Fruitiger Aero

[Phoenix]

I was watching some videoes about the fruitiger aero style. It feels super nostalgic for me as 2000s kid. Its one of those styles I hope returns in some form as its super positive and "bright". Brings back fonder memories of the older internet. Do any of you feel the same? 

[cozy]

It's not particularly my thing, but at the same time I do like the nostalgia factor of it! Definitely brings back memories, so it's cool that it's been pretty popular lately. I'm not sure that I want it to come "back" personally, though. I'm more into the aesthetic of Windows 95 and 98, if I had to pick.

[VioletHeaven]

I love Frutiger Aero, honestly! My most nostalgic memory is probably Windows 7, I adored how the all the buttons and windows had that shiny, bubble-like texture. My love has only grown as I've gotten into neo-y2k and neo-aero art, it just feels soooo comforting to see art like that. I might add a little fan page to my website about it! So yeah, I guess I feel the same way!

[candycanearter07]

I love Frutiger Aero, honestly! My most nostalgic memory is probably Windows 7, I adored how the all the buttons and windows had that shiny, bubble-like texture. My love has only grown as I've gotten into neo-y2k and neo-aero art, it just feels soooo comforting to see art like that. I might add a little fan page to my website about it! So yeah, I guess I feel the same way!

Agreed! Win7 was the first OS i remember using actively, so it has a huge soft spot in my heart.

[lina]

i love frutiger aero! and even though not everyone might like the aesthetic itself, i think that optimistic view of technology has a lot to do with the web revival movement

also frutiger is a pretty nice font 

[Absentmind]

This is from a Graphic Design perspective:

I'm personally indifferent to Frutiger Aero, whilst I am nostalgic for it and I do enjoy it in an ironic sense. To me, Frutiger Aero is the "wobbly legs" in-between of Futurism and Flat design. I like things it's comprised of, I.e skeuomorphism and that glassy gloss they put on everything. Back in the day when I was a teen in the 2000s, I always saw it as cheap and gaudy corporate design that was ugly and on every bit of tacky mass produced junk item you could think of, and was the same for how it was applied to web and software visual design. UX design was starting to become more common in design in general and I think this was the "finding it's feet phase" which lasted until the mid 2010s, subsequently when Frutiger Aero died in favour for Flat design.

People hail it as the last bastion pre-social media design, before flat design became the web design "meta" but I think it's just same as flat design in that regard, sure it's less "souless" but I think it's definitely still IS soulless. its design that mimicked the y2k futurist design movement and it's techno future aesthetic appealed to businesses and investors because it was shiny and new. This really kicked off when Apple adopted it as their primary design style for the Iphone and within their marketing, Microsoft too. Who doesn't want to have design like the biggest tech companies in the world?

I think it doesn't align with the web revival movement in that regard because it's ugly like the Geocities design that we know and love whilst lacking any proper sentimentality but hey, that's probably me being jaded and contradictory to some degree, since sentimentality comes from the viewer and obviously I'm bias with my past experiences. With that being said, there is nothing wrong with enjoying and a lot of people do! but I predict people are going to be saying the same thing about flat design in the next 20 years.

[Phoenix]

It's not particularly my thing, but at the same time I do like the nostalgia factor of it! Definitely brings back memories, so it's cool that it's been pretty popular lately. I'm not sure that I want it to come "back" personally, though. I'm more into the aesthetic of Windows 95 and 98, if I had to pick.

Thats totally fair! That was a little bit past my time (early 2000s baby here) but I definitely like the aesthetic of that "old" era too! 

[serenefork]

I have always thought of Fruitiger Aero to be just ok, but I do love the motifs of fish and bubbles with the vibrant colors and gloss, for me it has always been those aquarium elements that drew me to it. I have actually found "Helvetica Aqua Aero" aka "Fruitiger Aqua" which is described as subgenre of Fruitiger Aero focusing on those aquarium details. I love this subgenre, even though the other subgenres don't seem to appeal to me very much.
I think if Fruitiger Aero is large enough to have subgenres I think it may be important to consider those subgenres in opinions on the main  genre.

[lunarrose]

I find the aesthetic so comforting, and the song they use for it often (song posted below)

makes me feel nostalgia for the bygone era of the the newness of the old web, and the wanders of exploring webpages & web-rings. It brings back real physical and tangible memories of my old internet friends back in 2002. Logging in BBS systems and IRC chats and just the "anything-goes" nature of the old web. 

