole deal was defying the standards of existing industrial design up to that point on purpose. Chairs had weird arches, bookcases would be in strange alien colors, unusual materials like plastic or elastic were used in place of metal or wood, that sorta thing.
Memphis quickly became the signature look for the decade. You can tell something’s influenced by Memphis design from it’s telltale trademarks:
Clashing, neon colors.
Use of diametric shapes.
Contrasting patterns like zebra print stripes, confetti squiggles and checkerboards.
It wasn’t long before Memphis Milano-inspired design was everywhere in 80s pop culture:
It was a special time, yes.
I was a kindergartener at the tail end of the 80s, so I knew Memphis mostly through the lens of kids media. Toys, clothes, games, tv shows used it like candy colored catnip. Cable channel Nickelodeon more or less adopted the Memphis aesthetic as their signature in-house style and practically built a monument to it at a Florida theme park:
I think this is why folks mistake what decade Memphis is representative of - 90s staples like Nick, Saved By The Bell, Fresh Prince - they all stayed around much longer than the design trend’s expiration date.
Couple that notion with the fact that companies are slow followers to design trends. Something gets popular and they want to get on the bandwagon? Gotta wait for the ink to dry, gotta wait for the production molds to be made. It would take a few years for them to completely work Memphis outta their system.
Now, this is not to say Memphis is bad! Personally I’m a fan of the aesthetic, if my neon-drenched artwork wasn’t a tip-off already. But it is a trend, and trends never last forever.
So what took the Memphis Milano look down for good? This part’s up for debate, but I personally think it had something to do with this dude:
It’s that grunge music from Seattle that’s so popular with the kids these days dontchaknow.
Once Smells Like Teen Spirit hit in 1991, the Nirvana tone drove the rest of the decade. Clean geometry became weathered, grainy and organic. Bright neon pastels became more bold. Bubblegum pop music sounded fake and manufactured. Attitude and apathy was authentic. Whatever.
Things got grungy. Things got grimy. Olestra was invented.
I think the best way to visualize this transition is how Cherry Coke entered the decade and how it left it:
1992 Memphis on the left, 1998 grunge junkie on the right. Fitting that the 90s would end with a design that looked like Darth Maul’s lungs.
Okay, so what should 90s retro design look like?
Continue on to PART TWO! Spoilers: No VHS filters or vaporwave needed, but maybe bring an antacid.
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Harry Styles Answers the Web's Most Searched Questions | WIRED
this was posted on my patreon a few months ago, enjoy ! MASTERLIST | MY PATREON
"Hi I'm Harry Styles and this is the Wired Autocomplete Interview."
Harry introduced himself to the camera and you smiled, you were currently at WIRED Studios for Harry's long awaited autocomplete interview that he finally agreed to do thanks to yours and his fans persistence.
You were sitting behind the camera with the rest of the crew, watching him with a small smile.
A crew member passed the first board to him, he looked at it confusedly for a minute before speaking.
"Okay so. I'm answering what I think or what?"
Everyone in the studio laughed and the director quickly explained to him how the game worked once again, you rolled your eyes with affection and he sent a wink your way.
"Alright, how is Harry Styles?" he said after taking the little piece of paper off the board, "I'm good, I'm really enjoying being home in London, I was away for a while on tour and I'm going to stay here for a bit so that's exciting."
"How did Harry Styles," he paused to rip the next paper and reveal the rest of the question, "Become famous? Well, when I was sixteen years old I auditioned for a singing show called The X Factor, I got put in a band with four lads and we didn't win but we put out a song called What Makes You Beautiful," he smiled for a second, "that one put us on the map, we released a bunch of albums and now I'm here."
"How did Harry Styles meet his wife?" at this, he turned his gaze to you to give you a big smile, you immediately mirrored his and nodded your head, signaling that you were okay with him talking about it.
