IndexStyle

A dictionary of design styles, techniques and lineages — every entry sourced from real works. 日本語

Terms	218	Chronologies	30	Total	248

Dictionary

Index: 7 8 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W Y Z

Search Kind Family Sort 218 shown

70’s Retro

70年代レトロ / 1970s / Style / Retro

Builds cheerful nostalgia from thick round shapes and earthy warm color.

Fat curves / Wave forms / Orange and brown / Repeating stripes

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Warming up food, music and community · A slightly loose, easy joyfulness
Type: Round, heavy display type
Composition: Curvy rhythms and oversized headlines
Material: Orange, ochre, dark brown; a touch of print misregistration
Caution: Making everything retro becomes a costume. Keep body text and controls contemporary.
Further study: Milton Glaser / Herb Lubalin
Related entries: Future Funk / Minimalism

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

80’s Editorial

80年代エディトリアル / 1980s / Style / Editorial

Builds quiet but certain authority from white space and photographic scale.

High-contrast serifs / Bold photography / Wide margins / Hairline rules

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Elevating fashion and culture · Making an editorial point of view felt
Type: High-contrast serif with a small companion sans
Composition: Crop photographs boldly; set type quietly
Material: Black-and-white photography, cream paper, black
Caution: Type that is too small is a barrier, not a mood. Check legibility at real size.
Further study: Fabien Baron / Neville Brody
Related entries: New Wave / Luxury Minimal

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

148

Abstract Expressionism

抽象表現主義 / 1940s–1950s / Style / Postwar American Art

Leaves the act of painting and intense inner feeling on vast canvases — bodily strokes, drips, stains, broad fields — rather than depicted subjects.

Vast canvases / Bodily brushwork / All-over composition / Drips and stains

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Not just flung paint. Read each artist's method, postwar politics, the relation of scale to body.
Further study: Lee Krasner / Jackson Pollock / Norman Lewis / Willem de Kooning
Related entries: Gutai / Color Field Painting

Source: MoMA — Abstract Expressionism

Acid

アシッド / 1990s–2020s / Style / Counterculture

Slams fluorescent color and distortion together at high pressure, shaking the eye with aggression.

Fluorescent color / Distortion / High contrast / Rough 3D

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Maximum impact for music and street culture · Deliberately breaking the reigning taste
Type: Collide ultra-bold, hairline and deformed letters
Composition: Off-center, pressure out to the edges
Material: Lime, pink, blue, coarse noise
Caution: Constant stimulus exhausts. Lower chroma and motion on information surfaces.
Further study: David Rudnick / Jonathan Castro
Related entries: Chromecore / Swiss

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

214

Adinkra

アディンクラ / 19th century– / Style / Symbol Systems

The Akan symbol system compressing proverbs into figures — stamped on cloth with gourd blocks, one shape carrying one thought, a working graphic language.

Figures that carry proverbs / Gourd-stamp printing / Repeating grids / Cloth of mourning and rite

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of era, region, technology and makers.
Further study: Gye Nyame and Sankofa / the mapping of proverb to sign / reuse in contemporary identity
Related entries: Kente / Isotype

Source: Cooper Hewitt — Adinkra: Message and Medium

130

AfriCOBRA

アフリコブラ / 1968– / Style / Black Arts Movement

Visualizes Black communal affirmation and political consciousness through blazing color, rhythm, lettering and Africa-centered images.

Kool-Aid colors / Rhythmic repetition / Letters and figures / Afrocentric imagery

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs space and gaze
Material: Verify materials specific to region, period and process
Caution: Never anonymize it as 'African-style' color and pattern. Verify the collective's principles and its purpose for Black community.
Further study: Jeff Donaldson / Wadsworth Jarrell / Barbara Jones-Hogu
Related entries: Harlem Renaissance / Psychedelic

Source: Smithsonian American Art Museum — Victory in Zimbabwe

Afrofuturism

アフロフューチャリズム / 20th century– / Aesthetic / Visions of the Future

Connects African diasporic history, culture and future, reclaiming stolen time and new possibility.

Cosmic futures / Cultural pattern / Metal and earth / Myth reinterpreted

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Narratives that speak past and future at once · Centering the viewpoint missing from received futures
Type: Pair geometric letterforms with culturally grounded faces, carefully
Composition: Lead with the symbol; layer strata of time
Material: Deep black, gold, vivid color; research where the materials come from
Caution: Never borrow patterns as anonymous 'African style.' Learn the specific makers, regions and histories.
Further study: Sun Ra / Octavia E. Butler / Black speculative arts
Related entries: Cyberpunk / Art Deco

Source: Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures, Smithsonian NMAAHC

207

Arabic Calligraphy — クーフィー体のクルアーン写本 8–9世紀

Arabic Calligraphy

アラビア書道 / 7th century– / Style / Calligraphic Traditions

The tradition that holds writing as the highest art — from Kufic to Thuluth, refining an architecture of line within the tension of canon and hand.

Architectural letterforms / Canonical scripts / Breathing thick-and-thin / Composition united with ornament

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of era, region, technology and makers.
Further study: Ibn Muqla's proportional theory / the Six Scripts / the tughra and official documents
Related entries: Islamic Geometric Pattern / Calligram

Source: Aga Khan Museum — Collection

Art Deco

アール・デコ / 1920s–1930s / Style / Historical Styles

Stages urban luxury with repeating geometry and a metallic sheen.

Symmetry / Radiating lines / Stepped motifs / Gold and black

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Giving an event a sense of occasion · Producing instant classic luxury
Type: Tall, narrow geometric display type
Composition: Centered, symmetrical composition
Material: Black, gold, ivory; repeated hairlines
Caution: Too much ornament turns theme-park. Let white space carry the dignity.
Further study: A. M. Cassandre / Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann
Related entries: Luxury Minimal / Gothic

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

Art Nouveau

アール・ヌーヴォー / 1890s–1910s / Style / Historical Styles

Joins letters, figures and ornament into one flowing, plant-like line.

Botanical curves / Ornamental frames / Female figures / Muted natural colors

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Speaking of craft and handwork · Leading with beauty and narrative
Type: Curvilinear serifs or hand lettering
Composition: Vertical formats, frame compositions, a central figure
Material: Dusty greens and gold, line work, paper texture
Caution: Stock vine ornaments stay superficial. Carry the line through the whole composition.
Further study: Alphonse Mucha / Antoni Gaudí
Related entries: Naïve / Luxury Minimal

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

144

Arte Povera

アルテ・ポーヴェラ / 1967–1970s / Style / Italian Avant-garde

Uses non-precious, changing materials — earth, branches, cloth, stone, fire, metal — to intervene in art's commodification and industrial values.

Non-precious materials / Change and decay / Nature against industry / Bare assembly

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Not an aged-material mood. Verify the critique of value, time, labor and institutions.
Further study: Germano Celant / Mario Merz / Marisa Merz / Jannis Kounellis
Related entries: Conceptual Art / Earthwork / Land Art

Source: MoMA — Arte Povera

105

Artist’s Book

アーティストブック / 1960s– / Technique / Publishing and Editing

Designs the book not as a container but as the work itself — binding, sequence, paper, repetition and the reader's hands included.

The book as matter / Sequential pages / Self-publishing / Reader interaction

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing historical works and their conditions · Deciding which principles survive translation to today's media
Type: Observe the type and composition of reference works
Composition: Extract the one principle that steers the eye
Material: Verify the technique's own materials, process and support
Caution: Not the same as a well-designed monograph. Watch how the book's structure acts on its content.
Further study: Dieter Roth / Ed Ruscha / Tauba Auerbach
Related entries: Concrete Poetry / Risograph

Source: MoMA — Artist’s book

Arts and Crafts

アーツ・アンド・クラフツ / 1860s–1910s / Style / Craft Movements

Returns material and handwork to the center of design, joining every detail of daily life under one conviction.

Repeating plants / Flat contours / Density of handwork / Colors from nature

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Honesty for long-lived tools and household brands · Uniting pattern, letter and material in one story
Type: Serifs or ornamented letters that feel hand-cut
Composition: Repeat plants and creatures with the seams hidden
Material: Deep indigo, plant-dye tones, off-white; keep the texture of paper and cloth
Caution: A floral print alone loses the conviction. Align material, making and a structure that lasts.
Further study: William Morris / Kelmscott Press
Related entries: Art Nouveau / Paper Marbling

Source: William Morris, Strawberry Thief, 1883

ASCII Art

アスキーアート / 1960s– / Technique / Text-based Imagery

Uses limited characters on a monospace grid as pixels, building image and tone from text alone.

Monospace characters / Character density / Terminal screens / Single color

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Studying the style's historical context · Comparing the visual vocabulary across real works
Type: Choose by the source era and medium
Composition: Identify and reproduce one governing compositional principle
Material: Verify the materials and production conditions of real examples
Caution: Don't borrow only the name. Verify the era, media and culture in which it formed.
Further study: typewriter art / terminal culture / ANSI art
Related entries: Web 1.0 / Experimental Type

Source: Wikimedia Commons — ASCII art

217

Azulejo

アズレージョ / 15th century– / Style / Architectural Ornament

Portugal's blue-and-white tile as architecture's skin — opening story, map and ornament to the street, making the city itself a readable plate.

Blue-and-white tile / Narrative panels wall-high / Repeating pattern / One body with the building

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of era, region, technology and makers.
Further study: The Mudéjar lineage / the story panels of São Bento station / tiles and the post-earthquake city
Related entries: Islamic Geometric Pattern / Stained Glass

Source: Museu Nacional do Azulejo

211

Batik

バティック（ジャワ更紗） / traditional–present / Technique / Textile Traditions

Java's cloth dyed again and again through wax resist — the canting's drawn line building a pattern language of rank, region and rite.

Crackle of the wax resist / The canting's line / Layered indigo and soga brown / A semantic pattern system

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of era, region, technology and makers.
Further study: Parang patterns and court restriction / Solo versus Yogyakarta styles / the multicultural coastal batiks
Related entries: Wayang Kulit / Paper Marbling

Source: UNESCO — Indonesian Batik

Bauhaus

バウハウス / 1919–1933 / Style / Functionalism

Makes function and play coexist through the circle, triangle and square.

Elementary shapes / Primary colors / Functional beauty / Visible structure

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Giving an idea a clear, legible form · Bringing intelligence and warmth to education and culture
Type: Geometric sans-serif
Composition: Treat shapes and letters as the same building blocks
Material: Red, blue and yellow held together by black and off-white
Caution: Scattered shapes read as childish. Give every element a job.
Further study: Herbert Bayer / Wassily Kandinsky
Related entries: Swiss / Memphis

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

Bento Grid

ベントーグリッド / 2020s / Layout / Information Design

Divides different kinds of information into independent boxes, giving the whole picture at a glance.

Cards large and small / Aligned gutters / One-screen summary / Modules

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Presenting many features as one story · Staying friendly while keeping density
Type: A plain sans; oversize the numbers and short headings
Composition: Tile large and small cards on four to six columns
Material: Vary each card's role; keep decoration inside the cards
Caution: Not every card equal. Vary area and density by importance.
Further study: modular dashboard layouts / product storytelling grids
Related entries: Swiss / Glassmorphism

Source: Apple Developer, MosaicLayout sample

117

Biomorphism — ヘップワース美術館の彫刻庭園（CC BY-SA 2.0）

Biomorphism

バイオモーフィズム／有機的形態 / 1930s–1960s / ongoing / Style / Form and Space

Extends asymmetric, continuous forms suggesting cells, bones, organs and plants into abstraction, furniture, vessels and space.

Asymmetric curves / Cell-like forms / Smooth continuous surfaces / Abstraction from nature

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing historical works and their conditions · Deciding which principles survive translation to today's media
Type: Observe the type and composition of reference works
Composition: Extract the one principle that steers the eye
Material: Verify the technique's own materials, process and support
Caution: Not just placing round blobs. Derive form from natural structure and contact with the body.
Further study: Russel Wright / Isamu Noguchi / organic form
Related entries: Mid-Century Modern / Art Nouveau

Source: Cooper Hewitt — Organic Ashtray

160

Blackletter

ブラックレター / 12th century– / Style / Letterform History

The manuscript hand condensed into black vertical letters, filling the page with even, woven darkness — also the first typeface of printing.

Dense vertical strokes / Curves replaced by breaks / Heavy blackness / Ornamental capitals

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Not a sign for 'old' or 'menacing.' Remember its history of religious, national and political use.
Further study: The Gutenberg 42-line Bible / Textura, Fraktur and Rotunda / the 20th-century German Fraktur dispute
Related entries: Gothic / Letterpress

Source: Library of Congress — グーテンベルク聖書

Blueprint

ブループリント / industrial / Style / Technical Expression

Shows the lines of thinking rather than the finished thing — structure and possibility.

White lines on blue / Dimensions / Sections / Handwritten notes

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Visualizing concepts, design and process · Structural credibility for products and architecture
Type: Monospace plus drafting-style handwriting
Composition: Orthographic views, sections, dimension lines tied to real information
Material: Deep blue, white lines, fine paper grain
Caution: No fake drawings as decoration. Bind everything to actual structure and thought.
Further study: Leonardo da Vinci notebooks / engineering blueprints
Related entries: Luxury Minimal / Type Doodles

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

215

Bogolanfini

ボゴランフィニ（泥染布） / traditional–present / Technique / Textile Traditions

Mali's Bamana cloth drawn with fermented river mud — iron and plant dye reacting into black-and-cream geometry that carries story and protection.

Mud-dyed black and cream / Hand-drawn geometry / Signs that tell stories / Each cloth unique

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of era, region, technology and makers.
Further study: Women's transmission in the San region / Chris Seydou and modernization / fashion's borrowings and giving back
Related entries: Kente / Arts and Crafts

Source: Cooper Hewitt — Magic Mud

Brutalism

ブルータリズム / 1950s– / Web revival / Style / Anti-refinement

Leaves structure exposed before finishing, making weight and directness the beauty.

Huge type / Raw materials / Hard contrast / Unfinished surfaces

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Culture and architecture brands with attitude · Keeping distance from over-refinement
Type: Ultra-bold sans, monospace
Composition: Expose the structure; divide in large slabs
Material: Concrete tones, rough photography, black
Caution: Never justify illegibility. Keep the primary paths clear.
Further study: Le Corbusier / David Rudnick
Related entries: Luxury Minimal / Surveillance

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

Bubbleglam

バブルグラム / 2000s revival / Style / Pop

Uses sweet color and sparkle without hesitation, maximizing self-affirming cuteness.

Pastels / Glitter / Hearts / Puffy 3D letters

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Exploding joy in beauty, music and community · Treating girlishness as agency and strength
Type: Puffy rounded letters, scripts
Composition: Central logo with sticker-like satellites
Material: Pink, lavender, white, shine
Caution: Don't use youthfulness as a stereotype. Put the audience's own voice and humor first.
Further study: 2000s pop packaging / Sanrio visual culture
Related entries: Punk / Luxury Minimal

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

Calligram

カリグラム / antiquity–modernism / Technique / Letterform Expression

Turns the arrangement of words into the shape of their meaning — reading and seeing at once.

Text drawing a contour / Shifting reading direction / Meaningful blank space / Poem fused with figure

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Making a short poem or title physically felt · A symbolic image from letters alone
Type: One face or one hand, keeping the words continuous
Composition: Convert the sentence into contour, path and density; mark where reading begins
Material: Letter and paper as two colors; the shape itself is the star
Caution: Don't fix a silhouette first and stuff words in. Let the text's rhythm generate the form.
Further study: Guillaume Apollinaire / concrete poetry
Related entries: Experimental Type / Type Doodles

Source: Guillaume Apollinaire, Il pleut, 1918

205

Chiaroscuro

キアロスクーロ / 16th century– / Technique / Painting Techniques

Carves form with hard light and deep dark, letting light itself tell the story — a grammar running from painting to film noir.

A single light source / Deep darkness / Form carved by light / Dramatic shadow

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of era, region, technology and makers.
Further study: Caravaggio / Rembrandt's lighting / its inheritance by cinematographers
Related entries: Film Noir / Mezzotint

Source: The National Gallery — Chiaroscuro

131

Chicano Graphics

チカーノ・グラフィックス / 1965– / Style / Printmaking and Social Movements

Argues for Mexican-American cultural self-determination and social justice through screenprints, posters, satire and portraits.

Screenprinting / Protest posters / Symbolic portraits / Bilingual text

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs space and gaze
Material: Verify materials specific to region, period and process
Caution: Never borrow the palette and symbols apart from the political demands. Identify the artists, movements and print shops.
Further study: Rupert García / Ester Hernandez / Galería de la Raza
Related entries: Mexican Muralism / Risograph

Source: Smithsonian American Art Museum — ¡Printing the Revolution!

Chromecore

クロームコア / 2020s / Style / Digital Texture

Builds a touchable future and a sense of the alien from liquid-metal reflections.

Liquid metal / Mirror reflections / Organic 3D / Cold light

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: A sharp futurity for music and fashion · Iconizing a single object
Type: Neutral sans-serif to support the material
Composition: One large 3D object, placed alone
Material: Silver, black, iridescent reflections, hard light
Caution: All-metal everything turns heavy. Keep type and margins flat.
Further study: Felipe Pantone / David Rudnick
Related entries: Minimalism / Acid

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

114

Chronophotography — マイブリッジ馬の疾走の連続写真 1878

Chronophotography

連続写真／クロノフォトグラフィ / 1870s–1890s / Technique / Photography and Motion

Decomposes movement into successive instants, making the structure of time visible in one or a series of photographs.

Multiple exposure / Sequential bodies / Equal intervals / Motion analysis

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing historical works and their conditions · Deciding which principles survive translation to today's media
Type: Observe the type and composition of reference works
Composition: Extract the one principle that steers the eye
Material: Verify the technique's own materials, process and support
Caution: Check not only the look but the medium, technique and social context in which it formed.
Further study: Étienne-Jules Marey / Eadweard Muybridge / motion studies
Related entries: Kinetic Typography / Italian Futurism

Source: The Met — Étienne-Jules Marey, Chronophotograph

Claymorphism

クレイモーフィズム / 2020s / Style / UI Expression

Makes digital components soft and playable with rounded, clay-like volume.

Inflated forms / Inner highlights / Soft shadows / Pastels

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Making education, wellness and onboarding friendly · 3D icons with character
Type: A rounded sans-serif
Composition: One large dimensional object and a short caption
Material: Tonal lights and darks, rounded corners, a soft contact shadow
Caution: Don't leave control states to shadows alone. Reserve the volume for the hero.
Further study: soft 3D illustration / playful product onboarding
Related entries: Neumorphism / Kidcore

Source: Claymorphism works published by creators on Dribbble

149

Color Field Painting

カラーフィールド・ペインティング / late 1940s–1960s / Style / Postwar Abstract Painting

Builds spaces of color that envelop the viewer — large continuous fields, soaked edges, few forms, long perceptual time.

Vast color fields / Soaked contours / Few forms / Immersive scale

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Not a gradient backdrop. Design how area, adjacency, edge and viewing distance change the feeling.
Further study: Mark Rothko / Barnett Newman / Helen Frankenthaler / Sam Gilliam
Related entries: Abstract Expressionism / Minimalism

Source: MoMA — Color Field Painting

150

Conceptual Art — コスース『1つと3つの椅子』展示（CC BY 2.0）

Conceptual Art

コンセプチュアル・アート / mid-1960s–1970s / Style / Contemporary Art

Centers the idea itself — words, definitions, rules, documentation, placement — above the finish of the object.