..In regards to people who may be just a bit younger than me, and instead of being met with visceral memories of the era, just a sense of idealism with which the imagery of the time represented. I've read that a lot of people have this feeling of Frutiger Aero that it represents a "future that we were promised," which I can understand to a certain degree. We've definitely taken a negative turn in regards of technology's relationship with the environment, and I believe the design style itself does offer some kind of solarpunk futuristic society as we incorporate the growth of tech in tandem with nature.

[Corrupted Unicorn]

It's interesting how certain artistic trends are given names after their time is well due.

Back when "Fruitiger Aero" was a thing, anything colorful, with cool waves, swirls and bubbles would be called "abstract"; anything with water, palmtrees and fish, "tropical". Maybe it did have a proper name in higher spheres, like say, professional art circles and those people who come up with World Fairs and stuff. But for the laypeople like I, one word was enough! 

Or was it? Sure, now it's kinda easier to find this particular artistic trend (or aesthetic, as the hip kids call it) now that it has received a label. But that raises a question... should everything be labelled nowadays?

Giving things a proper name sure helps demistifying it, but, at the same time, commodifies it... and while this is not necessarily about the GenAI people using specific words and labels to get their graphic-making algorythms bend to their will, I must admit it's a prime example of commodification... 

What do you guys think?

[Oceansandy02]

When I was little, I liked it a bit, but I was drawn towards flat design because ai thought it was more modern, and little me thought that modern things were better. However, I now have a fondness for frutiger aero, and windows 7, as well as the Wii and 3DS. I no longer have either anymore, but it does excite me, and give me a sense of nostalgia.

[DiffydaDude]

Giving things a proper name sure helps demistifying it, but, at the same time, commodifies it... and while this is not necessarily about the GenAI people using specific words and labels to get their graphic-making algorythms bend to their will, I must admit it's a prime example of commodification... 

What do you guys think?

So we shouldnt give anything a name because it makes it a commodity. Ok, guess i have no name then, Im just person no. 1098398234578987498359 using my object no. 7893434577894578967 talking about subject no. 8934798798345987 and listening to song no. 83467389047589347987. Yeah doesnt sound all that great. Id rather things have names and stuff cuz being able to have a way to connect and understand something is super vital for a lot of people, like me.

[ValyceNegative]

I lived the jump from previous aesthetics to Frutiger Aero (and other related Frutigers) in first person and I distinctly remember buying my first laptop that ran Windows Vista, looking at the UI in veiled disgust knowing the glossy finish had replaced all the Frasurbane/GVC/Utopian Scholastic I liked so much. xD I had no idea how any of these styles were called but between those and Y2K/Frutiger I could distincly see how a certain group of aesthetics were more earthy and jungle-feeling while the other pushed viewers into space or other aethereal realms, and I definitely preferred the former.

I might still have a hint of "childish remorse" towards Frutiger styles, but that's totally a personal thing. If I see it with more objective eyes I can see its appeal, especially with reflecting glass effects, the water element, and the inclusion of nature into technological life; it truly feels like a "last hurrah" in maximalism before Flat styles decided to make everything serious and boring.
With that said, chiming in with other responses in the thread, if you were of a certain age during that era you could definitely feel corporative influence permeating in the Frutigers (it was the main style for the first iOS, gaming consoles that started having "accounts and menus", all that ammass of vector graphics of Frutiger Metro used to advertise products) and that's probably why its reception divisive among older and younger aesthetic fans; some people see it as fictuous and deceptive, others consider it more genuine.

My honest opinion... Y2K kinda incorporates a few of Frutiger's elements (minus nature I guess, but again if I want that I might as well look for the earthier GVC) especially the gloss, but has an extra oomph to it and with its association with rave parties and alternative fashion/music, it manages to stray far enough from corporative swindling.

[Corrupted Unicorn]

So we shouldnt give anything a name because it makes it a commodity. Ok, guess i have no name then, Im just person no. 1098398234578987498359 using my object no. 7893434577894578967 talking about subject no. 8934798798345987 and listening to song no. 83467389047589347987. Yeah doesnt sound all that great. Id rather things have names and stuff cuz being able to have a way to connect and understand something is super vital for a lot of people, like me.

I wish you could give a little more thought to what I said instead of assuming. The act of naming something is a powerful thing in itself, but it is also a double-edged sword.

[Paprika]

I'm a bit sour with Frutiger Aero. While I experienced it and it was nice when it happened, I can"t help but think it was there that big corporations started to reshape electronics and internet to their taste. I clearly remember the I-Pod ads, the bright colors and everyone was "Wow, it's cool and futuristic at the same time !"

I do recognize the importance and influence of the style but for me it's linked to things that would turn into modern web. But that's just me, you're totally free and okay to enjoy it as it is ! Perhaps I should learn to appreciate for what it is really rather than the moody memories it brings up in me.