"We could say that it was basically a blind date, we had a friend in common who thought we would be a good match and set us up, we had an amazing first date but then I had to travel to Los Angeles for work so we couldn't really see each other after that but once I was back in London we hung out all the time, and now we're married."
He smiled at you again and you couldn't help but feel your heart melt, you had been married for 6 months now but the married life was still new for the both of you, and everything he called you his wife butterflies made its way to your stomach.
"How is Harry Styles still alive?" his eyes widened in surprise and he looked around the room, making a few present laugh, "Um, that's a weird thing to search on the internet, but I guess, I don't know if I can answer that, I don't think anyone can answer that we're just lucky to still be around and enjoy life."
He gave the camera one of his infamous "frog smiles" and handed the board to a crew member who was ready with the next one.
"Does Harry Styles have tattoos?" he revealed the first question of the new board, "Yes, he does. I have a lot of tattoos actually, they're basically all over my body. The most recent one is right here," he pointed at the back of his right arm, "It's my wedding date, actually, everyone might call me a sap but I was reserving this arm for tattoos about my wife a and future kids, so I guess it's finally time to fill it."
It was safe to say that fans watching at home and everyone in the studio absolutely melted, especially you.
"Does Harry Styles have siblings? I do I have a sister, she's older than me and her name is Gemma. A lot of people claim she's cooler than me for some reason but I don't thing that's true," he shrugged and revealed the next question, "Does Harry Styles speak Italian? I would like to think that I do, I spend a lot of time there and I've learned how to communicate pretty decently."
"Is Harry Styles an actor?" he said after peeling the first sticker of the new board, "He tries to be an actor that's for sure," he laughed and everyone in the room did as well, "I mean, I've been in a couple of movies, I've auditioned for a bunch of roles and my agent has sent me scripts to go through," he shrugged "So I can say that makes me an actor."
"Is Harry Styles american?" he shook his head at that one, "He is not! He's Britain, born and raised okay? He's very proud of it."
"What's Harry Styles BeReal? I don't have a BeReal, but if I did I wouldn't tell you," he pointed to the camera jokingly, "What are Harry Styles fans called? I think they are referred to as Harries, but I don't like to speak on behalf of them, you should ask them."
"What was Harry Styles first song? My first song was Sign Of The Times, I wrote it with friends that I love, and that is my wife's favorite song I've ever written, right love?"
"That's correct." you said from your spot, pretty audible so you know it would make it to the final cut of the interview.
"What are Harry Styles songs about?" he peeled the last sticker of the board, "They're about a lot of things, life, friends, love, my wife," he shrugged, "I even have one about the female orgasm."
You quietly giggled, knowing that his fans would go crazy over that last sentence.
"Did Harry Styles go to college? He did not, he became a singer."
"Did Harry Styles win a Grammy? He somehow won Album Of The Year last year, which is absolutely insane if you ask him."
"Did Harry Styles finish high school? Oh I'm glad the internet asks," he laughed, "Contrary to popular belief I did finish high school, I completed my GCES and I graduated, I don't know why there's a rumor there that I didn't finish high school tho."
"Anyway, last one!" he comically threw the board to the floor and grabbed the final board a crew member was handling him, "Who is Harry Styles best friend? Um, I have a ton of best friends. Jeff who's also my manager, Mitch who plays in my band, my childhood best friend's name is Johnny, so yeah, I'm very lucky in the friends department, I love my friends."
"Who does Harry Styles look like? My mom, I would say. A lot of people point out that we have the same smile," he shrugged, "My mom is a beautiful woman so I'm flattered."
"Who did Harry Styles write Love Of My Life about? My wife and London."
"And final question," he slowly peeled off the sticker for dramatic effect, "Who does Harry Styles love? Okay, that's cute that people search for that on the internet, um, I love my family and friends, I love my wife that's for sure, I love making music and performing," he listed with his fingers, "And love love, yeah, love is great."
He smiled to the camera and put the board aside to say his goodbyes.
"I thought my Google searches were much more appropriate that I expected. I was fun to see what people wonder about me, so yeah thank you WIRED for having me."
