Book (.exe)
Book (.exe)
Not again (.exe)
Not again (.exe) is a nostalgic visual communication project that explores the sentimental value of legacy interface technologies.
Book (.exe)
“We don’t want our digital lives to fade away. If we want to preserve them, we need to make sure that the digital objects we create today can still be rendered far into the
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future,”i - Vint Cerf, Vice-president Google
i The Guardian Newspaper, Friday 13th February 2015
Not again (.exe)
Table of Contents Chapter 1 Intro
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CircaFrame
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Artefacts
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Posters
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3D
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Imagery
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Video
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Iconography
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Sound
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Branding
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Chapter 2 Responses
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Interfaces
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Emotional Value
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Remakes
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Neo-Nostalgia
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Vaporwave
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Assorted Sites
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Outro
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Appendix
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Chapter 1
Book (.exe) Chapter 1
This video is taking forever to buffer.
My computer has that blue screen of death.
10 I can’t stop pasting windows all over my desktop.
Dad! Get off the phone, I want on the internet.
Not again (.exe)
Intro
N
ot again (.exe) is the
By appropriating the visceral
glorification of the 1990’s
aesthetics of the outdated and
legacy of cumbrous technologies
imperfect into novel forms, the
when they were ripe in their infancy.
project hopes to invoke sentimental
When interfacing with computers
emotions in it’s audience.
was slow, clunky, unpredictable. And retrospectively, weird and
A “legacy interface” describes
wonderful. When the aesthetics of
early attempts at human computer
such technologies were results of
interfaces where graphic icons
computing constraint, producing
and other aesthetic and design
some unique artefacts that have
implementations began to play an
become memorable icons of the
increasingly prevalent role in the
early digital age.
creation of the interface. Making them more accessible and friendly
The project seeks to treasure
to the new market of the personal
through artistic interpretation and
consumer.
invocation the aesthetic qualities of legacy interfaces in new forms.
The project too asks what emotional
Hoping these objects and artefacts
value we place on technology.
will serve as a source of sentimental value to their beholder, allowing them to experience the nuanced technology of earlier years in new, exciting ways.
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Book (.exe) Chapter 1
At the advent of the Graphic User Interface, the field was new, astounding, and very much still dipping its toes in the water of human computer interaction in
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a personal setting. The progress of such technologies brought astounding innovation, as well as inevitable gaffs in design, and aesthetics that now look laughably dated, but for some a fond “neo-nostalgic� delight can be found in their look. Windows 95 is used as a stimuli, namely for the reason of aesthetic and content cohesion throughout the project, but also throughout includes Windows NT to 98 (which share icon sets) and hints of other legacy interfaces.
Not again (.exe)
Book (.exe) is divided into simply two chapters. The first chapter deals with the project from the artists perspective, including the motives and intentions that the various artefacts within the outcomes intend to portray. The second chapter deals with the research, inspiration and musings behind the project, as well examing our desire for nostalgic products across a range further than the technological realm.
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Book (.exe) Chapter 1
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Not again (.exe)
CircaFrame
C
ircaFrame is an artistic
How will we treasure these
re-imagining of a circa-90s
interaction of the past in a non-
personal computer interface.
transcient form as a source of sentimentality and warm memories?
Users can interact with CircaFrame
By using the immediately universal
through a 1998 Logitech(c) Marble
and traditional form of “picture
Mouse designed for use with the
frames� CircaFrame aims to
Operating System Windows 98.
presents these fleeting interactions as sentimental and treasurable.
Through this nuanced interaction the user experiences a novel form
The following pages serve to give
of the interface technologies that
insight into CircaFrames workings
they experienced on their first home
and various evocative intentions.
computers. As we strive for technological perfection and seamless humancomputer interactions, CircaFrame reflects on these forms of interactions that we have developed a fond memory for.
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Book (.exe) Chapter 1
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Not again (.exe)
Framing Picture Frames are used as a device to portray the contents of CircaFrame as being of artistic value. The universal device of framing to display valuable paintings and other artistic artefacts elevates the status of what is presented within the frame, and draws the eye inwards to find worth. The frames are sprayed a bright Blue Screen of Death Blue.
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Book (.exe) Chapter 1
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Not again (.exe)
Error The Blue Screen of Death is an infamous windows error that displays after a fatal crash that the machine cannot recover from. At pseudo-random points in time (for pseudo-random points lengths in time) CircaFrame will “crash�, in a comedically recreated error screen. Spluttering out unfathomable code sprawling down the right two frames. Creating something as annoyingly unpredictable as an actual Blue Screen of Death.