Words and definitions / Instructions and rules / Documentary photographs / Dematerialization

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Not just long wall texts. Change what counts as the work — structure, site and the audience relation included.
Further study: Joseph Kosuth / Sol LeWitt / Hanne Darboven / Lawrence Weiner
Related entries: Fluxus / Earthwork / Land Art

Source: MoMA — Conceptual Art

104

Concrete Poetry

具体詩／コンクリート・ポエトリー / 1950s–1970s / Layout / Experimental Typography

Composes not just the meaning of words but their placement, repetition, blank space and sound as the poem itself.

Repeated words / Shapes made of letters / Large blanks / Dismantled reading order

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing historical works and their conditions · Deciding which principles survive translation to today's media
Type: Observe the type and composition of reference works
Composition: Extract the one principle that steers the eye
Material: Verify the technique's own materials, process and support
Caution: Don't press text into a shape. Build a structure where meaning, sound and placement act on each other.
Further study: Eugen Gomringer / Dieter Roth / Augusto de Campos
Related entries: Calligram / Experimental Type

Source: MoMA — Dieter Roth: The Concrete

Constructivism

構成主義 / 1910s–1930s / Style / Avant-garde

Turns a message into motion with diagonals and hard contrast.

Red, black and white / Diagonal axis / Photomontage / Imperative lettering

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Campaigns that demand action · Delivering a strong statement in an instant
Type: Heavy condensed type in capitals
Composition: Collide photography and type along a diagonal spine
Material: Coarse halftones, cut-out photos, three colors only
Caution: Carries strong propaganda associations. Check the ethics of context and message.
Further study: El Lissitzky / Alexander Rodchenko
Related entries: Punk / Surveillance

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

172

Copperplate Script — ビッカム『ユニバーサル・ペンマン』1733–43

Copperplate Script

カッパープレート・スクリプト / 17th–18th century– / Style / Lettering

The ideal of the written hand born from the engraver's thin, fluent line — settled as the letter of formality, society and certificates.

Hairline-and-swell contrast / Continuous strokes / Slanted oval skeleton / Flourishes

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of era, region, technology and makers.
Further study: George Bickham / English round hand / the mutual influence of graver and pen
Related entries: Italic / Victorian Ornament

Source: The Met — George Bickham, The Universal Penman

Corporate Memphis

コーポレート・メンフィス / mid-2010s– / Style / Corporate Illustration

Explains digital services as safe and friendly through simplified figures, geometry and soft color.

Exaggerated body ratios / Flat color / Geometric plants / White grounds

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Studying the style's historical context · Comparing the visual vocabulary across real works
Type: Choose by the source era and medium
Composition: Identify and reproduce one governing compositional principle
Material: Verify the materials and production conditions of real examples
Caution: Don't over-tokenize human diversity. Draw the service's own actions and situations.
Further study: Alegria illustration / 2010s startup branding / neo-Memphis
Related entries: Flat Design / Vector Minimalism / Memphis

Source: CARI — Corporate Memphis

Cyanotype — Anna Atkins, Dictyota dichotoma, 1843–53

Cyanotype

サイアノタイプ / 1842– / Technique / Photographic Printing

Fixes the shadow of an object directly into deep blue — record and lyric in the same image.

Prussian blue / White object traces / Contact shadows / Chemical unevenness

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Directly recording plants, materials and objects · Adding the trace of handwork to drawings and archives
Type: White or pale letters; add small classification labels
Composition: Lead with the object's contour; keep generous blue around it
Material: One deep blue and the paper's white; don't polish away the exposure marks
Caution: A blue filter is not the technique. Understand contact image, exposure and support.
Further study: Anna Atkins / John Herschel / photographic printing processes
Related entries: Blueprint / Minimalism

Source: Anna Atkins, Dictyota dichotoma, 1843–53

Cyberminimalism

サイバーミニマリズム / 2020s / Style / Visions of the Future

Places a little light in dark stillness, showing technical sophistication with restraint.

Dark grounds / Glowing gradients / Thin type / Few elements

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Making AI, finance and research feel advanced · Turning dense tech into quiet trust
Type: A disciplined sans plus numeric monospace
Composition: One glowing focus in a large dark field
Material: Deep navy, purple, cyan blur
Caution: Dark ground and purple gradient alone homogenize. Use your own data and forms.
Further study: Stripe visual systems / Vitaly Bulgarov
Related entries: Gothic / Type Doodles

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

Cyberpop

サイバーポップ / 2000s– / Style / Digital Pop

Softens high-tech hardness into friendliness with anime color and character.

Neon / Anime-style outlines / UI symbols / Dense color

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Making technology feel young · Bringing character to games and music
Type: Angular sans plus Japanese gothic
Composition: Layer UI panels over a hero visual
Material: Black, cyan, fluorescent pink, glowing lines
Caution: Don't use Japanese or anime symbols as exoticism. Respect the cultural context.
Further study: Takashi Murakami / Kōji Morimoto
Related entries: Flat Design / Vector Minimalism / Surveillance

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

Cyberpunk

サイバーパンク / 1980s– / Style / Visions of the Future

Houses advanced technology and broken-down life together — hope and dread of the future at once.

Rainy nights / Multilingual neon / Dense cabling / Dark cities

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Speaking of technology's light and shadow together · Thick world-building for games and film
Type: Angular sans, monospace, multiple scripts
Composition: Stack information densely on dark planes
Material: Black, teal, red neon, raindrops
Caution: Don't use Asian cities as a symbol of otherness. Make the fictional social order concrete.
Further study: Syd Mead / Katsuhiro Otomo
Related entries: Luxury Minimal / Surveillance

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

100

Czech Film Poster

チェコ映画ポスター / 1950s–1980s / Style / Regional Graphics

Turns film promotion into independent interpretation through collage, fantastical rendering and experimental letters.

Surreal collage / Drawn letters / Symbols / Transformed photography

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Studying the style's historical context · Comparing the visual vocabulary across real works
Type: Choose by the source era and medium
Composition: Identify and reproduce one governing compositional principle
Material: Verify the materials and production conditions of real examples
Caution: Don't borrow only the name. Verify the era, media and culture in which it formed.
Further study: Czechoslovak film posters / Josef Vyleťal / Zdeněk Ziegler
Related entries: Editorial Collage / Dada

Source: MoMA — Word and Image: Posters

Dada

ダダ / 1916–1920s / Style / Avant-garde

Deliberately dislocates meaning and order, making authority itself the material of the joke.

Rotated type / Fragments of sound / Collisions of scale / Unbalanced margins

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Cultural events and statements that doubt common sense · Making voice, noise and collision come before meaning
Type: Collide weights, directions and cases in one plane
Composition: Keep one reading path; rotate and sever the rest
Material: Letterpress black, red, off-white; bind the accidents with repetition
Caution: Not decorative messiness. Decide which authority or custom you are objecting to.
Further study: Hannah Höch / Kurt Schwitters / Tristan Tzara
Related entries: Punk / Editorial Collage

Source: Theo van Doesburg & Kurt Schwitters, Kleine Dada Soirée, 1922

180

Dandyism

ダンディズム / 1790s– / Style / Fashion History

The aesthetic that makes a work of the self through tailoring, cleanliness and restraint — origin of the plain suit and of self-assertion through dress.

Perfect tailoring / Restrained color / The cleanliness of white linen / Obsession with detail

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and exemplary cases · Extracting principles that transfer beyond dress
Type: Observe the letters and signs of the era and community referred to
Composition: Translate silhouette and proportion into composition
Material: Verify the material conditions: cloth, tailoring, the wearer's body
Caution: Not reducible to wearing expensive clothes. The refusal of excess and the discipline of self are the core.
Further study: Beau Brummell / Baudelaire on the dandy / the lineage of Black dandyism
Related entries: La Sape / Fashion Plate

Source: RISD Museum — Artist, Rebel, Dandy

Dark Academia

ダーク・アカデミア / 2010s– / historical references / Aesthetic / Narrative Expression

Borrows the shadows of old scholarly rooms — obsession with knowledge and a secretive intimacy.

Old books / Deep browns and black / Classical serifs / Candlelight

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Heavy immersion for books, education and stories · A little danger added to quiet intelligence
Type: Classical serifs, small caps, footnotes
Composition: Symmetries of title pages and bookplates
Material: Dark brown, ink black, parchment, weak light
Caution: Don't reproduce the illegible gloom or the exclusionary authority. Keep a modern doorway open.
Further study: classic book design / collegiate visual culture
Related entries: Luxury Minimal / Gothic

Source: Dark academia editorial collection, Penguin Books

De Stijl

デ・ステイル / 1917–1931 / Style / Geometric Abstraction

Restricts the vocabulary to vertical, horizontal and primary color, building universal order from balance.

Vertical and horizontal / Red, blue, yellow / White planes / Asymmetric equilibrium

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Brand systems that grow from few rules · Uniting abstraction with lucid order
Type: A rectilinear sans; treat letters as rectangles too
Composition: Divide the plane with orthogonals; shift the weight off center
Material: White, black, primaries; ration the colored planes
Caution: Not just red-blue-yellow squares. Design the ratios and the asymmetric balance.
Further study: Theo van Doesburg / Piet Mondrian / Vilmos Huszár
Related entries: Bauhaus / Swiss

Source: De Stijl magazine, vol. 4 no. 3 front cover, 1921

Deconstructivism

脱構築主義 / 1980s– / Style / Avant-garde

Dismantles an achieved order and makes tension and instability the new structure.

Fragmentation / Tilt / Colliding layers / Unstable contours

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Communicating change or rupture itself · Strong concepts in fashion and architecture
Type: Sever, duplicate and rotate the letters
Composition: Collide multiple grids
Material: Translucent layers, cut surfaces, noise
Caution: Too heavy a cognitive load for interfaces. Keep experiments to heroes and set pieces.
Further study: Zaha Hadid / Rei Kawakubo
Related entries: Swiss / Glassmorphism

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

194

Decora

デコラ / late 1990s– / Style / Japanese Street Fashion

The Harajuku style layering masses of hairclips and toy-like accessories — maximalism embodied, where 'more' is itself the design principle.

Masses of hairpins / Layered accessories / Saturated multicolor / Character goods

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and exemplary cases · Extracting principles that transfer beyond dress
Type: Observe the letters and signs of the era and community referred to
Composition: Translate silhouette and proportion into composition
Material: Verify the material conditions: cloth, tailoring, the wearer's body
Caution: Never peel off the garment's signs alone. Verify who wore it, why, and against what.
Further study: FRUiTS and Shoichi Aoki / 6%DOKIDOKI / the connection to maximalism
Related entries: Kidcore / Gyaru

Source: Aesthetics Wiki — Decora

164

Didone

ディドーネ / late 18th century– / Style / Type Classification

A constructed roman pushing the contrast of hairline and vertical stem to the limit — the Age of Reason's terminus and the sign of luxury at once.

Extreme contrast / Vertical stress / Hairline serifs / Mathematical construction

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: An authoritative voice for fashion and beauty · Designing tension into large headlines
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Hairlines vanish at small sizes and low resolution. Check optical sizes per display environment.
Further study: Giambattista Bodoni / Firmin Didot / Manuale Tipografico
Related entries: Fat Face / Luxury Minimal

Source: Museo Bodoniano — ボドニ博物館

Dreamcore

ドリームコア / late-2010s–2020s / Aesthetic / Internet Aesthetics

Edits nostalgic spaces by dream logic — images like memories where comfort and wrongness coexist.

Hazy suburbs / Clouds and sky / Cryptic captions / Eyes and doors

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Studying the style's historical context · Comparing the visual vocabulary across real works
Type: Choose by the source era and medium
Composition: Identify and reproduce one governing compositional principle
Material: Verify the materials and production conditions of real examples
Caution: Don't borrow only the name. Verify the era, media and culture in which it formed.
Further study: late Tumblr / TikTok aesthetics / anemoia
Related entries: Liminal Space / Kidcore

Source: Aesthetics Wiki — Dreamcore

151

Earthwork / Land Art — スミッソン『スパイラル・ジェッティ』1970（CC BY-SA 4.0）

Earthwork / Land Art

アースワーク／ランドアート / late 1960s–1970s / Style / Environment and Contemporary Art

Shapes the landscape itself with earth, stone, branches, terrain and machinery, folding place, time, erosion and documentation into the work.

Intervention in terrain / Earth and stone / Vast scale / Erosion and time

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Not natural materials brought indoors. Consider land ownership, environmental cost, Indigenous places and the power of documentation.
Further study: Robert Smithson / Ana Mendieta / Richard Long / Nancy Holt
Related entries: Conceptual Art / Arte Povera

Source: MoMA — Earthwork

Editorial Collage

エディトリアル・コラージュ / contemporary / Technique / Editorial Expression

Layers fragments from different times and contexts, showing the editor's point of view before any explanation.

Cut-out photographs / Mixed scales / Collision with white space / Annotations

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Implying an article's argument in one image · Giving found material a new reading
Type: A disciplined text face with large pull quotes
Composition: Choose the leading fragment; layer the rest before and behind
Material: Photos, scraps, hand-drawn lines; leave the cut edges visible
Caution: Don't just add material. Be able to say what every fragment means.
Further study: magazine art direction / photomontage
Related entries: 80’s Editorial / Punk

Source: Hannah Höch works, The Museum of Modern Art

158

Etching

エッチング／腐食銅版画 / 16th century– / Technique / Intaglio Printing

Draws through an acid-resistant ground with a needle, letting acid bite the exposed metal — thin, fluid, almost handwritten lines in the plate.

Thin flowing lines / Depth by biting / Cross-hatching / Plate marks

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Not a uniform pen-line filter. Watch biting time, layered lines, wiping and the press's pressure.
Further study: ground / etching needle / acid bite / Rembrandt
Related entries: Intaglio / Woodcut

Source: MoMA — Etching

Experimental Type

実験的タイポグラフィ / 1980s– / Style / Avant-garde

Pushes letters from something read toward something seen and felt.

Distorted letterforms / Overlaps / Extreme letterspacing / Tension with legibility

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Making the title itself the visual · Breaking déjà vu in music and culture
Type: Variable, stretched, dismantled — support with a plain text face
Composition: Run type to the edges and partially conceal it
Material: Monochrome plus one color; warps and scanlines
Caution: Break everything and the way in disappears. Always keep one readable layer.
Further study: David Carson / Stefan Sagmeister
Related entries: Swiss / Grunge

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

206

Expressionism

表現主義 / 1905–1930s / Style / Avant-garde

Paints what was felt rather than what was seen — warped form, violent strokes, unnatural color moving the age's anxiety straight onto the surface.

Distorted form / Unnatural color / Rough brush and cut / Urban anxiety

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of era, region, technology and makers.
Further study: Die Brücke and Der Blaue Reiter / the woodcut revival / the 'Degenerate Art' persecution
Related entries: German Expressionist Film / Woodcut

Source: MoMA — Expressionism

179

Fashion Plate — 『Journal des Dames et des Modes』1820

Fashion Plate

ファッションプレート / 1770s–1930s / Technique / Fashion History

The illustrated medium that delivered the latest fashion in hand-colored prints, the ancestor of the magazine, the illustration and the style drawing.

Hand-colored linework / Idealized poses / Descriptive costume drawing / Periodical format

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and exemplary cases · Extracting principles that transfer beyond dress
Type: Observe the letters and signs of the era and community referred to
Composition: Translate silhouette and proportion into composition
Material: Verify the material conditions: cloth, tailoring, the wearer's body
Caution: Never peel off the garment's signs alone. Verify who wore it, why, and against what.
Further study: Journal des Dames et des Modes / Godey's Lady's Book / the lineage of the fashion magazine
Related entries: Victorian Ornament / Dandyism

Source: NYPL Digital Collections — American fashion plates

165

Fat Face

ファットフェイス / c. 1803– / Style / Display Type

The didone's stems swollen to extremes for advertising — the earliest display type built to shout across the street.

Swollen stems / Hairline horizontals / Tight spacing / Poster scale

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of era, region, technology and makers.
Further study: Robert Thorne / 19th-century lottery and playbills / modern revivals
Related entries: Didone / Wood Type

Source: Fonts In Use — The Story of Our Friend, the Fat Face

136

Film Noir

フィルム・ノワール / 1940s–1950s / later revivals / Style / Cinematic Visual Styles

Cuts distrust, isolation and fatalism into the frame with low-key lighting, deep shadow, oblique composition, the city at night, reflections.

Low-key lighting / Hard chiaroscuro / Rain and night streets / Slanting shadows

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs space and gaze
Material: Verify materials specific to region, period and process
Caution: Not just monochrome, smoke and venetian blinds. Run urban anxiety and psychology through composition, light and narration.
Further study: German Expressionism / Robert Siodmak / The Big Sleep
Related entries: Gothic / Street Photography

Source: BFI — Genres: where to draw the line?

182

Flapper

フラッパー / 1920s / Style / Fashion History

The 1920s figure who made bodily liberation visible in straight silhouettes, short hems and bobbed hair — wearing the same spirit as Art Deco geometry.

Straight shift dresses / Bobbed hair / Dropped waists / Beads and fringe

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and exemplary cases · Extracting principles that transfer beyond dress
Type: Observe the letters and signs of the era and community referred to
Composition: Translate silhouette and proportion into composition
Material: Verify the material conditions: cloth, tailoring, the wearer's body
Caution: Never peel off the garment's signs alone. Verify who wore it, why, and against what.
Further study: Chanel's straight line / the Jazz Age / the moga (modern girl) as contemporary
Related entries: Art Deco / Rational Dress

Source: FIT Fashion History Timeline — 1920–1929

Flat Design / Vector Minimalism

フラットデザイン / ベクターミニマリズム / 2010s– / Style / UI Expression

Reduces information to plain planes and color, portable across screens and media.

Uniform planes / Simple shapes / Few shadows / Clear color

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Light, understandable explanation · Large sets of consistent figures
Type: A rounded sans-serif
Composition: Simple silhouettes and clear hierarchy
Material: Three to five colors; shadows only when they mean something
Caution: Figures easily become generic. Define your own ratios, lines and color rules.
Further study: Material Design / modern vector illustration
Related entries: Mid-Century Modern / Grunge

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

140

Fluent 2

フルーエント2 / 2022– / Style / Microsoft UI

Tokenizes color, type, spacing, radius and depth, deploying Solid, Acrylic, Mica and Smoke materials by role across Microsoft products.

Mica and Acrylic / Neutral tonal hierarchy / Soft corner radii / Tokenized depth

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Work UI at home in Windows and Microsoft 365 · Themes and states consistent across many products
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Never use blur and shadow as mere looks. Map surface roles, window states, light, dark and high contrast.
Further study: Fluent 2 / Acrylic / Mica / design tokens
Related entries: Glassmorphism / Material You / Material 3

Source: Microsoft Fluent 2 — Material

143

Fluxus

フルクサス / early 1960s–late 1970s / Style / International Avant-garde

Prizes act and participation over finished works — scores, boxes, cheap multiples, performances, events — dissolving the border of art and daily life.