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pairing: Ginger Spice's daughter!reader x Max Verstappen (ex-Harry Styles)
fc: Sabrina Carpenter
summary: After getting over her fear of getting into a relationship, YN started to 'soft launch' her new partner. Of course everybody knew who it was, but she wanted her fun. Harry didn't like it and still was petty. Max had had enough.
warnings: swearing, some suggestive comments, talk about verbal assault and not-so-great fist fight
masterlist part 1
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maxverstappen1 and yourinstagram added to their IG story!
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formula1gossip
liked by formula1fan84 and 200 383 others
formula1gossip With the one week break between Italian and Singapore Grand Prix, the two-time World Champion - Max Verstappen - was seen cozing up with a mysterious woman on his yacht near the Amalfi Coast. Any ideas who could that be?
view all 10 394 comments
maxfan94 my man is gone
maxfan958 making out on a yacht in a bright day? who is this man?
landofan48 not to be bold but i think i know exactly who that is
ynsmymama GUYS GUYS GUYS Ma'x story from yesterday and YN's were definitely one photo!
⤷ maxfan67 how?
⤷ ynsmybestie YN's story was the cropped version of Max's
ynsmybestie this is YN YSN, no thank you, i don't need confirmation - I KNOW
landonorris interesting
⤷ landofan49 WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE ?!
⤷ landonorris I LIKE GOSSIP
⤷ danielricciardo he's gonna kill you! prepare to end up in the wall on sunday, lando! nice knowing you!
⤷ landonorris mclaren i need new insurance
⤷ mclaren Fight your wars, Lando. Fight your own wars.
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yourinstagram
liked by landonorris, maxverstappen1 and 3 011 393 others
yourinstagram life lately has been exciting 💛
view all 99 202 comments
landonorris you rehearsing???
⤷ yourinstagram shhh, im making new music
landonorris will you be my photographer forever??
⤷ yourinstagram you only like the photo cause it's a thirst trap
⤷ landonorris shhhh, don't tell people
danielricciardo was the restaurant worth it?
⤷ yourinstagram you know it, dan
maxverstappen1 💛💛
carlossainz55 i like the fourth photo
⤷ yourinstagram I LIKE YOUUUUUUU
ynsmybestie WHAT IS THIS
ynsmybestie lando thirst trap???????
⤷ user84 he's not without a shirt though?
⤷ ynsmybestie HE DOESN'T NEED TO, HE'S STILL HOT
ynsmymama not only showing us that she's making new music but SOFT LAUNCHING ??? like if we didn't know already who that is
⤷ ynshands let's just pretend and see what happens
comment liked by yourinstagram and maxverstappen1
ynxmax no way that my ship has sailed no way
ynupdates new music when???
⤷ yourinstagram sooner than you think 🫣
user92 she already has a new boyfriend?
⤷ ynsmybestie already? it's been 6 months since it was made public that yn and harry broke up. and considering all the interviews and songs, they'd been broken up longer than that
⤷ ynsmymama you can say that or just shut your mouth user92
ynshands i just know that the last photo was taken after Singapore... that man was furious
⤷ maxandyn don't even... i'm blushing
⤷ ynsmybestie they all said that lando would end up in the wall and here he was on the 2nd place
⤷ ynsmymama the way that YN was cheering for Lando, knowing that Max had no chance anymore. this is a true friendship. and her jumping up and down at the podium ceremony????? I LOVE HER
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yourinstagram
liked by maxverstappen1, landonorris, danielricciardo and 3 383 032 others
yourinstagram got a man and here's the aftermath... NONSENSE EP is all yours to listen right now!
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landonorris no problem yn for contributing to your cover photo! i am very thankful for the credit!
⤷ yourinstagram you know damn well why that credit is not there
⤷ landonorris but he took the photo with MY camera!
