Vectorheart

Vectorheart is an aesthetic that emerged in the mid/late-1990s. It is characterized by striking vector shapes, 45- and/or 60-degree diagonal lines, futuristic fonts, and flat, (usually) high contrast colors. The exact origin of the Vectorheart aesthetic is hard to define, but pioneers of the style include design firms such as Bionic Systems and The Designers Republic.Vectorheart. Consumer Aesthetics Research Institute. July 2, 2021. Retrieved July 6 2022 Often considered a subgenre of Y2K and Vectorbloom, Vectorheart grew in popularity during the early-2000s, but went out of fashion in the mainstream in the early-2010s. Since then, it has seen some small resurgence beginning in the late-2010s. It was popular alongside Cybercore, Frutiger Metro, Vectorbloom, Gen X Soft Club, and other aesthetics of the 2000s.
== History ==
=== 1990s ===
The exact origin of the Vectorheart aesthetic is hard to define, but pioneers of the style include design firms such as Bionic Systems and The Designers Republic. Vectorheart began to appear in the Late-1990s, often associated with Cybercore due to its sleek, cutting edge style. This style complimented the futurism that Cybercore promoted, leading to a lot of overlap between the two. Vectorheart also strongly resembles Gen X Soft Club, another Y2K subgenre, incorporating the same abstract flourishes and design philosophy.
=== 2000s ===
Vectorheart maintained its popularity into the Early-2000s, and the into the Mid-2000s. During the Mid-2000s, other adjacent aesthetics such as Cybercore began to fall into decline. Despite this, Vectorheart maintained its popularity into the 2010s, being popular alongside aesthetics like Frutiger Metro and Vectorbloom. During this time, Vectorheart was used for purposes like advertising, art, web design, magazine covers, and more.
=== Early-2010s ===
Starting at the Early-2010s, Vectorheart saw a considerable decline in its popularity. This was due to design philosophies such as Flat Design becoming mainstream. Flat Design largely omitted the visually complex and cutting edge visuals of Vectorheart for a more simple and easy to understand look. This, combined with other adjacent aesthetics such as Vectorbloom seeing decline, contributed to Vectorheart falling out of mainstream usage and popularity.
== Visuals ==
Vectorheart is characterized by striking vector shapes, 45- and/or 60-degree diagonal lines, futuristic fonts, and flat, (usually) high contrast colors. The style is loosely inspired by Swiss modernism, utilitarian industrial design, brutalism, and to an extent, Peter Saville's album cover designs for Factory Records. The look is considered maximum-minimalist by some, and is often mixed with the typical look of Y2K, Gen X Soft Club and Metalheart. Vectorheart's sleek maximum-minimalist design philosophy led to it being popular in depictions of the future, or things that were trying to look futuristic.
== Gallery ==
Wip3out.jpg|Wipeout 3 Japanese boxart (2000)
Miku2010.png|Official art for Racing Miku's 2010 design, by redjuice
Slazenation1999.png|November 1999 cover of Sleazenation by The Designers Republic
F FORMULA FUSION.jpeg|Formula Fusion (now Pacer) poster by The Designers Republic
Computererror.png|Album art for Computer Error by Central Processing Unit (2005)
Osloathletico.png|Album art for Oslo Athletico's 2002 self-titled release; designed by Eirik Seu Stokkmo
Computerlove2003.png|Promo for Computerlove International Graphic Design Exhibition (2003); designed by Michael C. Place/Build
DeltaIDNProIconography2002.png|Work by Delta from the book IDN Pro Iconography (2002)
RezInfinitescreenshot.jpeg|Screenshot from the PC version of Rez Infinite (2017), a remastered HD version of the 2001 game Rez
KitKat 16.jpg|Android background from 2014, uses Corporate Memphis as well
Goodtek.jpg|Cover art for GOOD COLLECTION V2, by EBIMAYO
HardstyleDisco.jpg|Single art for "Hardstyle Disco" by Yoji Biomehanika (2003); designed by Takahiro Yamauchi/Favgear
== Media ==
=== Videogames ===
* Wipeout series (1995-2012)
* Hardwar (1998)
* Ridge Racer Type 4 (1998)
* Ace Combat 3 (1999)
* Wiiware art-style games (2008-2010)
* Rez (2001)
* n+ (2008)
* Pokémon Black 2 & White 2 (2012)
* Antichamber (2013)
* n++ (2015)
* Superhot (2016)
* Graceful Explosion Machine (2017)
* Manifold Garden (2019)
* Sayonara Wild Hearts (2019)
*Pacer (originally Formula Fusion, 2020)
* Operius (2021)
=== Videos ===
File:Futari no Fantavision "Intro" Cutscene|Futari no Fantavision "Intro" Cutscene
== Neo-Vectorheart ==
Starting in the late 2010s, a pseudo-revival of the Vectorheart aesthetic emerged as part of the Neo-Y2K movement called "Neo-Vectorheart." The aesthetic incorporates 45- and/or 60-degree angles; Neubrutalist vernacular; bright, contrasting, and occasionally monochromatic color schemes; and maximalist motifs inspired by Cyberpunk visuals and "gamer-grunge". The visual style found within Neo-Vectorheart prioritizes sleek, dynamic designs, often as an homage or pastiche of the work done by the design firms that popularized the original Vectorheart look.