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Book (.exe) Chapter 1
Programming CircaFrame was coded from scratch in the programming language and development environment, Processing.
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Here are some excerpts from the code.
Not again (.exe)
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Book (.exe) Chapter 1
CircaFrame is built of three separate frames that each perform a valuable function within the sub-project. 1. Desktop Frame
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2. ScreenSaver Frame 3. Control Frame The arrangement of the frames mimics how one may display a range of related artistic works on a wall composition
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1
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2
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Book (.exe) Chapter 1
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CircaFrame in action
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Desktop Frame is most left and most dominant. It holds a host of interactions that the user can interface with CircaFrame.
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Paste When users roll the marble mouse red-nipple wheel across the screen, a constant paste of Windows spam the screen. Evocative of the classic Windows glitch in which the graphics driver would fail and fail to refresh the screen, leaving frustrated users waving their mouses frantically across their desk in a bid to shake off the windows. Users can change the colour and contents of the window by left-clicking, allowing them to essentially draw with the windows.
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Book (.exe) Chapter 1
Old videos When users mouse over the various files and folders icons on the desktop a variety of frustratingly slowly buffering videos relating to the release of the Windows 95
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Operating System fill the frame as windows, reminiscent of 56k modem loading speeds, in glorious 640x480 definition. . The user can keep their mouse hovered over a singular file or folder to watch an excruciatingly weird portrayal of the likes of hopped-up 90s commercials, and various interactions with actual circa-90s internet explorer executables.
Not again (.exe)
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Book (.exe) Chapter 1
ScreenSaver Screensavers have sadly, for the most part, fallen out of fashion, replaced with static lock screens
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as technologies have evolved. CircaFrame remembers them with creating a classic starfield ScreenSaver, a variety of appropriated icons zooming across the frame, users can change the icons again by left-clicking.
Not again (.exe)
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Book (.exe) Chapter 1
Artefacts Not Again (.exe) is arranged in an exhibition setting that comprises of CircaFrame amongst other traditional display methods to communicate it’s message.
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Not again (.exe)
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Book (.exe) Chapter 1
Posters This poster series was created using the 3d models that were crafted by the artist for the project. They aim to invoke the visceral feel of the technologies of legacy windows
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interfaces. The use of wispy clouds were a memorable aesthetics of early windows Graphical User Interfaces and give the compositions floating “head in the clouds� notions. With the icons bursting through the borders to live through the compositions in a buoyant 3d field.
Not again (.exe)
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Book (.exe) Chapter 1
3D 3d objects form a majority of the composition space. These designed objects are direct 3d extrusions of their icon counterparts. For the first time, users can tangibly interact,
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hold, pick up the imagery that previously had been banished to the pixel realms. The 3d objects aim to invoke a novel and nostalgic emotion to the beholder. The icons are arranged as works of art, forming a variety of unique compositions. The objects are sprayed-painted a glossy plastic white, as well as being evocative of the white plastic casing hysteria of 90s technologies.
Not again (.exe)
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Book (.exe) Chapter 1
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Not again (.exe)
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Book (.exe) Chapter 1
A collection of static frames are spread throughout the display to further strengthen the suggestion of the imagery of legacy interfaces as works of art.
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They feature a variety of patterns, colour palettes icons, and associated images to form backgrounds on which a 3d object is then mounted to extrude out of the frame.
Not again (.exe)
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Book (.exe) Chapter 1
Presentation Video A highly stylised presentation video encompasses the neo-nostalgic imagery of the project into a short filmic submission.
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All videos were shot with specialised lighting and edited in Premiere Pro. The video intends to be reminiscent of the slow carousel like nature of TV infomercial channels that cropped up during the 1990s. The video incorporates elements of 3d animation of the Windows 95 logo and the computer, where they are shown to be spinning and twisting. This video is available to view at the Not Again (.exe) exhibition and online.
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Not again (.exe)
Iconography Twelve unique icons were designed for use within the Not Again (.exe) project. They were selected for their aesthetic impact and memorability. These icons were crafted from the template the originals presented, unrestricted by a pixel grid, the icons were individually re-interpretated with a modern twist whilst retaining a strict cohesive colour palette. The icons span the classic My Computer, the boldly coloured Notepad, the subtle folder, and notable icons of early “paint applications� like the paint bucket, eyedropper, and spray can tool.
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Book (.exe) Chapter 1
52 You will also hear “Opus 1” by Darrick Deel and Tim Carleton, which was used by the American telecommunications company Cisco for it’s hold music., which uses lofty synth sounds high reminiscent of the time .