Event scores / Boxes and multiples / Everyday actions / Anti-art humor

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't imitate random instructions and plain boxes. Define how ownership, authority and the audience relation change.
Further study: George Maciunas / Yoko Ono / Alison Knowles / Fluxkit
Related entries: Dada / Conceptual Art

Source: MoMA — Fluxus

204

French New Wave

ヌーヴェル・ヴァーグ / 1958–1968 / Style / Cinematic Visual Styles

Critics took cameras to the street — handheld shots, jump cuts, self-reference — turning film grammar itself into a playground.

Handheld camera / Jump cuts / Street locations / Cinema about cinema

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of era, region, technology and makers.
Further study: Cahiers du Cinéma / the jump cuts of Breathless / Agnès Varda and the Left Bank
Related entries: Italian Neorealism / New Wave

Source: BFI — 10 great French New Wave films

Frutiger Aero

フルティガー・エアロ / mid-2000s–early 2010s / Style / Consumer Tech Aesthetics

Ties glossy digital technology to blue skies, water, grass and bubbles — a friendly, optimistic future.

Blue sky and grass / Transparent bubbles / Glossy UI / Humanist type

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Studying the style's historical context · Comparing the visual vocabulary across real works
Type: Choose by the source era and medium
Composition: Identify and reproduce one governing compositional principle
Material: Verify the materials and production conditions of real examples
Caution: Don't borrow only the name. Verify the era, media and culture in which it formed.
Further study: Windows Aero / Sofi Lee / 2000s eco-tech advertising
Related entries: Web 2.0 Gloss / Y2K

Source: CARI — Frutiger Aero

Future Funk

フューチャーファンク / 2010s / Style / Digital Retro

Re-edits 1980s Japanese pop at high speed into dazzling euphoria.

80s anime / City pop / Vivid night views / Rapid collage

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Instant joy for music and events · A pop rereading of the urban night
Type: Bold Japanese gothic plus Latin script accents
Composition: Layer figures, city and type rhythmically
Material: Pink, blue, yellow, VHS grain
Caution: Avoid unlicensed anime frames and surface-level consumption of the culture; clear the rights.
Further study: Night Tempo / Moe Shop
Related entries: 70’s Retro / Surveillance

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

Gen X Soft Club

ジェネレーションX ソフトクラブ / late 1990s / Style / Digital Retro

Paints vague hope for the future in the teal glow bleeding through club darkness.

Teal / Blurred light / Translucency / Abstract 3D

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Nocturnal softness for music and fashion · A calmer retro-future than Y2K
Type: Thin extended or monospace faces
Composition: Float elements at low contrast
Material: Blue, green, black, lens blur
Caution: Blur alone erases the contours. Keep the title or a structural line hard.
Further study: The Designers Republic / late-90s club graphics
Related entries: 80’s Editorial / Tech Spec

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

Generative Design — 初期コンピュータ・アートの展示 1978（CC BY-SA 3.0）

Generative Design

ジェネラティブ・デザイン / 1960s–computational present / Technique / Computational Expression

Designs the rules from which form emerges, instead of drawing one finished picture.

Iteration / Parameters / Variation / Chance

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Making large families of variants coherent · A face that responds to data and input
Type: Separate fixed, legible information from the variable display type
Composition: Grow density, angle and color from one rule
Material: Narrow the range of randomness; let a person choose the results
Caution: Generated complexity is not the goal. Decide first what varies and what stays fixed.
Further study: algorithmic art / rule-based identity systems
Related entries: Minimalism / Acid

Source: Thinking Machines: Art and Design in the Computer Age, MoMA

169

Geometric Sans

ジオメトリック・サンセリフ / 1927– / Style / Type Classification

Reduced letterforms to circle, line and triangle — building the new era's letters from geometry rather than the hand's habits.

Near-circular bowls / Monoline strokes / Geometric skeletons / Machine-age optimism

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: It looks purely geometric but is full of optical correction. Don't set shapes as letters; observe the corrections.
Further study: Paul Renner, Futura / Herbert Bayer's universal alphabet / Erbar and Kabel
Related entries: Bauhaus / Neo-grotesque Sans

Source: Klingspor Museum — Paul Renner資料

199

German Expressionist Film — 『カリガリ博士』スチル 1920

German Expressionist Film

ドイツ表現主義映画 / 1919–1927 / Style / Cinematic Visual Styles

Turned inner states into landscape itself — warped sets, painted shadows, extreme contrast — bringing 'scenery of the mind' into cinema.

Warped sets / Painted-on shadows / Oblique compositions / Extreme chiaroscuro

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of era, region, technology and makers.
Further study: Robert Wiene, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari / F. W. Murnau, Nosferatu / the émigré lineage into film noir
Related entries: Film Noir / Expressionism

Source: BFI — 100 years of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

Glassmorphism

グラスモーフィズム / 2020s / Style / UI Expression

Shows depth and hierarchy through translucent layers, floating information lightly.

Background blur / Translucency / Thin white borders / Color bleed

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Making layered information feel light · OS-grade refinement and depth
Type: A neutral sans-serif
Composition: Stack cards with clear front-to-back order
Material: Colored ground, translucent panes, fine edges
Caution: Legibility breaks with the wrong background. Give text surfaces real opacity.
Further study: macOS Big Sur / Windows 11
Related entries: Deconstructivism / Luxury Minimal

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

Glitch

グリッチ / digital / Style / Digital Texture

Refuses to hide error and corruption, exposing the fragility of the digital medium itself.

Channel shift / Block noise / Scanlines / Dropout

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Expressing uncertainty and system failure · A jolt of tension in music and video
Type: Partially corrupt a monospace or plain sans
Composition: Build the healthy composition first, then break part of it
Material: RGB shift, compression noise, missing pieces
Caution: Perpetual glitch loses meaning. Stage the difference between normal and broken.
Further study: Rosa Menkman / Joshua Davis
Related entries: Minimalism / Web 1.0

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

126

Googie

グーギー建築 / late-1940s–1960s / Style / American Commercial Architecture

Theatricalizes roadside commerce with exaggerated roofs, neon, glass and space-age shapes readable in an instant from a car.

Upswept roofs / Giant neon / Boomerang shapes / Full glazing

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs space and gaze
Material: Verify materials specific to region, period and process
Caution: Not a pile of space symbols. Read it as commercial architecture exaggerated for car culture and visibility.
Further study: Armet & Davis / John Lautner / coffee shop modern
Related entries: Space Age Design / Mid-Century Modern

Source: Los Angeles Conservancy — Armet & Davis

191

Goth Fashion — ウィットビー・ゴス・ウィークエンド（CC BY-SA 2.0）

Goth Fashion

ゴス・ファッション / late 1970s– / Style / Subculture Style

The aesthetics of black dress born from post-punk music, borrowing Victorian mourning and horror-film signs to make darkness a communal style.

Black head to toe / Victorian borrowings / Pale skin, dark eyes / Silver jewelry

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and exemplary cases · Extracting principles that transfer beyond dress
Type: Observe the letters and signs of the era and community referred to
Composition: Translate silhouette and proportion into composition
Material: Verify the material conditions: cloth, tailoring, the wearer's body
Caution: Never peel off the garment's signs alone. Verify who wore it, why, and against what.
Further study: Bauhaus (the band) and the Batcave / Victorian mourning dress / the passage to Gothic Lolita
Related entries: Gothic / Dark Academia

Source: The Museum at FIT — Gothic: Dark Glamour

Gothic

ゴシック / medieval–modern revivals / Style / Historical Styles

Summons mystery, awe and permanence through verticality and dark ornament.

Blackletter / Pointed forms / Black / Minute ornament

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Heavy narrative for fashion and music · A sense of ritual and mystery
Type: Blackletter for headlines only; keep text faces disciplined
Composition: Vertical axis, symmetry, heraldic center
Material: Black, dull silver, deep crimson, fine linework
Caution: Not a pile of horror symbols. Stay aware of period and religious context.
Further study: Aubrey Beardsley / Alexander McQueen
Related entries: Art Deco / Cyberminimalism

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

Images at the source page

Gradient Mesh

グラデーション・メッシュ / digital–contemporary / Technique / Color Expression

Blends several color focal points smoothly, giving a flat plane the depth of light and atmosphere.

Multi-point gradients / Bleeding light / Large color fields / Soft depth

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: An emotional backdrop for abstract service value · Rich atmosphere without photography
Type: Keep the type solid and sharp-edged
Composition: Offset the color's focus from the type's focus; protect the margins
Material: Three or four colors, low noise, a core of light and dark
Caution: Check contrast on the real screen so the ground never swallows the type.
Further study: mesh gradient systems / abstract brand backgrounds
Related entries: Glassmorphism / Swiss

Source: Gradient mesh examples, Adobe Illustrator documentation

167

Grotesque Sans

グロテスク・サンセリフ / 1816– / Style / Type Classification

The unornamented letter that dropped its serifs was first called 'grotesque' — its quirky evenness became the new voice of notices and headlines.

No serifs / Tight apertures / Quirky uneven widths / Headline blackness

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of era, region, technology and makers.
Further study: William Caslon IV, Egyptian (1816) / Akzidenz-Grotesk / the 19th-century foundry race
Related entries: Slab Serif / Neo-grotesque Sans

Source: ABYME — The First Sanserif Type

Grunge

グランジ / 1990s / Style / Counterculture

Uses dirt, tears and wear as resistance to the neatly managed screen.

Scuffing / Tears / Disordered type / Low-quality copies

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Body heat for music and street culture · Deliberately breaking the look of a finished product
Type: Decayed sans, typewriter faces
Composition: Overlap and crop; keep alignment only in places
Material: Dirty paper, grain, low chroma plus one accent
Caution: Texture overlays alone feel dated. Run the logic of wear through photo, type and margin alike.
Further study: David Carson / Art Chantry
Related entries: Experimental Type / Web 1.0

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

145

Gutai

具体美術協会 / 1954–1972 / Style / Japanese Postwar Avant-garde

Acts directly on body, mud, paper, water, smoke and light bulbs — events where spirit does not rule material, and each exposes the other's nature.

Body colliding with material / Outdoor exhibitions / Tearing, throwing, treading / Participation and play

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't stage the violence of making as spectacle. Read postwar Japan, the autonomy of material, audience participation.
Further study: Yoshihara Jirō / Shiraga Kazuo / Tanaka Atsuko / Gutai Art Manifesto
Related entries: Abstract Expressionism / Fluxus

Source: Guggenheim — Gutai: Splendid Playground

193

Gyaru

ギャル / 1990s– / Style / Japanese Street Fashion

The Shibuya-born style that inverted school-approved correctness with tans, bleached hair and heavy makeup — communal fashion updated by magazines and the street as one.

Tanned skin / Bright hair / Emphatic eye makeup / Shibuya 109 shop culture

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and exemplary cases · Extracting principles that transfer beyond dress
Type: Observe the letters and signs of the era and community referred to
Composition: Translate silhouette and proportion into composition
Material: Verify the material conditions: cloth, tailoring, the wearer's body
Caution: Never peel off the garment's signs alone. Verify who wore it, why, and against what.
Further study: The gyaru magazines egg and Popteen / kogyaru, ganguro, yamanba / gyaru circles and community
Related entries: Y2K / Decora

Source: Aesthetics Wiki — Gyaru

128

Harlem Renaissance — 『The New Negro』初版 1925

Harlem Renaissance

ハーレム・ルネサンス / 1920s–1930s / Style / Black Modernism

A cultural movement that rebuilt Black self-representation and modernity in its own words and images — through literature, music, stage, publishing and art.

Black self-representation / The jazz age / Magazines and publishing / Modern figures

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs space and gaze
Material: Verify materials specific to region, period and process
Caution: Never shrink it to a decorative style. Treat it as self-determination across literature, music, publishing and politics.
Further study: Alain Locke / Aaron Douglas / The New Negro
Related entries: Art Deco / Photomontage

Source: The Met — Alain LeRoy Locke

121

High-Tech Architecture — ロジャースロイズ・ビル（CC BY-SA 4.0）

High-Tech Architecture

ハイテック建築 / 1970s– / Style / Modern Architecture

Turns the building inside out — ducts, structure, elevators and joints exposed — presenting it as a great machine.

Exposed services / External structure / Metal and glass / Modules

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs space and gaze
Material: Verify materials specific to region, period and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of region, politics, technology and makers.
Further study: Richard Rogers / Norman Foster / Renzo Piano
Related entries: International Style / Tech Spec

Source: V&A — Exploring London’s futuristic high-tech architecture

190

Hip-Hop Fashion — Run-D.M.C. 1984（CC BY 4.0）

Hip-Hop Fashion

ヒップホップ・ファッション / 1970s– / Style / Street Style

Bronx youth culture turned sportswear and gold into a language of self-expression — from the street to the center of luxury in fifty years.

Sneakers and tracksuits / Gold chains / Oversize / Logos flaunted and remade

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and exemplary cases · Extracting principles that transfer beyond dress
Type: Observe the letters and signs of the era and community referred to
Composition: Translate silhouette and proportion into composition
Material: Verify the material conditions: cloth, tailoring, the wearer's body
Caution: Never peel off the garment's signs alone. Verify who wore it, why, and against what.
Further study: The adidas and Run-D.M.C. deal, 1986 / Dapper Dan's logo remakes / the merger with luxury
Related entries: Streetwear / Zoot Suit

Source: Museum of Youth Culture — Hip Hop

188

Hippie Style

ヒッピー・スタイル / 1960s–1970s / Style / Subculture Style

Made the counterculture visible by refusing ready-made clothes — handwork, folk dress and secondhand mixed — bringing DIY and eclecticism into fashion.

Handwork and embroidery / Mixed folk dress / Customized denim / Long hair, back to nature

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and exemplary cases · Extracting principles that transfer beyond dress
Type: Observe the letters and signs of the era and community referred to
Composition: Translate silhouette and proportion into composition
Material: Verify the material conditions: cloth, tailoring, the wearer's body
Caution: Never peel off the garment's signs alone. Verify who wore it, why, and against what.
Further study: The Summer of Love, 1967 / appropriation questions around folk dress / communes and handwork
Related entries: Psychedelic / Solarpunk

Source: V&A — You Say You Want a Revolution? Records and Rebels 1966–70

170

Humanist Sans — ジョンストン体のラウンデル（CC BY 2.0）

Humanist Sans

ヒューマニスト・サンセリフ / 1916– / Style / Type Classification

Keeps the roman's skeleton and proportions without serifs — functional yet holding the hand's memory; the standard for public signage.

Roman proportions / Open apertures / Gentle stroke modulation / High legibility at small sizes

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Building sign systems for transit and public buildings · Choosing UI text that balances warmth and trust
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of era, region, technology and makers.
Further study: Edward Johnston / Eric Gill / Adrian Frutiger, Frutiger
Related entries: Old Style Serif / Modular Type System

Source: V&A — Edward Johnston レタリング原図

Illuminated Manuscript — 『ケルズの書』キー・ロー・モノグラム 800年頃

Illuminated Manuscript

彩飾写本 / late antiquity–Renaissance / Style / Book Arts

Weaves text, image and gilding into one page structure, turning reading into ritual.

Gilding / Ornamented initials / Miniatures / Marginalia

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Giving stories and provenance the weight of a collection · Symbolic entrances to chapters and sections
Type: Separate the roles of text face and ornamented initial
Composition: Divide text block, image and margin clearly
Material: Parchment tones, gold, mineral color, fine outlines
Caution: Not just medieval borders. Preserve reading order and information hierarchy.
Further study: Spinola Hours / Getty manuscripts
Related entries: Gothic / Victorian Ornament

Source: Master of James IV of Scotland, Spinola Hours, about 1510–20

156

Intaglio

凹版印刷 / 15th century– / Technique / Intaglio Printing

Holds ink in lines and hollows below the plate's surface, pressing damp paper in under great pressure — precise lines and the plate mark's trace.

Sunken lines / Plate marks / Damp paper / High-pressure press

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Not generic fine-line decoration. Distinguish the line and tone of engraving, biting, burr and roughened ground.
Further study: engraving / drypoint / aquatint / plate tone
Related entries: Etching / Mezzotint

Source: MoMA — Intaglio

119

International Style — ミース 860–880レイクショア・ドライブ（CC BY-SA 2.5）

International Style

インターナショナル・スタイル / 1920s–1960s / Style / Modern Architecture

Strips ornament and aims at a universal architectural language crossing borders: the box, the free plan, steel, concrete and glass.

Rectangular volumes / Glass planes / No ornament / The free plan

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs space and gaze
Material: Verify materials specific to region, period and process
Caution: Not just a white box. Read the structure, the plan, the industrial materials, the social thought.
Further study: Le Corbusier / Ludwig Mies van der Rohe / Philip Johnson
Related entries: Modernism / Bauhaus

Source: MoMA — International Style

133

Islamic Geometric Pattern — アルハンブラ宮殿のタイル（CC BY 2.0）

Islamic Geometric Pattern

イスラム幾何学文様 / 8th century– / Technique / Geometric Ornament

Divides, repeats and combines circles, squares, polygons and stars, building infinite extension and order on a finite plane.

Compass construction / Star forms / Repeating units / Interlacing lines

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs space and gaze
Material: Verify materials specific to region, period and process
Caution: Don't treat the Islamic world as one culture. Verify region, dynasty, material and use in architecture and craft.
Further study: girih / jali / Topkapı Scroll
Related entries: Op Art / Stained Glass

Source: The Met — Geometric Patterns in Islamic Art

Isometric Illustration — ショワジー『建築史』のアイソメ図 1899

Isometric Illustration

アイソメトリック・イラストレーション / technical drawing–digital / Technique / Diagrammatic Expression

Keeps depth while looking down from above, explaining relationships among many parts in a single image.

30-degree axes / Uniform scale / Exploded views / Little worlds

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Showing the whole of a system or space · Friendly diagrams of complex relations
Type: A concise sans with small labels
Composition: Fix the three axes; enlarge only what matters
Material: Value steps per plane, thin outlines, limited color
Caution: Don't draw everything at equal density. Pull the eye to the relation you're explaining.
Further study: axonometric drawing / systems illustration
Related entries: Flat Design / Vector Minimalism / Tech Spec

Source: Isometric drawings, Cooper Hewitt collection

Isotype — Otto Neurath & Gerd Arntz, Gesellschaft und Wirtschaft, 1930

Isotype

アイソタイプ / 1920s–1940s / Layout / Information Design

Translates quantity into repeated same-size symbols, making comparison readable before language.

Unified pictograms / Repetition of signs / Axes of comparison / Restricted color

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Statistics comparable without expertise · Basic guidance and education across languages
Type: Short labels and clear figures; prose stays outside the chart
Composition: Fix the unit per symbol; show change by count, never by size
Material: Few meaningful colors, equal line weights, aligned baselines
Caution: Never scale one big symbol to show a difference. Always show unit, base and source.
Further study: Otto Neurath / Gerd Arntz / Marie Neurath
Related entries: Swiss / Flat Design / Vector Minimalism

Source: Otto Neurath & Gerd Arntz, Gesellschaft und Wirtschaft, 1930

Italian Futurism

イタリア未来派 / 1909–1940s / Style / Avant-garde

Converts speed, noise and shock into the size and trajectory of letters, setting the quiet page in motion.