⤷ yourinstagram so i guess it's not my album because my pen wrote down the words
⤷ landonorris well, when you put it like that...
maxverstappen1 💛💛
⤷ ynsmybestie love me some man that comments same thing under my posts
danielricciardo STREAMING IT RIGHT NOW - KEEP YOU UPDATED
⤷ danielricciardo call it what you want - fit like a daydream? build a fire? starry eyes? yeah, he has those. you already wear that necklace he got you, don't you?
⤷ danielricciardo slut! - tangerine? what were you doing in the mclaren paddock, hmm?
⤷ danielricciardo bad for business - you've gone crazy, that's right. i've never seen you this crazily happy.
⤷ danielricciardo you are in love - i'll never forget the look in his eyes when he said "you are my best friend". and the photo on the desk is absolutely adorable (i'm going to be sick)
⤷ danielricciardo i think he knows - boyish look??? did you hear his jokes? he IS a boy! 26 yo and still a child. you'll drive? if he trusts you with the car you might as well get married, no kidding.
⤷ danielricciardo nonsense - WHY WOULD YOU RELEASE IT? WHY WHY WHY... I NEED TO BLEACH MY EYES AND DO SOMETHING MY MEMORY AND FORGET THIS SONGS EXIST. I WON'T BE ABLE TO LOOK BOTH OF YOU IN THE EYES NOW.
⤷ yourinstagram have you consider a career in doing yt reaction videos? you'd be gold
ynupdates i can't wait for twitter to react to all of these...
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danielricciardo, landonorris and maxverstappen1 added to their IG story!
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www.dailymail.com/harry_styles_confronted_max_verstappen
Harry Styles confronted Max Verstappen
Just last night after YN YSN's secret concert in Las Vegas, her ex-boyfriend, Mr Treat People With Kindness (Harry Styles) decided to 'bump into' his ex-lover and 'talk'. According to the fans on scene - it was aggressive, blatant and simply sad how Harry supposedly treated YSN.
When the concert ended and the lights went out, fans started to exit the venue and making their way home. Some of them decided to move to the back and patiently wait for the VIP people leaving. VIP list for that concert consisted of two World Champions - Lewis Hamilton and apparent new boyfriend of YN's - Max Verstappen, plus some of other F1 drivers. In the attendance were also YN's mum - Geri Horner and step-dad - Christian Horner.
Finally, YN went out first, but no one could even start asking anything when from thin air appeared Harry Styles - drunk and rocky. The yelling match started, which caught the attention of more people, but especially the said VIPs.
"Max literally flew from the doors and stood between Harry and YN. By that time, YN was crying and shaking from all the insults and swears that were spoken to her. Harry tried to move past Max, but he held him in place, placing a hand on Harry's chest. The singer didn't like it and pushed the driver. Now, the other drivers had also gone out and surrounded the trio. Two of them took care of YN and others were in place to eventually stop the fight. They couldn't. Harry took the first swing, but considering that he was drunk, Max could easily duck and wait for his turn. At the end, Max just went up to Harry and said something - looking him directly in the eyes, knuckles white and all that. Finally, they all left, leaving Harry there, sitting by the door. Max was holding YN so she wouldn't fall from all the shaking," said one of the witnesses.
Do you think that YN or Max will report an assault?
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yourinstagram added to her IG story!
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daniel3.jpg
liked by yourinstagram, maxverstappen1 and 1 004 931 others
daniel3.jpg yn and her nonsense boy whenever they're within half a meter radius
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yourinstagram DANIEL JOSEPH RICCIARDO
yourinstagram what in the hell are you doing??
⤷ danielricciardo i'm soft launching
⤷ yourinstagram my relationship?
⤷ danielricciardo YOU SAID YOURSELF THAT YOU WANTED TO DO IT
⤷ yourinstagram YEAH ME! and there's nothing 'soft' about it
⤷ danielricciardo maybe i chose some risky photos
⤷ yourinstagram too late. he just left to give you a visit :))
⤷ landonorris pray for daniel people! the man may have a boyish look but his a mad man!