Not again (.exe)
Sound The sounds within the Not Again (.exe) utilise memorable sound-bites of the 1990s portrayed in a new way. Following the theme of placing a positive spin on the “Not Again� idea, throughout the physical installation there will be reimagined versions of such sounds. The soundscape present as people explore CircaFrame and DisplayWindow uses a slowed down ( by 800x) adapation of the Windows 95 Start Up sound, adding a new ephemeral dimensions to the start up theme users are familiar with.
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Book (.exe) Chapter 1
Branding elements Due to the variety of forms and spaces (digital and analog) the project took, it was nessecary to develop a cohesive indentity that would aesthetically and ideologically
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tie the project together as one being. Most branding elements were inspired by legacy technologies, while some were artistic choices made to add an up-to-date twist on the dated aesthetics.
CircaFrame DisplayWindow
Some titles are held in boxes that mimic the box that “windows� is held in when windows has a fatal error crash.
Not again
The blue screen of death blue, murky teal, and grey, were chosen as the colour palette most
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immediately understandable as 1990s Windows interface.
A soft rose pink is used to allude to the idea of “rose-tinted specs� nostalgia the may have towards these artefacts.
This stylised pattern used throughout the project is likened to the analogue TV static that used to cover our screens.
The pasted windows are used symbolically through when displaying content and as an interactive element in CircaFrame.
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Book (.exe) Chapter 1
Georgia Georgia is a 1993 transitional serif font by the Microsoft Corporation.
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It was designed to look good both off and on screen, and encapsulates the transitional fonts of the 1990s.
Not again (.exe)
ClassicConsole This font closely resembles the command line typeface used by Windows, and is used in headers in the Not Again (.exe) project.
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Chapter 2
Book (.exe) Chapter 2
Responses Not Again (.exe) was spurred in part by the response taken from an anonymous survey sent out to partakers in a variety of internet subcommittees. These
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responses provided stimuli for initial exploration of a variety of technostalgic products and software. These results are displayed over to give a holistic view of which technological instances respondents were most nostalgic about.
Not again (.exe)
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Book (.exe)
The router connection
Chapter 2
having to wait for buffering,
sound from AOL, image dithering from flash games (which I still think looks attractive in its nostalgia)
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I felt what I can only describe as “crash anxiety�, whenever a
80s and 90s graphic
computer I was using
design is very
crashed. It was a sense
inspirational and seems
of panic and distress
to have a bit of a revival
that was most probably from a fear of my parents getting angry with me for messing up the computer. But something that makes it stand out for me is the feeling of intense guilt and worry I had for the computer itself, as if it was a living thing and I just might have killed it.
Not again (.exe)
aol messenger, dos games, My dad’s computer with
geocities, cartoon
windows 95. I would
network’s website,
play Catz (ver 3.0 if I
realplayer, anime
recall correctly), and
shrines, netscape,
educational games which
lycos, midi anime
I’d enjoy.
themes and video game music
63 I was born in 1998, so I don’t remember as much of the 90’s as others I had a brief Geocities
might, but vaporwave
site that I used briefly
still gives me a nostalgic
then forgot about. My
feeling as if I was born a
first computer was a
decade earlier.
bulky Toshiba laptop that ran off of Windows 95 and had a 1 hour battery life.
Book (.exe) Chapter 2
Interfaces “Of course, window managers and the resulting “GUI style” come from the seminal research at the Stanford Research Institute, Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), and MIT
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in the 1970’s.”i Indeed, the first Graphical User Interfaces were born in labs, and from their inception have went through numerous iterations, but throughout, the concepts have remained the same. To the right is the “Xerox Alto”, perhaps the first graphical user interface computer. Initially graphical user interfaces were extremely simple, and it was not till around the introduction of the Apple Lisa that the aesthetics of such implementation began to be considered.
i Past, Present, and Future of User Interface Software Tools
Not again (.exe)
“This has allowed many domain experts to prototype and implement interfaces highly tailored to their tasks, and has allowed visual design professionals to become more involved in creating the appear- ance of interfaces.i�
i Past, Present, and Future of User Interface Software Tools
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Book (.exe) Chapter 2
Susan Kare is perhaps one of the most prominent of these interface designers. Her work on interface design, particularly the iconography, defined the area and look of early
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interface iconography for decades. And is the reason for the popular legacy that these icons left behind, many icons that adorn todays interface are some way or another adapations or updates to the work of Susan Kare.
