Blueprint vs Cassette Futurism

ブループリント / カセット・フューチャリズム

Blueprint comes from Technical Expression and Cassette Futurism from Visions of the Future. One is style and the other aesthetic. They are reached for with some of the same intent, which is where they get confused.

Blueprint

Blueprint — 青写真による銃弾の設計図 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domainBlueprint — University Bridge の青写真 1915, シアトル — Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0Blueprint — ブザンソン大聖堂の平面図 1882, フランス国立文書館 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

Instead of a finished object it shows the lines of the thinking behind it, communicating structure and possibility.

Cassette Futurism

Cassette Futurism — キャンプ・スミスのIBM 729 磁気テープ装置 1969 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domainCassette Futurism — コモドール PET 2001 1977年発売の一体型ホームコンピュータ 撮影 Alexander Svensson — Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0Cassette Futurism — NASA 撮影 宇宙ステーション「ミール」基幹モジュール内部 1996 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

The future as the 1980s pictured it, built from CRTs, physical buttons, thermal paper and squared-off white plastic. Its matte pragmatism is now being reappraised as the counterproposal to sleek science fiction.

BlueprintCassette Futurism
Eraindustrial1977–1990s / retro revival
FamilyTechnical ExpressionVisions of the Future
KindStyleAesthetic
CuesWhite lines on blue / Dimensions / Sections / Handwritten notesCRTs and physical buttons / Squared-off white plastic / Dot-matrix displays / Matte pragmatism
Best used forVisualizing concepts, design and process · Structural credibility for products and architectureControl panels and readouts for near-future films and games · Interfaces for music gear or instruments sold on physical feel
TypeMonospace plus drafting-style handwritingMonospaced dot type beside small engraved-looking labels
CompositionOrthographic views, sections, dimension lines tied to real informationPanels divided by function, surfaces filled with rows of buttons
MaterialDeep blue, white lines, fine paper grainYellowed white plastic, thermal paper, glow carrying scan lines
CautionNo fake drawings as decoration. Bind everything to actual structure and thought.Arranging nostalgic parts without working out the operation produces a panel that looks right but never tells you what to press first.

Put these two together

Technical Expression ／ Visions of the Future

IndexStyle