Words-in-freedom / Radiating type / Onomatopoeia / Extreme jumps in scale

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Converting sound and speed into still images · Controlled explosions for titles and announcements
Type: Treat differing weights, widths and angles as volume
Composition: Fix one point of impact; radiate and accelerate the words
Material: Black and off-white with one warning color
Caution: Never split the movement's innovation from its embrace of war and Fascism; handle it critically.
Further study: F. T. Marinetti / Fortunato Depero
Related entries: Experimental Type / Constructivism

Source: Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, ZANG TUMB TUUUM, 1915

203

Italian Neorealism — アンナ・マニャーニ『無防備都市』1945

Italian Neorealism

イタリアン・ネオレアリズモ / 1943–1952 / Style / Cinematic Visual Styles

Left the studio to film non-actors in the street, making postwar poverty and daily life the very subject — cinema on reality's side.

Location shooting / Non-professional actors / Available light / Postwar streets

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of era, region, technology and makers.
Further study: Roberto Rossellini / Vittorio De Sica / Cesare Zavattini's theory of the everyday
Related entries: French New Wave / Street Photography

Source: BFI — 10 great Italian neorealist films

162

Italic

イタリック / 1501– / Style / Letterform History

The humanist cursive cast in type: slanted letters that made pocket books possible, later becoming the second voice beside roman.

Rightward slant / Cursive continuity / Narrow width / Contrast with roman

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Not mere 'oblique.' Distinguish slanted distortion from the true italic's independent design.
Further study: Aldus Manutius / Francesco Griffo / the chancery hand
Related entries: Old Style Serif / Copperplate Script

Source: Tipoteca — First Italics

Italo Disco

イタロ・ディスコ / 1980s / Style / Digital Retro

Mixes southern-European lightness with cosmic gloss into dancing glamour.

Tropical color / Airbrush / Chrome lettering / Starlight

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Making night events glamorous · A cheerful, slightly cheap futurity
Type: Wide display type with chrome finish
Composition: Diagonal speed, a centered logo
Material: Purple, blue, coral, stars and gloss
Caution: Scattered quotations become generic 80s. Fix the sound and the place first.
Further study: Alessandro Mendini / 1980s record sleeves
Related entries: Luxury Minimal / Future Funk

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

189

Ivy Style

アイビー・スタイル / 1950s– / Style / Trad

The practical menswear system of America's East Coast colleges — button-downs and blazers whose 'broken-in correctness' became, via Japan, the global standard of trad.

Button-down shirts / 3/2-roll blazers / Loafers / Deliberately relaxed wear

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and exemplary cases · Extracting principles that transfer beyond dress
Type: Observe the letters and signs of the era and community referred to
Composition: Translate silhouette and proportion into composition
Material: Verify the material conditions: cloth, tailoring, the wearer's body
Caution: Never peel off the garment's signs alone. Verify who wore it, why, and against what.
Further study: Take Ivy, 1965 / VAN Jacket and Japanese Ivy / the road to preppy
Related entries: Mod / Normcore

Source: The Museum at FIT — Ivy Style

175

Japanese Gothic — 中ゴシックBBB書体見本（CC BY-SA 3.0）

Japanese Gothic

ゴシック体 / late 19th century– / Style / Japanese Type

The Japanese sans-serif of nearly even strokes: born for headline emphasis, it grew into the text face of the screen.

Even strokes / No uroko / High visibility / Fit for screen display

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Not a translation of the Latin sans. Note the kana skeleton and kanji density — problems specific to Japanese.
Further study: Tsukiji's early gothics / Ishii Gothic / Hiragino Kaku Gothic and Yu Gothic
Related entries: Mincho / Neo-grotesque Sans

Source: モリサワフォント用語集 — ゴシック体

Japonisme

ジャポニスム / 1850s–1900s / Style / Cross-cultural Reception

Re-edits asymmetry, flatness and daring crops learned from Japanese prints into Western modern composition.

Asymmetry / Bold cropping / Flat color planes / Plants and everyday objects

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Breaking the Western centered composition with margin and cut · Reading a real chapter of cultural exchange concretely
Type: Faces true to the period and author; no meaningless Japanese
Composition: Cut the subject at the frame's edge; show depth by overlapping planes
Material: Woodblock colors, paper tone, keylines
Caution: Not generic 'Japanese style.' Show who referred to what, through which route.
Further study: James McNeill Whistler / Edgar Degas / ukiyo-e reception
Related entries: Art Nouveau / Ukiyo-e

Source: Japonisme works and historical overview, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

209

Kalighat Painting

カーリーガート絵画 / 19th century–1930s / Style / Indian Painting

Souvenir paintings mass-produced at Calcutta's temple gate — thick fluent contours and bold omission drawing gods and social satire with the same brush.

Thick fluent contours / Bold omission / Watercolor transparency / Gods beside satire

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of era, region, technology and makers.
Further study: The Kalighat temple market / the influence on Jamini Roy / colonial social satire
Related entries: Madhubani / Mughal Miniature

Source: V&A — Kalighat painting

213

Kente

ケンテ / 17th century– / Style / Textile Traditions

The strip-woven cloth of Ghana's Asante and Ewe, where every color and pattern bears a name and a meaning — wearing it is a statement.

Strips sewn into cloth / High-key gold, red, green / Named patterns / Ceremonial dress

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of era, region, technology and makers.
Further study: The Asante court and cloth rank / the naming system of patterns / diaspora reception and debates over wearing
Related entries: Adinkra / Bogolanfini

Source: Cooper Hewitt — Kente Prestige Cloth

Kidcore

キッドコア / 1990s nostalgia / Style / Pop

Recalls toys, stickers and school supplies in unconditionally bright color.

Primary colors / Smileys / Rainbows / Toy shapes

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Evoking childhood freedom and safety · Making a community look sunny
Type: Big rounded letters, hand lettering
Composition: Layer sticker-like elements
Material: Red, yellow, blue, plastic, thick outlines
Caution: Don't confuse child-directed with childish. Mind age-appropriateness and safety.
Further study: Lisa Frank / Sebastian Masuda
Related entries: Minimalism / Neubrutalism

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

Kinetic Typography

キネティック・タイポグラフィ / film titles–digital motion / Motion / Letterform Expression

Translates a word's meaning into speed, pause and direction — designing the time of reading itself.

Per-word motion / Rhythm / Scale change / Pauses

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Making a short message physically felt · Carrying the intonation of voice and music to the screen
Type: One family, varied in weight and width
Composition: Split the sentence into words; assign each a trajectory that fits its meaning
Material: Keep the ground quiet; the timing offsets are the star
Caution: Don't move every word. Motion reads because some words stand still.
Further study: film title design / motion typography systems
Related entries: Experimental Type / Swiss

Source: Saul Bass, North by Northwest title sequence, 1959

195

La Sape

サプール / 1920s– / Style / Street Style

The Congolese Society of Ambience-Makers and Elegant People turned perfect dressing in vivid suits into a practice of dignity — peaceful dandyism with dress as its weapon.

Vivid three-piece suits / Strict color discipline / Gesture and gait / Festivity inside daily life

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and exemplary cases · Extracting principles that transfer beyond dress
Type: Observe the letters and signs of the era and community referred to
Composition: Translate silhouette and proportion into composition
Material: Verify the material conditions: cloth, tailoring, the wearer's body
Caution: Never reduce it to 'poor but wearing luxury.' Verify it as a practice of dignity and nonviolence.
Further study: SAPE (Société des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Élégantes) / colonialism and the appropriated suit / codes like the three-color rule
Related entries: Dandyism / Hip-Hop Fashion

Source: LensCulture — Tariq Zaidi: The Sapeurs of Brazzaville

Letterpress — Johannes Gutenberg, Gutenberg Bible, c. 1455

Letterpress

活版印刷 / 15th century– / Technique / Relief Printing

Sets physical type, joining the repeatable order of text with the touch of impression on paper.

The regularity of type / Impression into paper / Limited widths / Ink variation

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Tactile weight for books, cards and invitations · Making the choice and setting of type the subject itself
Type: One type family in limited sizes for the hierarchy
Composition: Respect physical leading and margins; restrict alignments
Material: One or two colors, thick paper, a slight bite and ink variance
Caution: Don't over-perform deep impression and dry ink. Let type, paper, pressure and ink set the form.
Further study: Johannes Gutenberg / movable type / fine press printing
Related entries: Swiss / Arts and Crafts

Source: Johannes Gutenberg, Gutenberg Bible, c. 1455

Liminal Space — 無人のショッピングセンター（CC BY-SA 4.0）

Liminal Space

リミナル・スペース / late-2010s– / Aesthetic / Internet Photo Aesthetics

Photographs transitional spaces meant to hold people, empty — déjà vu, loneliness, stopped time.

Empty corridors / Fluorescent light / Dated interiors / Public space after midnight

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Studying the style's historical context · Comparing the visual vocabulary across real works
Type: Choose by the source era and medium
Composition: Identify and reproduce one governing compositional principle
Material: Verify the materials and production conditions of real examples
Caution: Don't borrow only the name. Verify the era, media and culture in which it formed.
Further study: The Backrooms / transitional architecture / anemoia
Related entries: Dreamcore / Surveillance

Source: Aesthetics Wiki — Liminal Space

Linocut

リノカット / 1890s– / Technique / Relief Printing

Cuts the smooth block boldly, giving few colors and repeated figures a driving rhythm.

Large cut planes / Overlapping color blocks / Simplified figures / Repeating movement

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Showing crowds and daily motion as rhythm · A friendly hand-printed feel in few colors
Type: Letters sturdy enough to hold against the shapes; one color per block
Composition: Repeat forms with aligned motion; change the current in one place
Material: Two to five color blocks, broad cut planes, the paper's ground
Caution: The difference from woodcut is not mere roughness. Use linoleum's smooth curves and planes.
Further study: Ethel Spowers / Claude Flight / Grosvenor School
Related entries: Woodcut / WPA Poster

Source: Ethel Spowers, Wet Afternoon, 1930

139

Liquid Glass

リキッドガラス / 2025– / Style / Apple UI

Unifies the floating control and navigation layer as a fluid glass material that refracts and adapts to the content beneath.

Dynamic refraction / Concentric corner radii / Floating control layers / Reflected background color

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Separating content and control layers on Apple platforms · Floating transient controls above media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Not translucent-card decoration. Don't overuse it on content layers; honor legibility and reduced-transparency settings.
Further study: Apple Human Interface Guidelines / regular and clear variants / content and functional layers
Related entries: Glassmorphism / Skeuomorphism

Source: Apple Human Interface Guidelines — Materials

155

Lithography

石版画／リトグラフ / 1796– / Technique / Planographic Printing

Uses the repulsion of oil and water to reproduce crayon and tusche drawing from stone or plate, keeping all the softness of the hand.

Greasy crayon / Stone or metal plate / Painterly tone / Multicolor overprinting

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Not a pencil texture. Understand water and grease, the stone's surface, damping, rollers, overprinting.
Further study: Alois Senefelder / tusche / Toulouse-Lautrec / offset lithography
Related entries: Plakatstil / Sachplakat / Etching

Source: MoMA — Lithography

192

Lolita Fashion — ゴシック・ロリータ原宿（CC BY-SA 4.0）

Lolita Fashion

ロリータ・ファッション / 1980s– / Style / Japanese Street Fashion

A Japanese street style referencing Rococo and girls' culture, building a community that constructs cuteness for oneself, not for the gaze of others.

Bell-shaped skirts / Frills and lace / Headdresses / Strict coordination rules

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and exemplary cases · Extracting principles that transfer beyond dress
Type: Observe the letters and signs of the era and community referred to
Composition: Translate silhouette and proportion into composition
Material: Verify the material conditions: cloth, tailoring, the wearer's body
Caution: Never peel off the garment's signs alone. Verify who wore it, why, and against what.
Further study: The Gothic & Lolita Bible / sweet, gothic and classic Lolita / the debate over the name and the practice
Related entries: Goth Fashion / Decora

Source: Aesthetics Wiki — Lolita

Low Poly

ローポリ / 1990s– / revival / Technique / 3D Expression

Leaves the few polygons and hard facet changes visible, using simplicity of form as the expression.

Triangular facets / Angular contours / Flat shading / Few vertices

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Studying the style's historical context · Comparing the visual vocabulary across real works
Type: Choose by the source era and medium
Composition: Identify and reproduce one governing compositional principle
Material: Verify the materials and production conditions of real examples
Caution: Don't borrow only the name. Verify the era, media and culture in which it formed.
Further study: early 3D games / flat shading / polygon budgets
Related entries: Pixel Art / Flat Design / Vector Minimalism

Source: Wikimedia Commons — Low-poly models

Luxury Minimal

ラグジュアリー・ミニマル / 1990s– / Style / Contemporary Branding

Communicates confidence, not price, through silent margins and precise typesetting.

Vast margins / Refined serifs / Low chroma / Quiet photography

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Conveying quality without raising your voice · Making the product or photo the single focus
Type: High-contrast serif with a small sans
Composition: One point at the center or edge; margins play the lead
Material: Off-white, black, faint textures of stone and cloth
Caution: Tiny type and faint color are not luxury. Being readable comes first.
Further study: Phoebe Philo / Fabien Baron
Related entries: Brutalism / Chromecore

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

210

Madhubani

ミティラー画（マドゥバニ） / traditional–present / Style / Indian Painting

Festival painting carried by the women of Mithila from wall and floor to paper — dense pattern filling every void, mythic imagery still alive and updating.

Pattern filling the plane / Double outlines / Mythic imagery / Natural pigments

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of era, region, technology and makers.
Further study: Ganga Devi and the named masters / the move from wall to paper (1960s) / the women's lineage of transmission
Related entries: Kalighat Painting / Naïve

Source: Mithila Museum — About

142

Material 3 Expressive

マテリアル3・エクスプレッシブ / 2025– / Style / Google UI

Uses shape, color, size, motion and containment forcefully, raising both findability of key actions and emotional character.

Bold shape and color / Variable sizing / Springy motion / Strong containment and focus

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Mobile UI that spotlights the primary action · Products that need a brand's own emotion
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't enlarge everything. Concentrate expression where it improves guidance, tap speed and comprehension.
Further study: Material 3 Expressive / expressive tactics / motion physics / variable fonts
Related entries: Material You / Material 3 / Memphis

Source: Google Design — Expressive Design Research

141

Material You / Material 3

マテリアル・ユー／マテリアル3 / 2021– / Style / Google UI

Derives a color system from the user's wallpaper and choices, adapting shape, color, motion and components to the individual.

Dynamic color / Large corner radii / Personalized themes / Adaptive components

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Mobile UI that honors the user's color choices · Adapting one design system to many brands
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Not just pastels and big corners. Design the color roles, states, accessibility and user-driven change.
Further study: Material You / Dynamic Color / Material 3 / Monet color system
Related entries: Flat Design / Vector Minimalism / Material 3 Expressive

Source: Google Design — Material You Film Series

Maximalism

マキシマリズム / recurring / Style / Ornament

Layers quantity, color and pattern without fear, making excess itself the richness.

Layered patterns / Strong color / Ornamental type / Collector's density

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Festivity and abundance at full volume · Immersion in a one-of-a-kind world
Type: Ornamental display as the star; one fixed text face
Composition: Fill the surface but choose a single focus
Material: Unify pattern, photo and ornament by hue
Caution: Don't make everything loud. Build large-small and front-back hierarchy inside the density.
Further study: Alessandro Michele / Iris Apfel
Related entries: Minimalism / Gothic

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

183

Meisen Kimono

銘仙 / 1900s–1950s / Style / Modern Japanese Fashion

The popular kimono that put bold abstract pattern and chemical-dye color on a cheap ikat technique — Japanese modernism translating Deco and the avant-garde into everyday dress.

Large abstract patterns / Vivid chemical dyes / Blurred kasuri edges / Everyday experimentation

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and exemplary cases · Extracting principles that transfer beyond dress
Type: Observe the letters and signs of the era and community referred to
Composition: Translate silhouette and proportion into composition
Material: Verify the material conditions: cloth, tailoring, the wearer's body
Caution: Never peel off the garment's signs alone. Verify who wore it, why, and against what.
Further study: The Ashikaga, Isesaki and Chichibu districts / the modern girl and mass consumption / hogushi weaving and combined kasuri
Related entries: Rinpa / Flapper

Source: V&A — Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk

Memphis

メンフィス / 1980s / Style / Pop

Laughs off functionalism and enjoys the dissonance of shape and color.

Zigzags / Small figures / Pastel plus primary / Speckles

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Softening a stiff subject · A young, sunny personality
Type: A chunky geometric sans
Composition: Scatter small motifs, anchor with one large shape
Material: Pink, yellow, teal, black speckles
Caution: Don't stop at background pattern. Map the figures to navigation and units of meaning.
Further study: Ettore Sottsass / Memphis Group
Related entries: Bauhaus / Neubrutalism

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

120

Metabolist Architecture — 中銀カプセルタワービル（CC BY-SA 3.0）

Metabolist Architecture

メタボリズム建築 / 1960s–1970s / Style / Japanese Architecture Movements

Conceives city and building as one vast system that can grow, exchange and renew itself like an organism.

Exchangeable capsules / Megastructures / Growing cities / Organic networks

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs space and gaze
Material: Verify materials specific to region, period and process
Caution: Don't quote only the capsule shape. Grasp the systems thinking about growth and urban renewal.
Further study: Kenzō Tange / Kisho Kurokawa / Fumihiko Maki
Related entries: International Style / Space Age Design

Source: MoMA — Metabolist architecture

129

Mexican Muralism

メキシコ壁画運動 / 1920s–1940s / Style / Public Art

Paints post-revolutionary history, labor, indigenous culture and visions of the future onto the vast walls of public buildings.

Monumental murals / Crowds of figures / Political narrative / Public space

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs space and gaze
Material: Verify materials specific to region, period and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of region, politics, technology and makers.
Further study: Diego Rivera / José Clemente Orozco / David Alfaro Siqueiros
Related entries: WPA Poster / Woodcut

Source: MoMA — Mexican Muralism

157

Mezzotint

メゾチント / 1640s– / Technique / Intaglio Printing

Roughens the whole plate to print deep black, then burnishes the lights back — the image rises from velvet darkness, not from lines.

Velvet blacks / From dark to light / Soft gradation / Burnished light

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Not a dark gradient effect. Reflect the inverted process — carving light out of a roughened plate — in the tonal design.
Further study: rocker / burnisher / tonal printmaking / dark manner
Related entries: Intaglio / New Objectivity Photography

Source: MoMA — Mezzotint

Mid-Century Modern

ミッドセンチュリー・モダン / 1940s–1960s / Style / Retro

Adds hand-felt curves and warmth to rational geometry.

Organic shapes / Calm warm colors / Succinct illustration / Diagonal movement

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Balancing friendliness with intelligence · Building contexts of living, furniture and culture
Type: A rounded sans-serif
Composition: Asymmetric yet stable balance
Material: Mustard, teal, textures of wood and paper
Caution: Don't pile up retro props. Fit the forms to today's information structure.
Further study: Charles & Ray Eames / Saul Bass
Related entries: Swiss / Flat Design / Vector Minimalism

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

174

Mincho

明朝体 / 19th century– / Style / Japanese Type

Regularizes the kaisho skeleton into thin horizontals and thick verticals fit for carving — with its uroko serifs, it still carries Japanese text setting.

