Paris – For his Masters graphic design project, student Alain Vonck has created a book that celebrates the lost remnants of the early days of the internet.
For his project, Ruins, Vonck looked to the early web designs of the 90s for inspiration. By recovering and re-interpreting graphics, GIFs and icons from old Geocities accounts, he has produced a series of glitchy, distorted designs that celebrate the aesthetics of early digital culture.
‘I spent a lot of time on the internet when I was a teenager in the 90s. So I was really inspired by this era,’ explains Vonck. ‘The first aesthetic of the internet was amateur and Utopian. It was made by the users and it was free. It was an internet of experience where everything was possible.’
LS:N Global has previously reported on the rise of Digital Archaeology, in which designers are looking to the early web for inspiration. For a practical guide to applying this aesthetic, see our Digital Surrealism Toolkit.