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Book (.exe) Chapter 2
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Not again (.exe)
90s era early GUI had bold colours
When computer power increased, it
and less uniformity than icon sets
became powerful enough to achieve
we see today, they had to convey and
“rich design”, opening up more
differentiate as much as they could
computing power to this cinematic
with small amount of pixel capital
approach described by Myers, and
they were designated. The design
there was a trend toward adding
of early GUI was highly literal, and
superfluous elements to a variety
often mixing attempts to appear
of design templates. This is most
“3d” (ala the My Computer icon) or
reminiscent of Word Art, and Clip
“2d” (ala the calculator), utilising
Art, was spewed into corporate
whatever made the icon most
presentation, and glittery, rotating
recognisable rather than aiming
designs began to adorn the early
for a uniform aesthetic across the
personal web. Nowadays, out of all,
system. The design was constrained.
this rich design looks incredibly tack and distracting from content.
Constrained design came from the
Though highly reminiscent of the
necessity to design within small
late 90s/early 00s web.
bit boundaries (like 32x32 pixel), computing power was still low, and of course then prioritised essential computing tasks rather than rendering graphics.
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Book (.exe) Chapter 2
Skeuromorphism was championed by Apple Inc, though it’s use predates their use of it. Skeuomorphism was the philosophy that icons should resemble their
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real-life counterparts. and only recently has fallen out of stryle. Flat Design is nowadays the de-facto of interface design. It prioritises minimalistic, soft designs that removes the superflouous fluff rich design brought.
Not again (.exe)
“Steve Jobs believed computers should be so simple to use that a complete novice could master them based on instinct alone. He championed a style of design in which digital elementis resembled real world objects that anyone could recognise. Behind the glass screen lay a “desktop” on which users could arrange “documents”, or drop them into the “trash” - an icon in the shape of a bin.”
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BBC Article
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Book (.exe) Chapter 2
Emotional Value
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In Susan Turner and Phil Turner,
The difference though, than the
of Edinburgh Napier Universitys,
example of a childhood teddy bear
study “Emotional and Aesthetic
and a childhood operating system
Attachment to Digital Artefacts” the
is that the teddy bear retains it’s
authors found that the emotional
form throughout it’s life time. In
attachment felt toward the digital
twenty years time, the owner can
and physical were comparatively
look into the old childhood chest and
indisguistable.
see that in which he finds a source of sentimentally. While the rapid
That “people are attached to their
changing forms of technology do not
mobile phones in much the same
allow the owner to find this lasting
way as to a childhood teddy bear.”
value in a similar capacity. As the lifespan of such technologies does not allow for an enduring emotional connection to take place.
Not again (.exe)
“We conclude with a question, “can we be attached to something which is not proximal and available?”i and what does this say for how designers wishing to create something to which we might become attached.” This challenge for designers (and artists) is one Not again (.exe) explores. Through artistic appropriation Not again (.exe) and draw out the sentimental qualities of the digital artefact. By taking something one may presume to hold no emotional value (a desktop screen and it’s assocation) and transferring it’s form to the tangible, Not again (.exe) hopes to find a permanance of sentimentality by treasuing what is often a transient and episodic experience (navigating a computer interface).
i Emotional and Aesthetic Attachment to Digital Artefacts
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Book (.exe) Chapter 2
Remakes
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Remakes, particularly in the film
Remakes, more recently, are not
and video game industry, are an
bound to the world of film and
immensely popular (and vastly
video game, but have spread to new
profitable) phenomenon. Some of
areas, such as the one explored here;
the highest grossing films of our
technology.
generation are remakes. “Tilde-Club” ( created by Stevie Of course, remakes work so well
Nicks) iis an example of such, it is
because they play on our emotional
a remake of the “tilde” personal 90s
attachments to the things we held
web. It forgets the enormity of the
dear as children.
social media of today, and goes back to the simpler time when a random person could make a little web space on a Unix computer and call it their home. Again, the emotional desire for the simpler “nostalgic” times resonates with this project and the philosophy of the remake.
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Tilde-Club
Not again (.exe)
Not again (.exe) by it’s exploration essentially becomes a remake. Not again (.exe) relies on the same principle of viewers desire to experience something they are reminiscent about in a new light.