Thin horizontals, thick verticals / Uroko serifs / Kaisho-derived skeleton / Steady text-block color

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Setting long-form Japanese in books and magazines · A formal, quiet Japanese voice
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of era, region, technology and makers.
Further study: Motoki Shōzō / the Tokyo Tsukiji Type Foundry / electrotype matrix making
Related entries: Japanese Gothic / Letterpress

Source: 印刷博物館 — 東京築地活版製造所活字

Minimalism

ミニマリズム / 1960s– / Style / Functionalism

Removes elements to maximize the meaning and tension of what remains.

Vast white space / Few elements / Quiet color / Precise spacing

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Focusing attention on a single value · Letting quality speak quietly
Type: A light sans-serif or a well-cut serif
Composition: One message, one focal point, wide margins
Material: Nearly achromatic; texture in exactly one place
Caution: Missing information is not minimal. Decide priorities before you cut.
Further study: Dieter Rams / Kenya Hara
Related entries: Chromecore / Type Doodles

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

187

Mod

モッズ / late 1950s–1960s / Style / Subculture Style

Rebellion through refinement — slim Italian suits, scooters and modern jazz — completing the marriage of consumerism and youth culture.

Slim three-button suits / Military parkas / Scooters and mirrors / The target roundel

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and exemplary cases · Extracting principles that transfer beyond dress
Type: Observe the letters and signs of the era and community referred to
Composition: Translate silhouette and proportion into composition
Material: Verify the material conditions: cloth, tailoring, the wearer's body
Caution: Never peel off the garment's signs alone. Verify who wore it, why, and against what.
Further study: Carnaby Street / Quadrophenia / mods versus rockers
Related entries: Pop Art / Teddy Boys

Source: Museum of Youth Culture — Mods

Modernism

モダニズム / 1920s–1970s / Style / Functionalism

Replaces ornament with reasoned form and aims at universality.

Simplification / Clear hierarchy / Function first / Universal forms

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Building a brand foundation that lasts · A vessel that never gets in the content's way
Type: A sans-serif with few quirks
Composition: Logical hierarchy and generous white space
Material: Black and white with a single accent color
Caution: Blandness is not universality. Hold clear intent in every ratio and interval.
Further study: Paul Rand / Massimo Vignelli
Related entries: Mid-Century Modern / Experimental Type

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

Modular Type System

モジュラー・タイプシステム / modernist–variable type / Layout / Type Design

Locks sizes and spacing to a few ratios, one consistent voice across changing media.

Ratio scales / Repeating hierarchy / Baseline grid / Variable widths

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Extending consistent hierarchy across pages and media · Making design decisions reproducible by a team
Type: One family, developed through weight, width and size
Composition: A 4–8px base unit and three to six type steps
Material: Fix the rules of size, leading and margin before color
Caution: Rule-keeping is not the goal. Leave room for the content's exceptions.
Further study: typographic scales / variable font systems
Related entries: Swiss / New Wave

Source: Wim Crouwel: A Graphic Odyssey, Letterform Archive

177

Monospace

モノスペース / 1874– / Style / Type Classification

Fixed-width letters born from the typewriter's mechanism, settled as the voice of work-in-progress: drafts, forms and code.

One advance width for all / Widened i, squeezed m / Mechanical rhythm / The air of unfinished work

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Setting code, data and technical documents · A brand voice of honesty and process
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of era, region, technology and makers.
Further study: Sholes & Glidden / Courier (Howard Kettler) / the design of coding faces
Related entries: Tech Spec / Pixel Art

Source: Science Museum Group — Sholes and Glidden patent typewriter, 1875

134

Mughal Miniature

ムガル細密画 / 16th–19th centuries / Style / South Asian Court Painting

Condenses court life, history, nature and story into a small plane through precise brushwork, gold, pigments, ornamental borders and multiple viewpoints.

Precise brushwork / Gold and opaque watercolor / Ornamental borders / Multiple viewpoints

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs space and gaze
Material: Verify materials specific to region, period and process
Caution: Not all Indian miniature painting. Distinguish the Mughal, Deccani, Rajasthani and Pahari schools.
Further study: Akbarnama / Ustad Mansur / Mughal ateliers
Related entries: Illuminated Manuscript / Paper Marbling

Source: The Met — Indian Skies

Naïve

ナイーブ / timeless / Style / Hand-drawn

Steps away from the norms of skill, making plain observation and imbalance the charm.

Uneven lines / Flattened perspective / Simple color / Hand-drawn letters

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Honoring a personal gaze and touch · Closeness for food, region and education
Type: Handwriting, homely serifs
Composition: Avoid strict perspective; lay things out flat
Material: Crayon, paint, paper, slightly muddied color
Caution: Not an act of deliberate badness. Draw your own line from close observation.
Further study: Henri Rousseau / Henry Darger
Related entries: Swiss / Art Nouveau

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

216

Ndebele House Painting — ンデベレの壁画建築（CC BY 4.0）

Ndebele House Painting

ンデベレの家壁画 / 1940s– / Style / Mural Traditions

The high-chroma geometry Ndebele women paint on their houses — ruler-free straight lines making the home itself a banner of resistance and identity.

Freehand straight lines / Black outlines, primary color / Geometry across whole walls / A women's inherited skill

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of era, region, technology and makers.
Further study: Esther Mahlangu and the BMW Art Car / a visual answer to forced removal / patterns shared with beadwork
Related entries: De Stijl / Mexican Muralism

Source: South African History Online — Ndebele

152

Neo-Concrete Art — リジア・クラーク『ビーショ』（CC BY-SA 4.0）

Neo-Concrete Art

ネオ・コンクリート・アート / 1959–1966 / Style / Brazilian Avant-garde

Frees geometric abstraction from fixed visual order, opening the work to change through bodily participation — touching, moving, entering.

Movable geometry / Bodily participation / Folds and hinges / Sensuous color and space

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Not just 'Brazilian geometric abstraction.' Read the revolt against objectivism and transformation by the viewer's body.
Further study: Lygia Clark / Hélio Oiticica / Lygia Pape / Manifesto Neoconcreto
Related entries: De Stijl / Tropicália

Source: MoMA — Neo-concrete Art

168

Neo-grotesque Sans — ニューヨーク地下鉄のヘルベチカ標識（CC BY-SA 4.0）

Neo-grotesque Sans

ネオ・グロテスク / 1957– / Style / Type Classification

The grotesque with its quirks removed and 'neutrality' set as the design goal — the voice of postwar rationalism and the global corporation.

Even, closed letterforms / Low contrast / Large x-height / A voice that performs neutrality

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: 'Neutral' is a design ideology, not a fact. Don't use it as an excuse for blandness; choose it for a reason.
Further study: Max Miedinger and Eduard Hoffmann / Adrian Frutiger, Univers / Swiss typography
Related entries: Swiss / Grotesque Sans

Source: MoMA — Max Miedinger, Helvetica Bold, 36 point

Net.art

ネット・アート / 1990s– / Style / Digital Art

Treats the browser, the link, the transmission error — the network itself — as material and site of the work.

Link structures / Browser UI / Errors / Participation and transmission

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Studying the style's historical context · Comparing the visual vocabulary across real works
Type: Choose by the source era and medium
Composition: Identify and reproduce one governing compositional principle
Material: Verify the materials and production conditions of real examples
Caution: Not just an early-web look. Think about mechanisms that run on the network, and participation.
Further study: JODI / Olia Lialina / Rhizome ArtBase
Related entries: Web 1.0 / Glitch

Source: Rhizome ArtBase

Neubrutalism

ニューブルータリズム / 2010s– / Style / UI Expression

Rebels warmly against the over-polished web with thick borders and blunt color.

Thick black borders / Hard shadows / Vivid color / Flat components

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Making a product frank and memorable · Humanity for communities and creator tools
Type: Bold sans, monospace
Composition: Divide into clear boxes; shadows in one direction
Material: Off-white plus vivid color, black borders, few rounded corners
Caution: Don't border and shadow everything. Vary the strength by hierarchy.
Further study: Gumroad / contemporary independent web
Related entries: Memphis / Luxury Minimal

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

Neumorphism

ニューモーフィズム / late 2010s– / Style / UI Expression

Makes background and controls one material, showing relief through soft shadow alone.

Same-color surfaces / Two-direction shadows / Rounded parts / Low contrast

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Concept screens with few interactions · A soft, quiet product impression
Type: A concise sans-serif
Composition: Big margins, few controls
Material: Pale ground, one light and one dark shadow, rounded corners
Caution: Contrast failure comes easily. Mark key actions and states with color and outline too.
Further study: Alexander Plyuto / Michał Malewicz
Related entries: Cyberminimalism / Neubrutalism

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

185

New Look

ニュールック / 1947–1950s / Style / Fashion History

Revived the curve against wartime utility — cinched waists and long, fabric-rich skirts — opening the golden age of postwar couture.

Hourglass silhouettes / Abundant fabric / Rounded shoulders / Formality restored

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and exemplary cases · Extracting principles that transfer beyond dress
Type: Observe the letters and signs of the era and community referred to
Composition: Translate silhouette and proportion into composition
Material: Verify the material conditions: cloth, tailoring, the wearer's body
Caution: Never peel off the garment's signs alone. Verify who wore it, why, and against what.
Further study: Christian Dior, the Bar Suit, 1947 / the end of fabric rationing / the protests against the New Look
Related entries: Luxury Minimal / Space Age Fashion

Source: V&A — Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams

113

New Objectivity Photography — ブロスフェルトの植物写真

New Objectivity Photography

新即物主義写真 / 1920s–1930s / Style / Photography Movements

Steps back from sentiment and records the structure of people and things coolly: sharp focus, frontality, typology.

Sharp focus / Frontality / Repetition and types / Material detail

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing historical works and their conditions · Deciding which principles survive translation to today's media
Type: Observe the type and composition of reference works
Composition: Extract the one principle that steers the eye
Material: Verify the technique's own materials, process and support
Caution: Don't take the claim of objectivity at face value. Read the bias in the typology and the photographer's gaze.
Further study: August Sander / Albert Renger-Patzsch / Aenne Biermann
Related entries: Precisionism / Swiss

Source: MoMA — August Sander

135

New Topographics

ニュー・トポグラフィックス / 1975– / Style / Photography Movements

Records, coolly, the landscapes humans have altered — suburbs, tract sites, industrial parks — instead of grand nature.

Empty suburbs / Frontality / Dry color / Man-altered landscape

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs space and gaze
Material: Verify materials specific to region, period and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of region, politics, technology and makers.
Further study: Robert Adams / Lewis Baltz / Bernd and Hilla Becher
Related entries: New Objectivity Photography / Street Photography

Source: SFMOMA — New Topographics

109

New Vision Photography

ニュー・ヴィジョン写真 / 1920s–1930s / Style / Modern Photography

Explores perception only the camera can reach — bird's-eye and worm's-eye views, extreme close-ups, experiments in light.

Steep angles / Close-up / Hard light and shadow / Abstraction

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing historical works and their conditions · Deciding which principles survive translation to today's media
Type: Observe the type and composition of reference works
Composition: Extract the one principle that steers the eye
Material: Verify the technique's own materials, process and support
Caution: Check not only the look but the medium, technique and social context in which it formed.
Further study: László Moholy-Nagy / Film und Foto 1929 / Thomas Walther Collection
Related entries: Bauhaus / Photogram

Source: MoMA — Object:Photo, The Project

New Wave

ニュー・ウェーブ / 1970s–1980s / Style / Counterculture

Keeps punk's freedom while re-editing color and grid with urban polish.

Irregular grid / Dots / High chroma / Rotated type

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Editorial heat for culture media · Adding surprise to serious content
Type: Mix condensed, geometric and vertical setting
Composition: Shift the grid; hold several angles at once
Material: Yellow, red, blue, dots, thin rules
Caution: Don't multiply small decorations. Choose one starring deviation.
Further study: Neville Brody / Peter Saville
Related entries: 80’s Editorial / Swiss

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

197

Images at the source page

Normcore

ノームコア / 2013– / Aesthetic / Anti-style

The stance of stepping out of the differentiation game, choosing a plainness that can connect with anyone — conceptualized by K-HOLE, inverting fashion discourse.

Plain, standard clothes / No logos / Deliberate ordinariness / Freedom from style

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and exemplary cases · Extracting principles that transfer beyond dress
Type: Observe the letters and signs of the era and community referred to
Composition: Translate silhouette and proportion into composition
Material: Verify the material conditions: cloth, tailoring, the wearer's body
Caution: Not a name for drab clothes. Read the original text as a critique of the differentiation game.
Further study: K-HOLE, Youth Mode, 2013 / the misreading and spread of 'Acting Basic' / the Steve Jobs uniform argument
Related entries: Streetwear / Minimalism

Source: K-HOLE — Youth Mode: A Report on Freedom

161

Old Style Serif

オールドスタイル・ローマン / 15th–16th century– / Style / Type Classification

Set the standard for text faces that read without fatigue: the pen's oblique axis and gentle stroke contrast.

Oblique stress / Gentle contrast / Bracketed serifs / Modest x-height

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Setting the text of books and long-form media · A humanist, settled brand voice
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of era, region, technology and makers.
Further study: Claude Garamond / Nicolas Jenson / the Aldine roman
Related entries: Italic / Transitional Serif

Source: Museum Plantin-Moretus — ガラモン活字父型コレクション

Op Art

オプ・アート / 1960s– / Style / Perceptual Art

Raises perceptual vibration and depth inside a still image through repeated line, form and value.

High contrast / Repeated lines / Optical illusion / Geometric distortion

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Key visuals that stop the eye hard · Implying sound and motion in a still
Type: Keep a neutral sans away from the illusion zone
Composition: Deform one repetition rule gradually
Material: Black and white plus exactly one color
Caution: Never let the vibration reach the reading zone. Lower area and contrast on long-viewed screens.
Further study: Bridget Riley / Victor Vasarely
Related entries: Psychedelic / Minimalism

Source: Op art works and movement overview, Tate

123

Organic Architecture

有機的建築 / 1900s– / Style / Architectural Thought

Refuses to separate building, furniture, material, terrain and light — one continuum including place and life.

Integration with terrain / Horizontals / Natural materials / Inside-outside continuity

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs space and gaze
Material: Verify materials specific to region, period and process
Caution: Beyond curves and wood: see how site, structure, furniture and human movement become one.
Further study: Frank Lloyd Wright / Fallingwater / Taliesin
Related entries: Biomorphism / Arts and Crafts

Source: Fallingwater — Frank Lloyd Wright

132

OSPAAAL Poster

OSPAAAL連帯ポスター / 1966–1990s / Style / Cuban Political Graphics

Carries transnational solidarity with anti-colonial liberation movements through flat color, photography, iconography and short multilingual text.

Blazing flat color / Multiple languages / Symbolic iconography / International solidarity

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs space and gaze
Material: Verify materials specific to region, period and process
Caution: Don't consume revolutionary aesthetics as décor. Show which movement was supported, by whom, in which medium.
Further study: OSPAAAL / Alfredo Rostgaard / Emory Douglas
Related entries: Constructivism / Chicano Graphics

Source: MoMA — Emory Douglas and the Language of Revolution

218

Papel Picado

パペル・ピカド / 19th century– / Technique / Festival Crafts

Mexico's festival craft of chiseling dozens of tissue sheets at once — delicate openings that pass light and wind, carrying celebration and remembrance with the same lightness.

Chisel-cut openwork / Tissue-paper banners / Light and wind passing through / Fiesta and Día de los Muertos

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of era, region, technology and makers.
Further study: The workshops of San Salvador Huixcolotla / the Day of the Dead altar / the lineage from Aztec amate paper
Related entries: Pochoir / Stained Glass

Source: Smithsonian Folklife — Día de los Muertos

Paper Marbling — Unknown maker, French marbled endpaper, c. 1735

Paper Marbling

マーブリング / historical–present / Technique / Decorated Paper

Transfers the flow of colors floating on liquid to paper exactly once — an order that cannot repeat.

Fluid veins / Comb patterns / Multicolor swirls / Every sheet different

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: A one-of-one feel for bindings, packaging and grounds · Organic counterpoint to strict typesetting
Type: A composed serif or small sans that doesn't fight the pattern
Composition: Full-bleed pattern needs one clear text plane; partial use should show the cut edge
Material: Two to four flowing colors, the paper's absorbency, slight unevenness
Caution: A digital swirl is no substitute. Understand the liquid's flow, the comb, the chance of transfer.
Further study: bookbinding endpapers / ebru and suminagashi traditions
Related entries: Luxury Minimal / Arts and Crafts

Source: Unknown maker, French marbled endpaper, c. 1735

208

Persian Miniature — スルタン・ムハンマド『ゲイユマルスの宮廷』1520年代

Persian Miniature

ペルシア細密画 / 13th–17th century / Style / Persian Art

Multi-viewpoint space, jewel-like pigments and fearless emptiness — poetry and history painted as complete universes inside the book.

Multi-viewpoint space / Saturated mineral pigments / Ornamentalized nature / Script united with image

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of era, region, technology and makers.
Further study: The Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp / the Herat and Tabriz schools / Bihzad
Related entries: Mughal Miniature / Arabic Calligraphy

Source: Chester Beatty — Collections

138

Photobook

写真集／フォトブック / 19th century– / Layout / Photography and Publishing

Composes a visual narrative with the whole book — sequence, spreads, margins, text, paper and format, not photographs alone.

Photographic sequence / Spreads / Repetition and pause / The book as matter

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs space and gaze
Material: Verify materials specific to region, period and process
Caution: More than photos in order: design how page-turning time and materiality change the meaning.
Further study: Robert Frank / Daido Moriyama / Ed Ruscha
Related entries: Artist’s Book / New Topographics

Source: MoMA — Photobook

110

Photogram

フォトグラム / 1830s– / avant-garde revival / Technique / Photographic Techniques

Makes images without a camera: objects laid on the sensitive surface, exposed to light — contour, transparency and distance become the picture.

Cameraless / Object contours / Reversed values / Contact and distance

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing historical works and their conditions · Deciding which principles survive translation to today's media
Type: Observe the type and composition of reference works
Composition: Extract the one principle that steers the eye
Material: Verify the technique's own materials, process and support
Caution: Not just any black-and-white abstraction. Verify the relation of surface, object and light.
Further study: Anna Atkins / Man Ray / László Moholy-Nagy
Related entries: Cyanotype / Dada

Source: MoMA — Photogram

103

Photomontage

フォトモンタージュ / 1910s– / Technique / Photography and Print

Cuts and rejoins photographic fragments, assembling relations and critical meanings that never existed in the original reality.

Cut-out photographs / Mixed scales / Visible seams / Reused print matter

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing historical works and their conditions · Deciding which principles survive translation to today's media
Type: Observe the type and composition of reference works
Composition: Extract the one principle that steers the eye
Material: Verify the technique's own materials, process and support
Caution: Check not only the look but the medium, technique and social context in which it formed.
Further study: Hannah Höch / John Heartfield / Aleksandr Rodchenko
Related entries: Dada / Constructivism

Source: MoMA — Photomontage

176

Phototypesetting — 写真植字機 MC-6（CC BY 4.0）

Phototypesetting

写真植字 / 1924–1990s / Technique / Composition Technology

Composition by lens and glass matrix, printing letters optically — bringing tight setting, distortion and smooth contours metal type never allowed.

