Forum Signature Art × Y2K Futurism

Borrow its chrome objects as the focal render in place of a character for a cleaner, product-like banner.

From the research on Forum Signature Art (Sig & C4D Render Graphics)

Mix them and make something Forum Signature Art Y2K Futurism

A sample layout drawn from the recipe: shapes from Forum Signature Art, their arrangement from Forum Signature Art, the finish from Y2K Futurism. Not a real work, and not an image of either style.

What each style brings

Each part of the design comes from the style with the stronger say in it, and each style gives at least two.

Forum Signature Art (Sig & C4D Render Graphics) Y2K Futurism

Type from Y2K Futurism: Geometric sans
Experimental & distorted
Colour from Forum Signature Art: Analogous harmony
Dark ground
Form from Forum Signature Art: Borders & frames
Non-representational
Composition from Forum Signature Art: Collage & layering
Single focal point
Surface from Y2K Futurism: Chrome & 3D render
Gloss & highlights

The type

Open fonts standing in for each style’s own type, which is often hand-drawn or commercial.

Display · Y2K Futurism

Circuit

Michroma, standing in for Eurostile Extended

Text · Forum Signature Art

A banner image attached under every forum post as a personal stamp. It is a single Photoshop composite: a cut-out 'render' of a game, anime or film character or an athlete, set against a background smudged and stretched from the same picture, layered with semi-transparent abstract Cinema 4D renders, fractal flames and grunge or 'tech' brushes, pulled into one tint and framed by a thin border. The user's name is set small. Weekly 'Signature of the Week' contests and shared tutorials drove the craft. Its dates (2004 to 2013) are evidence dates, not firm limits.

VT323; Forum Signature Art used Tiny bitmap pixel fonts, often capitals-only, set at native size with anti-aliasing off, such as Silkscreen (Jason Kottke), a free pixel typeface made for web graphics, for usernames and taglines and Thin, widely letterspaced sans for the name and a short caption

The colours

The ground and leading colours come from Forum Signature Art, with a counter-accent from Y2K Futurism. The ink reads on the ground at 4.5:1 or more.

Forum Signature Art (Sig & C4D Render Graphics) Y2K Futurism

#0b1018 ground · 36%
#d7eef5 ink · 14%
#e8892b accent · 18%
#1f6fff accent · 14%
#4f86a8 accent · 10%
#b4f02e accent · 8%

As CSS

:root {
  --ground: #0b1018;
  --ink: #d7eef5;
  --accent-1: #e8892b;
  --accent-2: #1f6fff;
  --accent-3: #4f86a8;
  --accent-4: #b4f02e;
  --font-display: "Michroma", sans-serif;
  --font-text: "VT323", monospace;
}

Use it with care

Forum Signature Art (Sig & C4D Render Graphics): Sigs were built from ripped official art, photographs and other members' renders and brushes; the communities themselves policed 'rips'. When reviving the look, use licensed or self-made figures and resources rather than lifting characters or another maker's work.

The two styles

2004–2013 · Global / networked, North America, Western Europe Forum Signature Art (Sig & C4D Render Graphics) A banner image attached under every forum post as a personal stamp. It is a single Photoshop composite: a cut-out 'render' of a game, anime or film character or an athlete, set against a background smudged and stretched from the same picture, layered with semi-transparent abstract Cinema 4D renders, fractal flames and grunge or 'tech' brushes, pulled into one tint and framed by a thin border. The user's name is set small. Weekly 'Signature of the Week' contests and shared tutorials drove the craft. Its dates (2004 to 2013) are evidence dates, not firm limits.

A glossy silver-and-blue music player interface titled FLOW features an abstract glass orb wrapped in reflective, brightly tinted rings. Playback controls, a progress slider, a vertical icon toolbar, and four colorful sound preset thumbnails fill the lower and right edges.

1997–2005 · Global / networked Y2K Futurism The optimistic, chrome-plated vision of the future that surrounded the turn of the millennium, spread by consumer electronics, music videos, games, fashion and dot-com branding. Translucent candy-coloured plastics, liquid-metal and bubble 3D renders, lens flares, wide techno sans-serifs and icy silver-and-blue palettes sold the digital age as sleek, fluid and weightless, until the dot-com crash dimmed it.