“Retrofuturism”: 30 Predictions From Past Generations That Were Either A Hit Or A Miss

To gain more insight into this topic, we reached out to Tiffany Wilson, who runs The Retrofuturist blog. Tiffany was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda, first explaining what exactly retrofuturism means.

"Retrofuturism is visions of the future from the past," she noted. "It most often comes from media like movies, television, and literature in the science fiction genre, but some of it comes from concept products from companies or futurists. Some modern artists like to use retrofuturism as a visual style for art and other media, like can be seen in the Fallout video games and the new TV show just released on Amazon Prime."

We were also curious what Tiffany finds fascinating about retrofuturism. "Retrofuturism provides a unique window into the time period it was created. We not only get to see what people were worried about during the time period, but also the kinds of technology and scientific advancements they were optimistic about," she explained. "It’s always fun to look at these predictions and see how close they were to our reality."

Tiffany also opened up about some of her favorite examples of retrofuturism. "I love the personified robots of 1960s era of science fiction, like Rosey the Robot from The Jetsons," she shared. "These types of friendly and lovable robots come up again and again in science fiction (almost every Star Wars movie or TV show has at least one), and I wish we had them in real life!"

"The most accurate prediction I’ve seen was an autonomous vacuum/mop similar to a Roomba from 1959," Tiffany added. "It was a patented invention that was featured in magazines and promotional videos, but the demoed model didn’t actually work at the time. The concept was very close to the device many of us have in our homes today, so they had the right idea!"

While Tiffany acknowledges that we’ll never be able to predict the future 100% accurately, she believes it’s still fun to try. "I think in the next few decades we’ll see more and more smart technology infused into our daily lives while we try to reconcile the unexpected negative effects that has on society and people’s well-being, like how the ever connectedness of smart phones and social media has actually made people more lonely and isolated," she told Bored Panda.

As far as where retrofuturism comes from, DepositPhotos reports that the term was coined in the 1980s by journalists trying to accurately describe custom designer jewelry. But just because we didn’t have a name for this style before then does not mean it didn’t exist. Graphic novels from the 1930s to the 1960s, including Captain Future and Space Man, were inspired by Jules Verne’s books that utilized both futuristic and retro themes at the same time.  

DepositPhotos notes that there are six key design features that are the trademarks of retrofuturism. First, there must be recognizable aesthetics from the past, which might be home designs or fashion. There should also be a nostalgic vibe. Next, retrofuturism needs to incorporate an emphasis on engineering, science and technology. There should also be a radical view of the future, whether that’s good or bad. And finally, retrofuturistic fonts, backgrounds and colors should be utilized. 

EnvatoElements also published a piece discussing retrofuturism, and they noted that the style appeals to so many of us because it perfectly blends the warm feeling of nostalgia that we love with our fascination about the future. Films, books and TV shows have been predicting the future for decades, but we love looking back on the “good old days” as well. So why not do both at the same time? Imagine if you were a high schoolers in the 1980s could post on TikTok! I for one would love to see what they would share. 

If you’re looking for ways to utilize retrofuturism into your own designs, EnvatoElements recommends starting with retrowave landscapes, images of cyber cities, neon vaporwave loops and lots of grids. Fonts are extremely important as well, as a futuristic cyberpunk font will be necessary to create the vibe you’re looking for. Be sure to add in holographic elements too to really sell the retrofuturism look. And if you can, be sure to add some 80s synth music as well.