Enlarging and reducing by lens / Tight letterspacing / Condensed, extended, oblique / Smooth contours

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Reading the lettering of late-Shōwa ads and magazines · Understanding pre-digital composition's freedoms and limits
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of era, region, technology and makers.
Further study: Ishii Mokichi and Morisawa Nobuo / Shaken's typeface program / the tight-set look of the 1970s
Related entries: Mincho / Experimental Type

Source: モリサワ沿革 — 邦文写真植字機の発明

112

Pictorialism

ピクトリアリズム / late-1800s–c.1914 / Style / Photography Movements

Presented photography as art equal to painting, through soft focus, staged scenes and handworked prints.

Soft focus / Mist and backlight / Painterly composition / Handcrafted prints

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing historical works and their conditions · Deciding which principles survive translation to today's media
Type: Observe the type and composition of reference works
Composition: Extract the one principle that steers the eye
Material: Verify the technique's own materials, process and support
Caution: Check not only the look but the medium, technique and social context in which it formed.
Further study: Alfred Stieglitz / Edward Steichen / Clarence H. White
Related entries: Victorian Ornament / Art Nouveau

Source: MoMA — Pictorialism

Pixel Art

ピクセルアート / 1970s– / Technique / Digital Image Techniques

Treats the pixel as an honest unit, building clear form from limited resolution and palette.

Visible pixels / Limited palettes / Tiles / Sprites

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Studying the style's historical context · Comparing the visual vocabulary across real works
Type: Choose by the source era and medium
Composition: Identify and reproduce one governing compositional principle
Material: Verify the materials and production conditions of real examples
Caution: Don't borrow only the name. Verify the era, media and culture in which it formed.
Further study: sprite art / tile maps / demoscene graphics
Related entries: Web 1.0 / Kidcore

Source: Wikimedia Commons — Pixel art

Plakatstil / Sachplakat — Lucian Bernhard, Priester Matches poster, c. 1905

Plakatstil / Sachplakat

プラカートシュティール／即物ポスター / 1900s–1910s / Style / Advertising Posters

Cuts advertising down to the product and its name, delivering meaning at a glance from across the street.

A single product image / Bold contours / Flat color / A short brand name

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Outdoor advertising that fixes one product in memory · Betting everything on a single feature
Type: A short, heavy hand-drawn headline
Composition: One large product, one line of name, a solid ground
Material: Two to four colors, shadowless imagery, clean contours
Caution: Simplification is not omission. Choose the one thing to keep from what makes the product itself.
Further study: Lucian Bernhard / Hans Rudi Erdt
Related entries: Minimalism / Constructivism

Source: Lucian Bernhard, Priester Matches poster, c. 1905

Pochoir

ポショワール / 1890s–1930s / Technique / Stencil Coloring

Builds print color stencil by stencil, giving publications the crisp planes and fine variance of hand coloring.

Sharp color planes / Stencil edges / Hand-color variance / Fashion plates

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Flat, luxurious plates of fashion and ornament · Handworked color for limited editions
Type: Fine serifs and restrained captions
Composition: Center the figure or product; keep plane and margin contours clean
Material: Opaque spot colors layered per stencil; keep the small density shifts
Caution: Not the same as flat vector fills. Design the stencil separations, printing order and hand variance.
Further study: Gazette du Bon Ton / Paul Poiret / French fashion illustration
Related entries: Art Deco / 80’s Editorial

Source: Gazette du Bon Ton, “Mirage” by Paul Poiret, 1920

Polish Poster School

ポーランド・ポスター派 / 1950s–1980s / Style / Regional Graphics

Transforms film and theater promotion into a psychological image — painting, metaphor and drawn letters instead of explanation.

Symbolic metaphor / Hand-drawn lettering / Rough paint surface / One strong image

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Studying the style's historical context · Comparing the visual vocabulary across real works
Type: Choose by the source era and medium
Composition: Identify and reproduce one governing compositional principle
Material: Verify the materials and production conditions of real examples
Caution: Don't borrow only the name. Verify the era, media and culture in which it formed.
Further study: Henryk Tomaszewski / Jan Lenica / Roman Cieślewicz
Related entries: Editorial Collage / Psychedelic

Source: MoMA — Czech and Polish posters

Poolcore

プールコア / 2010s– / Aesthetic / Internet Aesthetics

Unpeopled indoor pools, water reflections and repeating tile — calm and unease in the same place.

Blue water / White tile / Empty space / Light on water

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Studying the style's historical context · Comparing the visual vocabulary across real works
Type: Choose by the source era and medium
Composition: Identify and reproduce one governing compositional principle
Material: Verify the materials and production conditions of real examples
Caution: Don't borrow only the name. Verify the era, media and culture in which it formed.
Further study: Jared Pike / liminal pools / Poolrooms
Related entries: Liminal Space / Glassmorphism

Source: Aesthetics Wiki — Poolcore

Pop Art

ポップアート / 1950s–1960s / Style / Pop

Amplifies the vocabulary of ads and comics until mass culture itself becomes the picture.

Halftone dots / Bold outlines / Primary colors / Repetition

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Making products and campaigns pop instantly · Boldly reinterpreting familiar subjects
Type: Comic-style extra-bold lettering
Composition: Blow up the subject; panels and repetition
Material: Red, yellow, blue, black outlines, halftones
Caution: Overusing comic marks trivializes the content. Decide what you treat as mass culture.
Further study: Andy Warhol / Roy Lichtenstein
Related entries: Minimalism / Surveillance

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

Post-Modernism

ポスト・モダニズム / 1970s–1990s / Style / Avant-garde

Doubts the single right answer and mixes quotation, irony and ornament as play.

Mixed styles / Irony / Ornament reclaimed / Unexpected color

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Planting intelligent humor · Escaping homogeneous category codes
Type: Mix two or three faces from different eras
Composition: Show the grid, then deviate from part of it
Material: Quoted images, patterns, vivid color; meaningful collisions
Caution: Random is not plural. Mix only what you can justify aloud.
Further study: Wolfgang Weingart / April Greiman
Related entries: Modernism / Memphis

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

125

Postmodern Architecture — グレイヴスポートランド・ビル 1982（CC BY-SA 3.0）

Postmodern Architecture

ポストモダン建築 / 1960s–1990s / Style / Modern Architecture

Rebels against modernism's universality, reintroducing historical quotation, ornament, sign, color and irony to city and building.

Historical quotation / Ornament returned / Strong color / Double meanings

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs space and gaze
Material: Verify materials specific to region, period and process
Caution: Not pasted classical motifs. Read what of modernism is being criticized, and for whom.
Further study: Robert Venturi / Denise Scott Brown / Michael Graves
Related entries: Post-Modernism / Radical Architecture

Source: MoMA — From Modern to Postmodern

Postwar Japanese Poster

戦後日本のポスターデザイン / 1950s–1990s / Style / Regional Graphics

Photography, flat color, calligraphy and traditional motifs, recomposed differently by each designer.

Bold flatness / Photography and calligraphy / Personal symbols / Precise construction

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Studying the style's historical context · Comparing the visual vocabulary across real works
Type: Choose by the source era and medium
Composition: Identify and reproduce one governing compositional principle
Material: Verify the materials and production conditions of real examples
Caution: Not one 'Japanese style.' Track the differences by designer, decade and client.
Further study: Ikko Tanaka / Tadanori Yokoo / Kazumasa Nagai
Related entries: Ukiyo-e / Post-Modernism

Source: MoMA — Recent Japanese Posters

108

Precisionism

プレシジョニズム / 1910s–1940s / Style / American Modern Art

Paints factories, silos, cities and machines reduced to clear contour, simple geometry and smooth planes.

Sharp contours / Industrial landscapes / Geometric simplification / Smooth surfaces

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing historical works and their conditions · Deciding which principles survive translation to today's media
Type: Observe the type and composition of reference works
Composition: Extract the one principle that steers the eye
Material: Verify the technique's own materials, process and support
Caution: Check not only the look but the medium, technique and social context in which it formed.
Further study: Charles Sheeler / Charles Demuth / Georgia O'Keeffe
Related entries: Streamline Moderne / Modernism

Source: The Met — Precisionism

178

Private Press — ケルムスコット・プレス『チョーサー著作集』1896

Private Press

プライベート・プレス / 1891–1930s / Style / Book Arts

A movement answering industrialized printing: type, paper, composition and binding unified under one ideal, remaking the book as a total work of art.

House-designed type / Handmade paper, hand presses / Margins designed by the spread / Illustration united with text

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't consume it as an ornamental style. It is a publishing movement with convictions about production, labor and quality.
Further study: Kelmscott Press / Doves Press / Ashendene Press
Related entries: Arts and Crafts / Letterpress

Source: V&A — William Morris コレクション

Psychedelic

サイケデリック / 1960s–1970s / Style / Counterculture

Melts contour and color until reality itself starts to sway.

Swirling curves / Complementary colors / Melting letters / Kaleidoscope patterns

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Deepening immersion in music and experience · Festivity that escapes the everyday
Type: Lettering that warps like liquid
Composition: Radiate from the center; fill the margins
Material: Saturated color, waves, repeating pattern
Caution: Hostile to long text and critical controls. Reserve places for the eye to rest.
Further study: Wes Wilson / Tadanori Yokoo
Related entries: Minimalism / 70’s Retro

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

Punk

パンク / 1970s–1980s / Style / Counterculture

Objects to tidy authority through cutting, pasting and dirtying — pure DIY.

Cut-and-paste letters / Photocopier noise / Handwriting / Ragged placement

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Voicing dissent against the rules · Giving events and communities a raw voice
Type: Mix newsprint letters, handwriting and stamps
Composition: Deliberate misalignment and overlap; disturb even the margins
Material: Copier paper, tears, black plus a warning color
Caution: Borrowed rebellion is hollow. Decide what you are protesting first.
Further study: Jamie Reid / Vivienne Westwood
Related entries: Swiss / Bubbleglam

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

124

Radical Architecture

ラディカル建築／イタリアン・ラディカル / late-1960s–1970s / Style / Anti-architecture and Experimental Design

Objects to functionalism and consumer society, critiquing architecture's own premises with fictional cities, furniture, photographs and collage.

Speculative cities / Anti-functionalism / Vast grids / Play and critique

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs space and gaze
Material: Verify materials specific to region, period and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of region, politics, technology and makers.
Further study: Superstudio / Archizoom / Gaetano Pesce
Related entries: Postmodern Architecture / Deconstructivism

Source: MoMA — Radical Architecture

181

Rational Dress

合理服運動 / 1850s–1900s / Style / Fashion History

The reform movement that refused the corset and the trailing skirt, redesigning dress from health and freedom of movement — functionalism in clothing.

Bloomer-type garments / Refusal of the corset / Bicycles and sportswear / Form from function

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and exemplary cases · Extracting principles that transfer beyond dress
Type: Observe the letters and signs of the era and community referred to
Composition: Translate silhouette and proportion into composition
Material: Verify the material conditions: cloth, tailoring, the wearer's body
Caution: Never peel off the garment's signs alone. Verify who wore it, why, and against what.
Further study: Amelia Bloomer / the Rational Dress Society / dress reform and women's suffrage
Related entries: Arts and Crafts / Flapper

Source: FIT Fashion History Timeline — Bloomer

146

Rinpa

琳派 / early 17th century– / Style / Japanese Decorative Art

Integrates painting, craft and calligraphy into bold flat composition — gold and silver grounds, mineral pigments, abbreviated nature, emptiness, repetition, tarashikomi.

Gold and silver grounds / Boldly abbreviated nature / Repetition and emptiness / Tarashikomi pooling

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Not gold leaf and flowers as 'Japanese style.' Verify the literary quotation, calligraphy, craft media and the lineage of homage across generations.
Further study: Hon'ami Kōetsu / Tawaraya Sōtatsu / Ogata Kōrin / Kamisaka Sekka
Related entries: Sumi-e / Ukiyo-e

Source: The Met — Designing Nature: The Rinpa Aesthetic

Risograph

リソグラフ / 1980s– / contemporary revival / Technique / Print Expression

Keeps the per-color plates and their happy misregistration, giving each copy its own body heat.

Misregistration / Spot-color inks / Halftone dots / Paper show-through

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Handmade heat for zines and event notices · Memorable print with very few colors
Type: Bold letters or homely serifs, separated by color plate
Composition: Large planes where overlap and slippage stay visible
Material: Two or three spot colors, coarse halftones, uncoated paper
Caution: Don't fake it with a noise filter. Design how the colors overlap first.
Further study: RISO print process / independent zine culture
Related entries: Swiss / Naïve

Source: RISO, RISO ART official concept page

159

Roman Square Capitals — トラヤヌス帝記念柱の碑文 113年（CC BY-SA 2.0）

Roman Square Capitals

ローマン・キャピタル / 1st–2nd century / Style / Letterform History

Capitals cut for stone, with geometric proportions and serifs, became the skeleton of the Latin alphabet and the archetype of authority for two thousand years.

Geometric proportions / Chiseled serifs / All-capital setting / Monumental letterspacing

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Designing inscription-like titles in capitals · Giving institutions and honors a voice of permanence
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: The carving came from brush layout and the chisel's work. Don't explain it by geometry alone; observe the tools' traces.
Further study: The Trajan Column inscription / Edward Catich, The Origin of the Serif / capitalis monumentalis
Related entries: Old Style Serif / Blackletter

Source: V&A — トラヤヌス帝記念柱の石膏複製

147

Scandinavian Modern — アアルト・ベース（CC BY 4.0）

Scandinavian Modern

スカンジナビアン・モダン / late 1940s–1960s / Style / Scandinavian Design

Joins function and mass production to the warmth of natural materials, curves that follow the body, and clear usable form.

Lucid function / Natural materials / Body-following curves / Restrained color

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Not just white rooms and pale wood. Verify climate, the welfare state, craft-industry links and national differences.
Further study: Alvar Aalto / Arne Jacobsen / Jens Risom / Greta Magnusson Grossman
Related entries: Mid-Century Modern / Minimalism

Source: Cooper Hewitt — Embracing Design’s Wild Side

154

Screenprint

スクリーンプリント／シルクスクリーン / 20th century– / Technique / Stencil Printing

Blocks and opens a mesh stencil, forcing ink through with a squeegee — hard contours and strong, even color, layer by layer.

Hard contours / Flat color planes / Layer-by-layer overlap / Slight misregistration

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Not a color-separation filter. Design the number of screens, printing order, opacity, registration, support.
Further study: serigraphy / squeegee / photo emulsion / Andy Warhol
Related entries: Risograph / Pop Art

Source: MoMA — Screenprint

Seapunk

シーパンク / 2011–2013 / Style / Internet Aesthetics

Mixes ocean CG, turquoise, dolphins and 90s 3D with the music and fashion of the social-media age.

Turquoise / Dolphin CG / Waves and shells / Early 3D

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Studying the style's historical context · Comparing the visual vocabulary across real works
Type: Choose by the source era and medium
Composition: Identify and reproduce one governing compositional principle
Material: Verify the materials and production conditions of real examples
Caution: Don't borrow only the name. Verify the era, media and culture in which it formed.
Further study: Tumblr / seapunk music / early-2010s net culture
Related entries: Vaporwave / Cyberpop

Source: Aesthetics Wiki — Seapunk

173

Sign Painting

サインペインティング / 19th century– / Technique / Lettering

The trade of commercial lettering painted directly on buildings and glass — the letter's voice that leaves the trace of a hand in the street.

Strokes that keep the brush / Shades and outlines / One-shot strokes / Improvised to the site

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Hand warmth for shop and restaurant identities · One-of-a-kind signs no ready-made font can give
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of era, region, technology and makers.
Further study: show-card writing / One Shot enamel strokes / the sign-painting revival
Related entries: Wood Type / Googie

Source: American Sign Museum — Collection

201

Silent Film Intertitle — チャップリン『キッド』の字幕カード 1921

Silent Film Intertitle

サイレント映画の字幕カード / 1900s–1920s / Technique / Film Technology

Dialogue and narration cut into the film as independent text cards — the place where cinema and typography first met.

Text cards on black / Ornamental frames / Hand lettering / Alternating rhythm with the action

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of era, region, technology and makers.
Further study: The intertitle lettering artists / language-version replacements / the disappearance with sound
Related entries: German Expressionist Film / Kinetic Typography

Source: SF Silent Film Festival — Silent Cinema and the Intertitle

Skeuomorphism

スキューモーフィズム / 2000s–2010s / Style / UI Expression

Borrows cues from real materials and tools to make unknown interactions understandable.

Leather, metal, paper / Dimensional shadows / Real-world metaphors / Fine textures

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Explaining new interactions through familiar tools · Crafted, tactile experiences
Type: A humanist face suited to the purpose
Composition: Adopt the structure of the real tool
Material: Precision texture only where it serves function
Caution: Ornament must not bury the interaction. Expect generations who don't share the metaphor.
Further study: early Apple iOS design / Scott Forstall era
Related entries: Flat Design / Vector Minimalism / Tech Spec

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

166

Slab Serif

スラブセリフ / 1815– / Style / Type Classification

Square serifs as thick as the strokes turned letters into machine structures — the sturdy voice of industrial advertising.

Slab serifs / Even strokes / Sturdy letterforms / Mechanical repetition

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of era, region, technology and makers.
Further study: Vincent Figgins, Antique (1815) / the Clarendon and Ionic lineage / 19th-century foundry specimens
Related entries: Wood Type / Grotesque Sans

Source: Commercial Classics — Antique No 6

111

Solarization

ソラリゼーション / 19th century– / 1920s revival / Technique / Photographic Techniques

Re-exposes the print mid-development, reversing part of the tonal scale into glowing edges and metallic light.

Partial tone reversal / Glowing edges / Metallic feel / Darkroom manipulation

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing historical works and their conditions · Deciding which principles survive translation to today's media
Type: Observe the type and composition of reference works
Composition: Extract the one principle that steers the eye
Material: Verify the technique's own materials, process and support
Caution: Not a digital edge filter. Understand the principle by which positive and negative reverse.
Further study: Man Ray / Lee Miller / Maurice Tabard
Related entries: Photogram / Psychedelic

Source: MoMA — Materials: Glossary

Solarpunk — ソーラーパンクのイラストレーション（CC BY 4.0）

Solarpunk

ソーラーパンク / 2000s– / Aesthetic / Visions of the Future

Refuses to oppose nature and technology, painting a bright future that is tended by hand.

Green and sunlight / Local handwork / Renewable technology / Community

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Talking about ecology through possibility, not guilt · Concrete futures where people and technology coexist
Type: A humane sans with handwritten notes
Composition: Arrange plants, people and devices as a circulating relation
Material: Leaf green, solar yellow, wood, glass, copper
Caution: Don't just add plants. Imagine the systems of resources, labor and community.
Further study: ecological futures / community-centered speculative design
Related entries: Art Nouveau / Tech Spec

Source: Ona Abram, Our Own Energy, Solarpunk Magazine Issue 8

200

Soviet Montage

ソビエト・モンタージュ / 1924–1930s / Technique / Cinematic Visual Styles

An editing theory that generates meaning from the collision of opposing shots — meaning lives not in the image but between images.