=== History ===
During the Late-2010s to the Early-2020s, there has been a resurgence in Vectorheart. This was inspired by similar Neo-Y2K movements going on at the same time. Neo-Vectorheart has come to be embraced by online gamers, it being said to incorporate maximalist "gamer-grunge". Neo-Vectorheart is also popular in the realm of logo design.
=== Visuals ===
Neo-Vectorheart, similar to Vectorheart, is characterized by striking vector shapes, 45- and/or 60-degree diagonal lines, and futuristic fonts. Neo-Vectorheart is distinguished from regular Vectorheart due to its monochromatic color schemes and less abstract patterns than regular Vectorheart. Black and white are the most commonly found colors in this subgenre, with other colors generally being used as complimentary/accent colors rather than primary ones; this monochromatic motif also works well on logos, one of Neo-Vectorheart's primary categories.
=== Gallery ===
File:Neo vector1.png|Methlab Records, Main Logo & Wordmark, Designed by dmas3 (c. 2015)
File:Neo vector2.png|Audeka - Dark Energy / Direct Injection, Single - Design by Greenaway & Greenaway (2017)
File:Neo vector3.png|Designed by Ben Hook (N2-Antireal) (2019)
File:Neo vector4.png|Akira Complex - Hypersynthetic - Design by Ben Hook (N2-Antireal), Logo by Fredric Harbin (Serxphis) (2018)
File:Neo vector5.png|Riot Games, Valorant Logo & Wordmark, Designed by Cory Schmitz (2020)
File:Neo vector6.png|NeuroFunk Grid Logo
File:Neo vector7.png|Neurohop Forum Logo & Wordmark
File:Neo vector8.png|Skrillex Rebrand, Design by Paul Nicholson (2021)
File:Neo vector10.png|Terminal Collective Logo & Wordmark (Final), Designed by Adis Kutkut (Billain-Antireal) (c. 2009-2011)
File:Neo vector9.png|Glyph Font (Billain), Designed by Adis Kutkut (Billain-Antireal) (2011)
File:Neovector9392939.png|KAGAMI Smile- Dream Residue (2020)
=== Media ===
==== Videos ====
File:Terminal Initiation|Terminal Initiation
== External Links ==
External resources can help you get a better understanding of this aesthetic.
*The artwork featured on the infobox
*The Designers Republic website
*Archive of wip3out flash website
*Archive of Ridge Racer Type 4 flash website
*Archive of Bionic Systems website from 1999
*Archive of The Design Chapel website from 2002
*Archive of Looptracks website from 2004
*Vectorheart page of Consumer Aesthetics Research Institute
*Consumer Aesthetics Research Institute Vectorheart are.na page
*Vectorheart Aesthetics Twitter
Category:Needs work
Category:Visual
Category:1990s
Category:2000s
Category:Electronic
Category:Futuristic
Category:Black
Category:White
Category:Frutiger Family
Category:2010s
Category:Y2K