Blueprint vs Synthwave

ブループリント / シンセウェーブ

Blueprint comes from Technical Expression and Synthwave from Digital Retro. Both are read here as style. 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.

Synthwave

Synthwave — G. Casqueiro《Chase The Sun》2019年 — Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0Synthwave — Gégène《Back to the 80s》2022年 — Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0Synthwave — Rod Trussardi《Carnival Night カバーアート》2021年 — Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

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

BlueprintSynthwave
Eraindustrial1980s imagined future
FamilyTechnical ExpressionDigital Retro
KindStyleStyle
CuesWhite lines on blue / Dimensions / Sections / Handwritten notesNeon / Perspective grid / Sunset / Black sky
Best used forVisualizing concepts, design and process · Structural credibility for products and architectureInstant world-building for games and music · The euphoria of retro-futurism
TypeMonospace plus drafting-style handwritingOblique sans with script accents
CompositionOrthographic views, sections, dimension lines tied to real informationLow horizon, central perspective, gigantic title
MaterialDeep blue, white lines, fine paper grainBlack, magenta, cyan, glow
CautionNo fake drawings as decoration. Bind everything to actual structure and thought.Sun and grid alone are overfamiliar. Add story elements of your own.

Put these two together

Technical Expression ／ Digital Retro

IndexStyle