Colliding shots / Rhythmic cutting / Crowds against details / Inserted symbols

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of era, region, technology and makers.
Further study: Sergei Eisenstein / the Kuleshov effect / Dziga Vertov, Man with a Movie Camera
Related entries: Constructivism / German Expressionist Film

Source: Britannica — Battleship Potemkin

127

Space Age Design — アールニオボールチェア 1963–65（CC BY 2.5）

Space Age Design

スペースエイジ・デザイン / 1957–early 1970s / Style / Postwar Industrial Design

Translates the hopes of the space race into capsule forms, spheres, molded plastic, vivid color and lightweight furniture.

Capsule forms / Molded plastic / Spheres / Vivid synthetic color

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs space and gaze
Material: Verify materials specific to region, period and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of region, politics, technology and makers.
Further study: Eero Aarnio / Verner Panton / Olivier Mourgue
Related entries: Googie / Streamline Moderne

Source: V&A — Space-Age chairs

198

Space Age Fashion — ピエール・カルダン展 2019（CC BY 2.0）

Space Age Fashion

スペースエイジ・ファッション / 1960s / Style / Fashion History

Translated space-race optimism into material experiment — metal, plastic and geometric cuts presenting the body as a future artifact, the 1960s couture avant-garde.

Mini A-lines / Metal and plastic / Helmets and goggles / White and silver

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and exemplary cases · Extracting principles that transfer beyond dress
Type: Observe the letters and signs of the era and community referred to
Composition: Translate silhouette and proportion into composition
Material: Verify the material conditions: cloth, tailoring, the wearer's body
Caution: Never peel off the garment's signs alone. Verify who wore it, why, and against what.
Further study: André Courrèges, Moon Girl, 1964 / Paco Rabanne's metal dresses / Pierre Cardin's geometric cuts
Related entries: Space Age Design / New Look

Source: SCAD FASH — Pierre Cardin: Le Futur

116

Staged Photography — キャメロン『リア王と三人の娘』1872

Staged Photography

演出写真 / 19th century– / 1970s revival / Technique / Photographic Genres

Composes scene, figure, props and light before the shutter, shaking the very premise that photographs record reality.

Constructed scenes / Props / Cinematic lighting / Deliberate artificiality

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing historical works and their conditions · Deciding which principles survive translation to today's media
Type: Observe the type and composition of reference works
Composition: Extract the one principle that steers the eye
Material: Verify the technique's own materials, process and support
Caution: When passing as candid, weigh the misreadings and ethics the staging imposes on the audience.
Further study: Cindy Sherman / Jeff Wall / Thomas Demand
Related entries: Pictorialism / Surveillance

Source: MoMA — Sets, Stories, and Situations

Stained Glass

ステンドグラス / medieval–present / Technique / Architectural Ornament

Divides light with colored glass and lead lines, making contour itself structure and story.

Lead contours / Transmitted color / Geometric division / Jewel tones

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Symbolic images with light in the leading role · Organizing complex narrative into panels
Type: Concise letters that hold against the contours
Composition: Divide color fields with lead lines around a central figure
Material: Deep red, blue, gold, transmitted light, black joints
Caution: Not just translucent gradients. Design the structural lines that carry the color fields.
Further study: medieval glazing / lead came
Related entries: Gothic / Art Nouveau

Source: French stained-glass panel, 13th century, The Met

Steampunk

スチームパンク / Victorian retrofuture / Style / Visions of the Future

Extends steam-age materials and machinery into a tangible alternate history.

Brass / Gears / Leather / Gauges

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: The romance of invention for stories and games · Centering the feel of machinery
Type: Victorian serifs plus technical monospace
Composition: Layer machine drawings, labels, frames
Material: Brass, dark brown, soot, old paper
Caution: Don't just paste gears on. Keep the world's technology and society coherent.
Further study: Victorian engineering drawings / Steamboy
Related entries: Tech Spec / Minimalism

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

107

Streamline Moderne — グレイハウンド・バスターミナル 1938（CC BY 4.0）

Streamline Moderne

ストリームライン・モダン / 1930s–1940s / Style / Industrial and Spatial Design

Gives even stationary things speed and machine-age optimism through streamlines, horizontals, rounded corners and metal.

Streamlined forms / Horizontal bands / Rounded corners / Chrome

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing historical works and their conditions · Deciding which principles survive translation to today's media
Type: Observe the type and composition of reference works
Composition: Extract the one principle that steers the eye
Material: Verify the technique's own materials, process and support
Caution: Check not only the look but the medium, technique and social context in which it formed.
Further study: Raymond Loewy / Henry Dreyfuss / Norman Bel Geddes
Related entries: Art Deco / Mid-Century Modern

Source: The Met — Design, 1925–50

115

Street Photography — アジェ『ストラスブール大通り（コルセット店）』1912

Street Photography

ストリート写真 / late-1800s– / Style / Photographic Genres

Catches accident, gesture and the city's relations on the fly, in streets and public space.

Public space / The decisive moment / Chance arrangement / Everyday figures

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing historical works and their conditions · Deciding which principles survive translation to today's media
Type: Observe the type and composition of reference works
Composition: Extract the one principle that steers the eye
Material: Verify the technique's own materials, process and support
Caution: Don't treat people as urban props. Consider the ethics of shooting, the place, the distance to the subject.
Further study: Lisette Model / Garry Winogrand / Helen Levitt
Related entries: New Objectivity Photography / Editorial Collage

Source: MoMA — Street photography

196

Streetwear

ストリートウェア / 1980s– / Style / Street Style

The utility wear of skate and hip-hop gained the machinery of limited drops and queues — a new industrial principle where scarcity itself is designed.

Graphic tees and hoodies / The logo at the center / Limited drops and lines / Sneaker culture

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and exemplary cases · Extracting principles that transfer beyond dress
Type: Observe the letters and signs of the era and community referred to
Composition: Translate silhouette and proportion into composition
Material: Verify the material conditions: cloth, tailoring, the wearer's body
Caution: Never peel off the garment's signs alone. Verify who wore it, why, and against what.
Further study: Stüssy and surf-skate / Supreme's drop model / resale markets and authenticity
Related entries: Hip-Hop Fashion / Normcore

Source: MoMA — Items: Is Fashion Modern?

Sumi-e

水墨画 / Tang dynasty–present / Technique / East Asian Painting

With only ink gradations and emptiness, keeps a subject's presence, speed and distance rather than its shape.

Ink gradation / Dry-brush scratch / Vast emptiness / The speed of one stroke

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Presence and depth from few elements · Giving quiet brands and cultural projects room to breathe
Type: A light mincho or brush letters, sparingly
Composition: Reserve as much for the unpainted as for the subject
Material: Ink, unbleached paper, absorption, bleed
Caution: Not a black brush texture dropped in. Design the stroke order and the meaning of the emptiness.
Further study: Sesshū Tōyō / haboku
Related entries: Minimalism / Ukiyo-e

Source: Sesshū Tōyō, Haboku Landscape, 1495

102

Superflat

スーパーフラット / 2000s– / Style / Japanese Contemporary Art

Juxtaposes anime, manga, advertising and traditional painting on one flat plane, questioning the border of high art and consumer culture.

Extreme flatness / Vivid color / Repeated characters / Commercial culture

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Studying the style's historical context · Comparing the visual vocabulary across real works
Type: Choose by the source era and medium
Composition: Identify and reproduce one governing compositional principle
Material: Verify the materials and production conditions of real examples
Caution: Don't confuse it with anime-style character work in general; verify the critique of consumer culture.
Further study: Takashi Murakami / Hiropon Factory / postwar Japanese visual culture
Related entries: Pop Art / Cyberpop

Source: MOCA — Takashi Murakami

Suprematism

シュプレマティスム / 1915–1920s / Style / Geometric Abstraction

Leaves depiction behind, raising felt tension from a few geometric forms and empty space.

Floating rectangles / White space / Diagonal gravity / Restricted color

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Presenting a concept as sensation, not explanation · Unstable motion inside emptiness
Type: Keep type small and neutral, apart from the forms' motion
Composition: Three to seven forms on a diagonal axis, never touching
Material: White, black and red at the core; restrict the palette
Caution: Don't stop at scattering shapes. Feel the gravity and spacing continuing beyond the frame.
Further study: Kazimir Malevich / El Lissitzky
Related entries: Constructivism / Minimalism

Source: Kazimir Malevich, Suprematist Composition, 1916

Surveillance

サーベイランス / contemporary / Style / Technical Expression

Borrows the cold gaze of monitoring devices to express anonymity, distance and unease.

Timestamps / Fixed cameras / Scan noise / Coordinates

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Critiquing privacy and control · Chill tension for film and music
Type: Monospace, small labels
Composition: Time and coordinates at the frame's edge; subject far away
Material: Black and white, green, low resolution, noise
Caution: Protect the dignity and privacy of real people. Don't end at aestheticizing surveillance.
Further study: Trevor Paglen / James Bridle
Related entries: Pop Art / Luxury Minimal

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

Swiss

スイス・スタイル / 1950s– / Style / Functionalism

Puts order front and center and makes the information itself the protagonist.

Strict grid / Sans-serif type / Asymmetry / Objective photography

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Making complex information fast to read · Giving an organization rationality and transparency
Type: Neutral sans-serif; be bold with size contrast
Composition: 12-column grid, left-aligned, asymmetric
Material: White space and objective photographs; almost no ornament
Caution: Too much tidiness turns anonymous. Keep one strong jump in scale.
Further study: Josef Müller-Brockmann / Armin Hofmann
Related entries: Experimental Type / Luxury Minimal

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

Synthwave

シンセウェーブ / 1980s imagined future / Style / Digital Retro

Replays the future the 1980s imagined, in neon and horizon lines.

Neon / Perspective grid / Sunset / Black sky

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Instant world-building for games and music · The euphoria of retro-futurism
Type: Oblique sans with script accents
Composition: Low horizon, central perspective, gigantic title
Material: Black, magenta, cyan, glow
Caution: Sun and grid alone are overfamiliar. Add story elements of your own.
Further study: James White / 80s sci-fi title design
Related entries: Tech Spec / Minimalism

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

Tech Spec

テック・スペック / industrial–future / Style / Technical Expression

Makes the act of explaining, dissecting and measuring the object into the aesthetic itself.

Fine grids / Dimension lines / Numbering / Drawings

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Conveying a product's precision and performance · Visualizing a complex mechanism
Type: Monospace plus condensed
Composition: Decompose with coordinates, callouts, hairlines
Material: Dark or white ground, one signal color
Caution: Add no meaningless numbers or lines. Bind everything to real data where possible.
Further study: Dieter Rams / Ash Thorp
Related entries: Synthwave / Minimalism

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

202

Technicolor — 『The Toll of the Sea』アンナ・メイ・ウォン 1922

Technicolor

テクニカラー / 1922–1950s / Technique / Film Technology

Brought saturated color to cinema by separation negatives and dye transfer, fixing 'color more vivid than reality' in film memory.

Saturated primaries / Dye-transfer depth / Color supervision / Color-coding dream and reality

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of era, region, technology and makers.
Further study: Natalie Kalmus, color supervisor / the color switch of The Wizard of Oz / the permanence of dye-transfer prints
Related entries: Film Noir / Psychedelic

Source: George Eastman Museum — Technicolor

186

Teddy Boys

テディボーイズ / 1950s– / Style / Subculture Style

Working-class youth appropriating Edwardian upper-class dress — postwar Britain's first youth subculture and the prototype of all that followed.

Long drape jackets / Slim ties / Crepe-soled shoes / The quiff

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and exemplary cases · Extracting principles that transfer beyond dress
Type: Observe the letters and signs of the era and community referred to
Composition: Translate silhouette and proportion into composition
Material: Verify the material conditions: cloth, tailoring, the wearer's body
Caution: Never peel off the garment's signs alone. Verify who wore it, why, and against what.
Further study: Appropriating the Edwardian style / the reception of rock and roll / class and the politics of dress
Related entries: Mod / Punk

Source: Museum of Youth Culture — Teds

101

The New Typography — モホリ＝ナジのタイポグラフィック・コラージュ 1922（CC BY 3.0）

The New Typography

ニュー・タイポグラフィ / 1920s–1930s / Layout / Modernist Typography

Turned printed matter into rational information structure through asymmetry, sans-serifs, photography and functional hierarchy.

Asymmetry / Sans-serif type / Photography / Functional white space

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Studying the style's historical context · Comparing the visual vocabulary across real works
Type: Choose by the source era and medium
Composition: Identify and reproduce one governing compositional principle
Material: Verify the materials and production conditions of real examples
Caution: Don't borrow only the name. Verify the era, media and culture in which it formed.
Further study: Jan Tschichold / elementare typographie / modernist printing
Related entries: Bauhaus / Swiss

Source: Design Style Book — The New Typography

163

Transitional Serif — バスカヴィル版ウェルギリウス 1757

Transitional Serif

トランジショナル / 18th century / Style / Type Classification

Raised the axis toward vertical, sharpened the contrast, and designed paper and ink together — type as a made object, independent of writing.

Near-vertical axis / Strengthened contrast / Sharp horizontal serifs / Designed with polished paper

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of era, region, technology and makers.
Further study: John Baskerville / the Romain du Roi / 18th-century papermaking and printing
Related entries: Old Style Serif / Didone

Source: Cambridge Digital Library — バスカヴィルのパンチ

Trompe-l'œil

トロンプ・ルイユ / antiquity–present / Technique / Illusionism

Hides the picture plane's boundary, aligning material, shadow and scale until you believe the thing is there.

Life size / Grounded shadows / Material rendering / Using the frame's edge

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: An entrance of surprise for products and exhibitions · Making the boundary between screen and reality the subject
Type: Treat letters as painted objects too, or keep them outside the illusion
Composition: Place life-size objects and shadows rigorously on a single plane
Material: Wood, paper, metal, wear, light from one direction
Caution: Not mere realism. Design the viewpoint, distance and boundary that make the viewer misread.
Further study: William Michael Harnett / illusionistic painting
Related entries: Skeuomorphism / Glitch

Source: William Michael Harnett, The Old Violin, 1886, National Gallery of Art

122

Tropical Modernism — チャンディーガル合同庁舎（CC BY-SA 3.0）

Tropical Modernism

トロピカル・モダニズム / 1940s–1970s / Style / Climate and Modern Architecture

Adapts modern architecture to hot, humid climates through canopies, louvers, ventilation and sun control.

Brise-soleil / Deep eaves / Cross-ventilation / Permeable screens

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs space and gaze
Material: Verify materials specific to region, period and process
Caution: Not 'tropical décor.' Examine colonialism, post-independence nation-building and local architects' roles.
Further study: Jane Drew / Maxwell Fry / John Owuso Addo
Related entries: International Style / Organic Architecture

Source: V&A — What is Tropical Modernism?

153

Tropicália

トロピカリア / mid-1960s– / Style / Brazilian Counterculture

Mixes blazing color, music, sand, plants, makeshift space and participation — critiquing dictatorship-era repression and the exported image of a 'tropical paradise.'

Blazing hybridity / Participatory space / Music and costume / The tropical image inverted

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Not colorful tropical kitsch. Verify Brazil's military regime, the favelas, the political mixing of music and art.
Further study: Hélio Oiticica / Lygia Pape / Caetano Veloso / Gilberto Gil
Related entries: Neo-Concrete Art / Psychedelic

Source: MoMA — Tropicália

Type Doodles

タイプ・ドゥードゥル / contemporary / Style / Hand-drawn

Slips small doodles into disciplined type, creating a close, human voice.

Hand-drawn lines / Little figures / Arrows / Margin notes

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Showing the maker's presence in a brand · Softening explanation without losing rigor
Type: A plain sans with handwritten annotations
Composition: Set doodles around a well-ordered skeleton
Material: White ground, black line, one accent color
Caution: Don't scatter doodles everywhere. Reserve them for information support or emotional focus.
Further study: Yu Nagaba / Sheryl Dawn
Related entries: Minimalism / Cyberminimalism

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

118

Typographic Space

タイポグラフィック・スペース / 1897– / modernist legacy / Layout / Experimental Typography

Designs reading time and vocal dynamics as space — the spread's blank, jumps of size and line, multiple faces.

Sentences crossing the spread / Great blanks / Multiple faces / Nonlinear reading order

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing historical works and their conditions · Deciding which principles survive translation to today's media
Type: Observe the type and composition of reference works
Composition: Extract the one principle that steers the eye
Material: Verify the technique's own materials, process and support
Caution: Scattered letters are not an experiment. Design how blank, size and position act on reading speed.
Further study: Stéphane Mallarmé / Marcel Broodthaers / Un Coup de dés
Related entries: Concrete Poetry / The New Typography

Source: MoMA — A Throw of the Dice

Ukiyo-e — Katsushika Hokusai, Under the Wave off Kanagawa, c. 1830–32

Ukiyo-e

浮世絵 / 17th–19th century / Style / Japanese Woodblock Prints

Fixes a passing moment of daily life or landscape into strong composition with contour, flat color and daring crops.

Clear outlines / Flat color / Bold cropping / Overlapping space

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Giving daily scenes a symbolic composition · Showing depth by overlap instead of realism
Type: Brush letters or a disciplined mincho fitting the subject; no meaningless Japanese
Composition: Cut the foreground boldly; set a jump in scale against the distance
Material: Keylines and few color blocks; use the paper as one of the colors
Caution: Not a kit of 'Japanese-style' signs. Research the artist, carver, printer, period and subject.
Further study: Katsushika Hokusai / Utagawa Hiroshige / Edo-period printmaking
Related entries: Art Nouveau / Woodcut

Source: Katsushika Hokusai, Under the Wave off Kanagawa, c. 1830–32

Vaporwave

ヴェイパーウェイヴ / 2010s / Style / Digital Retro

Turns memories of consumer society and early digital life into dreamlike unease.

Pink and purple / Classical statues / Early CG / Tropics and Japanese text

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Handling the internet's strange homesickness · Unreality for music and art
Type: Serifs, pixel faces, fragments of Japanese
Composition: Floating objects, horizon lines, collage
Material: Purple and aqua, low resolution, VHS noise
Caution: Don't reduce Japanese to meaningless decoration. Bring criticism or personal memory.
Further study: Vektroid / internet vaporwave culture
Related entries: Surveillance / Minimalism

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

106

Variable Font Design

可変フォント・デザイン / 2016– / Technique / Digital Typography

Gives one font continuous axes of variation, moving weight, width and slant in response to content and data.

Continuous weights / Variable axes / Data-driven type / Type in motion

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing historical works and their conditions · Deciding which principles survive translation to today's media
Type: Observe the type and composition of reference works
Composition: Extract the one principle that steers the eye
Material: Verify the technique's own materials, process and support
Caution: Don't make the morphing the show. Decide legibility and the meaning of the change first.
Further study: OpenType Font Variations / Climate Crisis font / axis-based typography
Related entries: Kinetic Typography / Generative Design

Source: Cooper Hewitt — What Fun Is a Font if You Can’t Play with It?

Victorian Ornament

ヴィクトリアン装飾 / 1837–1901 / Style / Historic Ornament

Builds a thickly layered system of ornament from many revival styles and the riches of industrial printing.