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Book (.exe) Chapter 2
Neo-Nostalgia “The iconography of our youth
The use of “nostalgia” as a device in
appeals to our psychology as a kind
the project is heavy. That the
of universal cultural symbolism.”i
“magic of nostalgia means that we can reconstruct them with a positive
Magazine Dazed and Confused
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ending to rewrite the narrative.”
labels our obsession for the past in the new forms as “neo-nostalgia”,
So that while at the time, Windows
a term that is used throughout this
95 was no more than a tool in our
project.
lives. Not again (.exe) presents these artefact through “rose-tinted glasses” so they can be enjoyed as sources of emotional value rather than sources of work, frustration, and banality.
i
Dazed and Confused
Not again (.exe)
“According to Dr Wing Yee Cheung, research fellow at the University of Southampton’s school of psychology, nostalgia makes you feel optimistic about the future by drawing on past feel-good moments. “ The project intends to draw on the past in this way, to make considerations about the future and it’s content. We are able to produce this nostalgic feel even when the artefact we remember as being nostalgic are rebirthed into a new form, an alteraction like 2d to 3d retains the sentimental value but offers the content in a new way. Not dissimilar to the nostalgic influences and appropriations of fashion.
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Book (.exe) Chapter 2
Vaporwave “Vaporwave” is the title given to a genre of music born around 2010. Reminiscient of lofty elevator music, with high use of vocal samples from tv commercials, mixed with lo-fi
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polyphonic sounds of the 90s and 80s. This style of music has come to curate a very stylised artistic aesthetic, that makes heavy use of “retro” technologies and imagery, VHS video tape samples, and cultural appropriation, namely of Japanese textual content. With a glowing and often utopic coporate rhetroic that references massconsumption and the American mall lifestyle. “Welcome to the Virtual Plaza”
Not again (.exe)
This aesthetic eptiomises the “neo-
The best examples of vaporwave and
nostalgia” style applied to a musical
it’s underground popularity is in
genre and it is interesting to see an
the artists “Macintosh Plus” debut
artistic sub-community, exisiting on
album, which includes this retro-
a variety of internet forms, enjoy this
festischation of technology and it’s
form of artwork unironically.
sonic pairing that works extremely well as a cohesive aesthetic and
Vaporwave is a growing movement,
sonic product. Like death metals and
and is built upon previous internet-
skulls, or country music and SUVs.
based music style like “witch house”,
The appropriation of retro imagery
and “sea punk”, which too carry a
and the popularisation of the “on-
retro/nostalgic aesthetic.
hold” music marry beautifully.
Not again (.exe)’s aesthetic style could be considered in line with what could considered vaporwave, and employs sounds that a typical vaporwave track may sample.
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This aesthetic and nostalgic philosophy can be seen across all arts, and is a popular design style in the 2010s. From programmers, to fashion, to media. Here are some
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notable websites that fit this trend for further research.
81 netro.cc phong.technology
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o-mighty.com/
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http://windows95tips.com/
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http://shop.arcangelsurfware.biz/ h
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http://tilde.club/
http://www.windows93.net/
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Outro
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Not again (.exe) is a pre-emptive
The project shows familiar aesthetic
declaration of legacy technologies
scenarios in. hoping to invoke a
prowess as a trend-setting aesthetic
nostalgic seminent not dis-like one
phenomenon. This is legacy
may have for a remake of a favourite
technology leaves us, and it is to be
film, a signed print of beloved
revered.
artwork.
The aesthetics that arose from
Again, the project seeks to create
early graphical user interfaces
some emotional permanance for
were ones of necessity, at a time
the non-physical artefact. Our
when computing power was
interactions with technology are
precious, priority was not given to
constantly moving form, and as
the cinematics of computing. In
technology progresses we lose
our now, comparatively, power-
the aesthetic and functions of it’s
rich technology-mad world a huge
past. By appropriating the viscreal
amount of priority is handed to
aesthetics of technology’s past
this priority. Designing such iconic
the project hopes to inject a dose
graphics to a 8x8 grid was no easy
of enduring sentimentally to the
feat, are landmarks in computing
transient digital experience.
iconography. Jura McKay
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Appendix 1. Past, Present, and Future of User Interface Software Tools
By Brad Myers, Scott E. Hudson, and Randy Pausch
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Source: http://www.cs.cmu. edu/~amulet/papers/futureofhci.
3. Emotional and Aesthetic Attachment to Digital Artefacts
By Susan Turner and Phil Turner Source: http://www.iidi.napier. ac.uk/c/publications/publicationid/13371573
2. BBC Article: What is skeuomorphism?
3. Tilde-Club
By Sam Judah
By Stevie Nicks
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/
Source: http://tilde.club/
news/magazine-22840833
3. Dazed and Confused Article: Neo-nostalgia in pictures
By Charlotte Jansen Source: http://www.dazeddigital. com/photography/article/20018/1/ neo-nostalgia-in-pictures
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