90s Nostalgia 💖

Hello makers,

Poolside FM just launched their summer music player for the iPhone, and it's totally rad. It got me thinking about the 90s aesthetic and how much I loved designing user interfaces back in the day. When iOS 7 emerged, skeuomorphism suddenly became stale, and flat design became trendy. But like all trends, someday we'll look back on flat design and feel it looks dated. So let's sit back and reminisce about the days of pixel art and the ultra-detailed UIs of the 90s.

This week we look at the resurgence of the totally radical 90s design style.

Poolside FM

This is so much fun. Who needs Spotify when you have some chill 90s tunes, brought to you by a gnarly retro interface? There's TV, chat, mixtapes, and a guestbook to keep you vibing. I can only imagine how much of a joy this must have been to build.
 

Winamp Skin Museum

Before there was streaming music, but after the glory days of mixtapes, you had to download your songs to your computer via Napster or rip them from your awesome CD collection into MP3 format. Winamp was hands-down the best MP3 player ever, and anyone could design a Winamp UI. The Winamp Skin Museum showcases the creativity and attention to detail that went into some of the greatest Winamp skins ever made.
 

Paul Robertson

Quite possibly the greatest pixel artist I've ever seen, Paul Robertson's pixel art and animations have been featured in mainstream movies and television shows like Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Rick and Morty, and The Simpsons. You can buy his art prints on his INPRNT store.
 

98.css

Tired of your shiny new material design interface? Return your web design back to simpler days with the 98.css design system. The only thing that's missing is the blue screen of death, which would make perfect sense for your error pages.
 

DOSBox

Relive the golden age of 90s video games with DOSBox, an x86 emulator with DOS. Even though Doom has been ported to virtually every OS since, it's still nice to play the influential first-person shooter in its original habitat. And let your nostalgia go wild with some of the greatest classic adventure and strategy games of all time.

Keep making, and thanks for reading! 🙌

Hit reply to tell me what you're making. I'm looking for anyone interested in talking about their own side-projects and maker journey, so speak up if you'd like to appear in Serial Maker. I'd also love to know what you thought of this issue, and what you want to hear about in the future. Check out the past editions if you missed them, and don't forget to continue the conversation on Discord! 
 

Until next week,
Craig 👋