Dense borders / Symmetry / Botanical pattern / Chromolithography

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Giving packages and invitations the dignity of a collection · Making the act of studying detail the value itself
Type: Ornamented serifs and small capitals
Composition: Fix a central axis; nest frames, headings and text
Material: Deep red, green, gold, cream; repeat hairlines in steps
Caution: Never mix other cultures' patterns as anonymous ornament. Research origins; quote precisely.
Further study: Owen Jones / Victorian chromolithography
Related entries: Maximalism / Gothic

Source: Owen Jones, The Grammar of Ornament, Plate LX, 1868

Vienna Secession — Alfred Roller, XIV Vienna Secession exhibition poster, 1902

Vienna Secession

ウィーン分離派 / 1897–1910s / Style / Fin de Siècle Art

Tightens organic ornament with geometry and flat composition, erasing the border between art and design.

Square skeletons / Repeating pattern / Gold and black / Flattened figures and plants

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Intelligent ornament for cultural venues and premium goods · Showing the tension between classical and modern
Type: Tall serifs or geometric hand-lettering
Composition: Build on the square and a central axis; gather imagery at the top
Material: Off-white, black, gold; control fine repetition with large margins
Caution: Don't lump it with Art Nouveau's plant curves. Keep the straight line, the grid, the flatness.
Further study: Alfred Roller / Koloman Moser / Vienna Secession
Related entries: Art Nouveau / Art Deco

Source: Alfred Roller, XIV Vienna Secession exhibition poster, 1902

212

Wayang Kulit

ワヤン・クリ（影絵芝居） / traditional–present / Style / Southeast Asian Performing Arts

Java's shadow theater of pierced leather puppets against lamp and screen — perfecting a formal language of contour, silhouette and the stylized profile.

Pierced leather puppets / Stylized profiles / Shadow and light source / All-night performances

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of era, region, technology and makers.
Further study: The dalang's craft / adaptations of the Mahabharata / shadow play as animation's prehistory
Related entries: Batik / Silent Film Intertitle

Source: UNESCO — Wayang Puppet Theatre

Web 1.0

ウェブ1.0 / 1990s / Style / Digital Retro

Reuses the naivety of the constrained early web as directness and charm.

Blue links / Low-res GIFs / System fonts / Plain buttons

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Showing affection for internet culture · An unpolished, approachable feel
Type: System sans and monospace
Composition: Left-aligned, borders, table-like division
Material: White background, blue links, dithered images
Caution: Don't regress actual accessibility. Separate the look from interaction quality.
Further study: GeoCities archives / early Yahoo!
Related entries: Cyberminimalism / Grunge

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

Web 2.0 Gloss

ウェブ2.0グロス / 2000s / Style / Digital Retro

Explains digital interaction as something touchable through gloss, roundness and reflection.

Glossy buttons / Strong gradients / Reflections / Rounded corners

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Nostalgia for the 2000s web · Visually amplifying the joy of interaction
Type: A rounded sans-serif
Composition: Centered, with a dimensional button as the focus
Material: Blue gradients, white highlights
Caution: In real UI, restrain shadows and reflections so state differences stay legible.
Further study: early iOS UI / 2000s SaaS interfaces
Related entries: Web 1.0 / Minimalism

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

Weirdcore

ウィアードコア / 2010s–2020s / Aesthetic / Internet Aesthetics

Layers low-res images, unrelated text and warped symbols until reality's connections feel slightly broken.

Low resolution / Mismatched text / Eyes and faces / Compression noise

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Studying the style's historical context · Comparing the visual vocabulary across real works
Type: Choose by the source era and medium
Composition: Identify and reproduce one governing compositional principle
Material: Verify the materials and production conditions of real examples
Caution: Don't borrow only the name. Verify the era, media and culture in which it formed.
Further study: imageboard culture / surreal web edits / derealization imagery
Related entries: Dreamcore / Glitch

Source: Aesthetics Wiki — Weirdcore

171

Wood Type

木活字ディスプレイ / 1827– / Technique / Display Type

Gigantic letters cut from wood for broadside posters created the display vocabulary of extreme condensation, extension and ornament.

Gigantic sizes / Extreme condensing and extending / Carved ornament / Ink scuff and material grain

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material: Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution: Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of era, region, technology and makers.
Further study: Darius Wells's lateral router / Hamilton Manufacturing / Rob Roy Kelly's American wood type research
Related entries: Letterpress / Slab Serif

Source: Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum — History

Woodcut

木版画 / 8th century– / Technique / Relief Printing

Prints the surface left after carving, raising an image through line direction and the pressure of black and white.

Direction of the cut / Hard black-white contrast / Density of line / The block's materiality

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Carving a strong story or symbol in one color · Handwork resistance and reproducibility at once
Type: Contrast a heavy headline with the print's fine lines
Composition: Place the black masses first; open focal points with white cuts
Material: Ink black and paper; run the line direction along the form
Caution: Not a digital scuff texture. Design where the black stays and which way you carve.
Further study: Albrecht Dürer / block-print traditions
Related entries: Gothic / Linocut

Source: Albrecht Dürer, The Four Horsemen, 1498

WPA Poster — Harry Herzog / Federal Art Project, See America, 1936–40

WPA Poster

WPAポスター / 1935–1943 / Style / Public Design

Carries a public purpose broadly and forcefully through simple imagery and few printed colors.

Simplified landscapes / Bold sans-serifs / Screenprint color / A clear call to action

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Inviting participation in community, culture and public services · One-glance positive action for many people
Type: Heavy geometric sans in short imperatives
Composition: One symbolic place or figure, large; information confined to top and bottom
Material: Three to five flat colors, the paper's own tone, simple shading
Caution: Don't borrow only the nostalgia. Be clear about who is being asked to do what, publicly.
Further study: Federal Art Project / Works Progress Administration poster collection
Related entries: Constructivism / Flat Design / Vector Minimalism

Source: Harry Herzog / Federal Art Project, See America, 1936–40

Y2K

ワイツーケー / late 1990s–2000s / Style / Digital Retro

Expresses optimism for the new millennium in translucent plastic and rounded futures.

Translucent plastic / Silver / Bubble forms / Cyber brightness

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: A light futurity for fashion and youth culture · Tech expression that isn't too serious
Type: Rounded extended faces, pixel accents
Composition: Floating ellipses with a centered logo
Material: Aqua, lime, silver, transparency
Caution: Don't lean on chrome and butterflies. Put the era's optimism into the message too.
Further study: Marc Newson / Jonathan Ive
Related entries: Minimalism / Surveillance

Source: btrax記事掲載ムードボード

137

Zine

ジン／自主制作冊子 / 1930s– / 1970s revival / Technique / Self-publishing

Circulates personal and communal voices without publishers, through small runs, low budgets and DIY reproduction.

Photocopiers / Handwriting / Cut and paste / Small print runs

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type: Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition: Extract the one structure that governs space and gaze
Material: Verify materials specific to region, period and process
Caution: Don't imitate the rough copy look alone. Define first who is sharing what, with whom, in a self-made medium.
Further study: Bikini Kill / riot grrrl zines / self-publishing
Related entries: Punk / Risograph

Source: MoMA — Zine

184

Zoot Suit

ズートスーツ / 1930s–1940s / Style / Subculture Style

The earliest street style: suits with wildly exaggerated shoulders and pegged trousers, by which Black and Mexican-American youth asserted their existence in a discriminatory society.

Exaggerated shoulders / Knee-length jackets / Pegged wide trousers / Long watch chains

Open dictionary entry

Best used for: Comparing primary sources and exemplary cases · Extracting principles that transfer beyond dress
Type: Observe the letters and signs of the era and community referred to
Composition: Translate silhouette and proportion into composition
Material: Verify the material conditions: cloth, tailoring, the wearer's body
Caution: Never consume it as costume. This dress carries the history of racism and the riots.
Further study: The Zoot Suit Riots, 1943 / pachuco culture / the clash with wartime fabric rationing
Related entries: Harlem Renaissance / Hip-Hop Fashion

Source: FIT Fashion History Timeline — 1940–1949

Apple OS Design History

From System 1 to Liquid Glass. Each era is recorded as a lineage, not an isolated look.

1984

Images at the source page

System 1

The original Macintosh GUI / Macintosh

Unified desktop, windows, menu bar, icons and trash into one coherent black-and-white screen.

1-bit graphics / Chicago typeface / desktop metaphor / Susan Kare icons

In this dictionary: The starting point of Apple's GUI vocabulary; severe monochrome constraints produced a lucid sign system.

Related: Web 1.0 / Skeuomorphism

Source: Version Museum — Classic Mac OS

1991

Images at the source page

System 7

Classic Mac OS in color / Macintosh

Introduced color, dimensional controls and richer icons while keeping the original Mac's structure.

color icons / 3D controls / Chicago typeface / desktop metaphor

In this dictionary: Moved from a monochrome sign system to a GUI that signals state with color and depth.

Related: Skeuomorphism / Web 1.0

Source: Version Museum — Classic Mac OS

1997

Images at the source page

Platinum

The Mac OS 8 appearance / Classic Mac OS

Unified the system with gray dimensional widgets, fine grooves and sharp-cornered windows.

beveled controls / neutral gray / pinstripes / dense chrome

In this dictionary: The era that made the desktop UI a single appearance theme, before Aqua.

Related: Skeuomorphism / Web 2.0 Gloss

Source: Version Museum — Classic Mac OS

2001

Images at the source page

Aqua

Mac OS X's first design language / Mac OS X

Translucency, gloss, round buttons, deep shadows and pinstripes presented digital parts as touchable objects.

candy-colored controls / translucency / drop shadows / pinstripes

In this dictionary: Brought physicality and emotional appeal to the computer screen, shaping 2000s UI broadly.

Related: Skeuomorphism / Web 2.0 Gloss / Y2K

Source: Version Museum — Mac OS X

2003

Images at the source page

Brushed Metal

The metallic app look / Mac OS X Panther era

iTunes, Safari and others adopted windows fused with horizontal brushed-metal texture.

brushed texture / unified toolbar / rounded window / material metaphor

In this dictionary: A hallmark branch of skeuomorphism: describing an app's purpose through material.

Related: Skeuomorphism / Chromecore

Source: Version Museum — Mac OS X

2007

Images at the source page

iPhone OS

Multi-touch and pictorial UI / iPhone

Made direct finger manipulation understandable with glossy icons, lifelike apps and elastic motion.

direct manipulation / glossy icons / real-world metaphors / elastic motion

In this dictionary: Bridged the shift from physical buttons to the all-touch screen with familiar object imagery.

Related: Skeuomorphism / Web 2.0 Gloss

Source: Apple — iPhone launch

2013

Images at the source page

iOS 7

Thin type, flatness, translucent layers / iPhone / iPad

Dropped pictorial ornament for vivid color, thin type, translucency and motion that conveys depth.

flat surfaces / thin typography / translucency / depth through motion

In this dictionary: The industry-scale turning point from skeuomorphism to flat design.

Source: Apple — iOS 7

2014

Images at the source page

OS X Yosemite

Visual unification of Mac and iOS / Mac

Simplified the Mac's dimensional widgets; introduced brighter color, thinner lines, translucent sidebars.

flattened controls / translucent sidebars / simplified icons / iOS alignment

In this dictionary: Reorganized Mac-specific expression from the Aqua era toward a language shared with iOS.

Source: Apple — OS X Yosemite

2020

Images at the source page

macOS Big Sur

Reunifying Apple's platforms / Mac

Redesigned the Mac with generous spacing, rounded geometry, floating sidebars and unified icon shapes.

rounded geometry / layered materials / unified icons / spacious controls

In this dictionary: Aligned iPhone, iPad and Mac under the same principles while keeping the Mac's controls.

Source: Apple — macOS Big Sur

2023

Images at the source page

visionOS

Spatial computing UI / Apple Vision Pro

Extended the screen into space: translucent windows, materials that react to real light, input by eye, hand and voice.

spatial windows / glass materials / eye tracking / natural shadows

In this dictionary: Built the UI's structure from real-world distance, light and the body — not the inside of a display.

Related: Glassmorphism / Minimalism

Source: Apple — Vision Pro and visionOS

2025

Images at the source page

Liquid Glass

A dynamic material across every OS / iOS / iPadOS / macOS / watchOS / tvOS

Applied a transparent material that reflects, refracts and deforms with content to navigation and control layers.

refraction / adaptive translucency / dynamic shape / cross-platform language

In this dictionary: Unified the transparency, light and fluidity cultivated in Aqua, iOS 7 and visionOS as one Apple-wide language.

Source: Apple — Liquid Glass software design

Microsoft UI Design History

From Windows 1.0 through Fluent and Windows 11. Each era is recorded as a lineage, not an isolated look.

1985

Images at the source page

Windows 1.0

The tiled GUI / Microsoft Windows

Brought non-overlapping windows, menus, scrollbars and standard apps to MS-DOS.

tiled windows / limited color / bitmap icons / MS-DOS shell

In this dictionary: The first complete kit of Windows' basic parts.

Related: Web 1.0 / Skeuomorphism

Source: Version Museum — Microsoft Windows

1990

Images at the source page

Windows 3.0

The Program Manager era / Microsoft Windows

Spread the business GUI widely with beveled buttons, 16-color icons and Program Manager.

Program Manager / 16-color icons / beveled controls / gray chrome

In this dictionary: Formed the standard image of the PC GUI.

Related: Skeuomorphism / Web 1.0

Source: Version Museum — Microsoft Windows

1995

Images at the source page

Windows 95

Start menu and taskbar / Microsoft Windows

Combined the Start button, taskbar and desktop into one persistent navigation structure.

Start menu / taskbar / desktop icons / Chicago-like gray UI

In this dictionary: Established the Windows interaction skeleton still in use today.

Related: Web 1.0 / Skeuomorphism

Source: History of UI — Windows 95

2001

Images at the source page

Luna

The Windows XP look / Windows XP

Blue taskbar, green Start button, rounded corners and a bright landscape wallpaper aimed at the home.

saturated blue / rounded controls / glossy buttons / Bliss wallpaper

In this dictionary: The turn from corporate gray UI to an emotional, consumer-facing OS expression.

Related: Web 2.0 Gloss / Y2K

Source: Version Museum — Microsoft Windows

2006

Images at the source page

Windows Aero

The translucent UI of Vista and 7 / Windows Vista / 7

Adopted translucent glass, light, depth, live thumbnails and smooth animation.

glass frames / blur / light streaks / live thumbnails

In this dictionary: Put GPU composition to work for both appearance and comprehension.

Related: Glassmorphism / Y2K / Web 2.0 Gloss

Source: Version Museum — Microsoft Windows

2010

Images at the source page

Metro

Windows Phone's typographic UI / Windows Phone 7

Left icon-centered UI behind with large type, flat color, live tiles and compositions running past the screen's edge.

bold typography / live tiles / flat color / content before chrome

In this dictionary: Proposed flat design at OS scale before iOS 7.

Source: History of UI — Windows Phone 7

2017

Images at the source page

Fluent Design

A system of light, depth and motion / Windows / Microsoft products

Extended from 2D screens to many devices with the shared principles of Light, Depth, Motion, Material and Scale.

acrylic material / reveal light / connected motion / depth

In this dictionary: Returned material and space to Metro's flatness, growing it into an adaptive design system.

Source: Microsoft Learn — Fluent Design

2021

Images at the source page

Windows 11

Centered layout and soft geometry / Windows

Integrated Fluent into the everyday desktop with a centered Start, rounded corners, Mica material and simplified icons.

centered taskbar / rounded corners / Mica material / soft geometry

In this dictionary: Modernized Windows by lowering visual density while keeping its structure.

Related: Glassmorphism / Minimalism

Source: Microsoft — Introducing Windows 11

Google Design Language History

The search page, Android, and the evolution of Material Design. Each era is recorded as a lineage, not an isolated look.

1998

Images at the source page

Google Search

A home page reduced to search / Web

Chose the opposite of the portal era: a logo, a search box and two buttons.

white space / single task / blue links / minimal chrome

In this dictionary: The defining case of restraint itself as brand expression.

Related: Minimalism / Web 1.0

Source: Version Museum — Google Search

2008

Images at the source page

Android 1.0

The open smartphone UI / Android

Combined the notification drawer, home-screen widgets, physical keys and touch.

status drawer / widgets / mixed input / utilitarian icons

In this dictionary: Made extensibility and information density — unlike the iPhone — the axis of mobile UI.

Source: History of UI — Android

2014

Images at the source page

Material Design 1

The paper-and-ink design language / Android / Web

Systematized paper-like surfaces, elevation shadows, meaningful motion, bold color and grids.

digital paper / elevation / meaningful motion / bold color

In this dictionary: Became the model of the public design system unifying many products and toolchains.

Source: Google Design — Material eras

2018

Images at the source page

Material Design 2

Brand-adaptive Material / Google products / third-party apps

Expanded the components into a system that carries each brand's character through color, shape and type.

theming / coded components / accessibility / brand flexibility

In this dictionary: Broadened the policy from one look to a diverse family sharing common parts.

Source: Google Design — Material eras

2021

Images at the source page

Material You / Material 3

The personally adaptive design system / Android / Google products

Took in per-user difference: dynamic color from the wallpaper, greatly variable shape, expressive type and motion.

dynamic color / personalization / expressive shape / adaptive components

In this dictionary: Redefined consistency as rules that absorb change, not an identical look.

Source: Google Design — Making Material You

Web Design History

From HTML documents to responsive design and design systems. Each era is recorded as a lineage, not an isolated look.

1991

Images at the source page

The First Web

The web of documents and links / World Wide Web

Connected information with nothing but document structure: headings, text, lists, links.

semantic HTML / hyperlinks / browser defaults / document flow

In this dictionary: Began the web as cross-referable documents, not decorated screens.

Related: Web 1.0 / Minimalism

Source: W3C — History of the Web

1993

Images at the source page

Mosaic Era

Images enter the page / Web browsers

Displayed text and images on the same page, moving a research network toward a public visual medium.

inline images / gray browser chrome / blue links / document layout

In this dictionary: The turning point that added the image as web design's main material.

Related: Web 1.0 / Editorial Collage

Source: History of UI — NCSA Mosaic

1996

Images at the source page

CSS

Separating content from presentation / Web

Separated color, type, spacing and placement from document structure, applying one visual rule to many pages.

style sheets / cascade / reusable rules / separation of concerns

In this dictionary: Turned the website into a medium that can be designed and maintained over time.

Related: Web 1.0 / Modular Type System

Source: History of UI — CSS

2004

Images at the source page

Web 2.0 Era

Participation and gloss / Web applications

Gradients, reflections and round buttons — alongside services that were posted to, shared and always updating.

glossy controls / rounded tabs / social participation / AJAX

In this dictionary: Changed the web from documents that are read to applications that are constantly operated.

Related: Web 2.0 Gloss / Skeuomorphism

Source: History of UI — AJAX and Web applications

2010

Images at the source page

Responsive Web Design

The web that adapts to width / Web

Fluid grids, flexible images and media queries let one page adapt to many screens.

fluid grids / media queries / flexible images / mobile first

In this dictionary: The shift from fixed-width pages to layouts that recompose per environment.

Source: History of UI — Responsive Web Design

2014

Images at the source page

Design System Era

UI operated as parts and rules / Web / apps

Shares components, design tokens and accessibility rules to keep large products continuously updated.

components / design tokens / documentation / cross-team governance

In this dictionary: Made the system that keeps producing screens — not the finished screen — the object of design.

Source: Google Design — Ten years of Material

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