Did you ever wonder what today’s most popular gadgets (mp3 player, laptop, cellphone and handheld video game system) would look like if they were designed in the 70s? No!?! Well thankfully Alex Varanese has. He’s even envisioned what the print ads would look like to market such wonderful devices. In this series called: ‘Alt/1977: We Are Not Time Travelers‘, Alex takes us on a journey back to a time when faux-wood was the sh*t.
Alt/1977: WE ARE NOT TIME TRAVELERS – Alex Varanese
What would you do if you could travel back in time? Assassinate Marilyn Monroe? Go on a date with Hitler? Obviously. But here’s what I’d do after that: grab all the modern technology I could find, take it to the late 70’s, superficially redesign it all to blend in, start a consumer electronics company to unleash it upon the world, then sit back as I rake in billions, trillions, or even millions of dollars.
I’ve explored that idea in this series by re-imagining four common products from 2010 as if they were designed in 1977: an mp3 player, a laptop, a mobile phone and a handheld video game system. I then created a series of fictitious but stylistically accurate print ads to market them, as well as a handful of abstract posters (you know, just for funsies).
Alex Varanese Continued…
I’ve learned that there is no greater design element than the anachronism. I’ve learned that the strongest contrast isn’t spatial or tonal but historical. I’ve learned that there’s retro, and then there’s time travel.
The irony is that all post-modern, smugly self-referential retro porn aside, I’d gladly trade in my immaculately designed 21st century gadgets for these hideously clunky, faux-wood-paneled pieces of über-kitsch. Sorry, Apple.
Alex [Michael] Varanese
– Is native to the bay area.
– Thinks John Hughes is bigger than Jesus
– Is an ardent believer in hard determinism, and wishes he were better friends with fate
– Is guilty of an overuse—but never misuse—of the word “literally”
– Spends nights and weekends trying to repair his time machine.
– Draws upon a limitless supply of cheeky quips designed specifically for ironic post-hipster posturing
– Likes red more than you do
He also has awesome random thoughts like this:
SOURCES
– Alex Varanese’s Official Site
– Alex on Twitter
– First spotted on: Behance
If you enjoyed this article, the Sifter highly recommends: INCREDIBLE ROBOT SCULPTURES MADE FROM OLD ELECTRONIC PARTS