⤷ yourinstagram and then he's visiting you, lan
ynupdates that is max verstappen. if i ever saw max verstappen that's him
ynsmymama nonsense making sense know
ynsmybestie I love that they still play the 'soft launching' game when just few days ago she was singing about Max's BDE
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yourinstagram added to her IG story!
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yourinstagram
liked by maxvertsappen1, danielricciardo and 5 003 238 others
yourinstagram win, party, afterparty
SCREW SOFT LAUNCHING - MY BOYFRIEND IS A 3 TIME WORLD CHAMPION, WHAT ABOUT YOURS??
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maxvertsappen1 MY GIRLFRIEND IS A NATIONAL TRESSURE
⤷ maxverstappen1 Did I do it right, yourinstagram?
⤷ yourinstagram YES YOU DID MY LOVE
maxverstappen1 I love you
⤷ yourinstagram I LOVE YOU
danielricciardo who are you and what have you done with yn?
⤷ yourinstagram that's the thing - I'm finally me, unapologetically
⤷ danielricciardo I couldn't be happier for my best friend for finding someone that makes her the best version of herself
⤷ yourinstagram you sap! love you, riccy ric
danielricciardo I thank heavens that Geri or Christian are not looking at you account
⤷ yourinstagram oh she does "dad's rethinking the christmas dinner invitation" was her text
landonorris got (love)sick all over my bed from this content
landonorris congratulations Max, you champ! and congrats yn for making it through the night
⤷ maxverstappen1 Thanks, Lando. And she did really good.
⤷ landonorris keep it in you pants, will you?
⤷ yourinstagram I'm done.
charles_leclerc Congratulations!
ynupdates daddy max??? what in the hell
ynsmymama all those photos scream: I HAD A NIGHT TO REMMEBER
⤷ yourinstagram i did.
maxfan49 i've never seen him happier
maxfan93 rue when was this?
⤷ maxverstappen1 Last night / this morning?
⤷ maxfan98 what. in. the. hell.
ynsfan49 they really said: i'm in love, i have great nights and i'm gonna make that everybody problem
liked by yourinstagram and maxverstappen1
ynsfan95 my boyfriend is graduating tomorrow with an engineer degree!
⤷ yourinstagram SLAYYY
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maxverstappen1
liked by yourinstagram, landonorris, danielricciardo and 2 002 182 others
maxverstappen1 You're my best friend. 💛💛
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landonorris say thank you to the third wheel of the year, max
⤷ maxverstappen1 stop flirting with my girlfriend then
⤷ landonorris i know you're thankful
⤷ danielricciardo leave him, max. it's the only thing that was left for him - hopeless flirting
⤷ landonorris do you know the sentence that starts with f and ends with u and has uck yo in the middle?
danielricciardo mama y papa
⤷ yourinstagram someone take that phone away from you
⤷ maxverstappen1 You're older than us
yourinstagram got my heartbeat skipping down 16th avenue
⤷ danielricciardo are you quoting your own song?
⤷ yourinstagram no, i'm quoting words i said to him last night before falling asleep in his arms
liked by maxverstappen1 and 502 392 others
⤷ danielricciardo damn
charles_leclerc finally! i wouldn't be able to keep it a secret anymore
⤷ yourinstagram you spilled the beans to your engineers twenty minutes after we had told you
⤷ charles_leclerc but i didn't tell anybody else
⤷ pierregasly you told me!
⤷ georgerussell63 me too!
ynupdates SHE IS MY ROMAN EMPIRE TOO. YOU'RE NOT SPECIAL MAXIMUS
⤷ maxverstappen1 That's not my name!
⤷ yourinstagram Maximus??? i love it
ynsmybestie screw soft launching, leave it for Max to HARD launch
⤷ yourinstagram I thought I "hard" launched???
⤷ ynsmymama double meaning queen
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a/n: do we move on from this pair or crave some more drama?
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