Frutiger Aero | The Promised Future We Never Got

[@nationsquid]

Thanks to HelloFresh for sponsoring today's video. Go to strms.net/hellofresh_nationsquid, use my code SQUIDSEP10, and receive 10 free meals + free breakfast for life! One breakfast item per box while subscription is active if you’re in the US. The link and code are valid in all countries and the respective local discount will apply.

[@walking_sketon]

First!!!

[@Nxobo]

28 mins 💀

[@__em6866__]

41 MINUTES WHY ARE YOU POSTING AT LIKE ALMOST 1:00AM

[@TechnoMinded-qp5in]

When you ask "Gen-Z" about Frutiger Aero they're clueless useless uneducated kids who are being ruined out of an education. We pioneered this technology for modern society we should have every power to bring back Frutiger Aero I am 31 trying to buy even older consoles from Fruitiger Aero because this "modernist" idea for consoles being handhelds are a disgusting joke. The only thing you can get out of customization of a computer is to basically use Linux even then still has limitations but shows the powers a desktop computer should actually have. Now disgusting abomination Gen-Z is expected to kill computers with tablets it's not gonna fly with me. It's sickening how everything was better and more customize-able now we don't have shit and disgustingly call it modern when it isn't.

[@TheSUPERWIND2023]

Thanks for the video dude, this was an amazing watch. I do hope one day we get this future.

[@KyanoAng3l0_Mtvtks]

"The promised future we never got" As a '91 baby and Frutiger Aero fan, I find that phrase kinda depressing.

[@TechnoMinded-qp5in]

I was debating on going back to either Windows 7 or Windows Vista and continue playing video games on a Steam Deck since Windows 10 is reaching End of Life because it's safer than revering to Windows XP. I think it's stupid how modern kids don't know that computers had more customization back then than what they do now. Honestly I never liked Windows 10 and it will NEVER replace Windows Aero and theming like Windows XP which was modern enough and very futuristic if you asked me. Everything is now about minimalism which is pissing me the hell off which is why things like Windows Aero will never return I got a free way ticket back to Windows 7 because modern Windows has no taste in customization at all period and Windows 11 is even worse I keep wishing this was 2004 and sadly it's 2024 and my life is feeling speed rushed.

[@CyanRooper]

​@@TechnoMinded-qp5inI think Windows 7 looked more futuristic than XP (I still think it looks more futuristic than 10 but that's just me) but XP was more customizable than 7. Just look at all the different Winamp skins for XP. I think part of the reason why XP was still being used well into 7's lifecycle was because of how much users could customise the OS to their liking. And customisation played a big part in people wanting to learn more about computers which in turn led to them to pursue a career in software (think of how many people got into web development because of how much they liked the customisation of MySpace, for example).

[@KyanoAng3l0_Mtvtks]

@@TechnoMinded-qp5in 10 and 11 can be customizable with third-party tools. But yeah, I do miss a time when Windows had this kind of stuff built-in _and_ wouldn't fight you for using it. I like minimalism, but Flat Design feels excessive. It never really grew on me. Seems like companies are now finally moving on from it. Windows 11's less flat "Fluent Design" is actually one of the few reasons why I considered "upgrading" from 10. Speaking of Aero, I'd recommend looking into "DWMBlurGlass", a tool that lets you replace 10's opaque title bars or 11's Mica with colored acrylic. I'd also recommend WinPaletter if you want a "modern" Display Properties.

[@CyanRooper]

I find it funny that we might go back to glossy skeuomorphic designs because of VR or AR. It would be like retreating back to the future we never got because the present is so unpleasant.

[@justascreamingcat2964]

​@@TechnoMinded-qp5in Windows 10 IoT ltsc 2021 has support until 2032 and can be safely modded to look like windows 7.. I know what I'm doing once mainstream windows 10 reaches end of support.

[@Transformers_nerd_stop_motions]

I love the glossy skeuomorphic user interfaces and fun gadgets of back then, it’s a shame that everything nowadays looks the same and has to look ‘sleek’ and modern

[@CyanRooper]

Everything looks flat now. Back then user interfaces looked 3 dimensional like they were popping out of the screen and that made them look more eye-catching compared to what we have now.

[@NicholasStabile]

@@CyanRooper Flat look would be fine...unfortunately with the flat look comes resource intensive processes and unoptimized methods used to mask the really shady and bloated nature underneath the hood. It's hypocritical in design and implementation, which makes me resent living rather than hopeful, optimistic vibes I get from the aesthetic looks of the Fruitger Aero era (even though I'm aware of a lot of the issues I had at that era, mainly with security and vulnerabilities, especially when connected to the internet; but at least I was able to use a computer without needing to be online at that time; can't really say the same today).

[@EnigmaticLucas]

The pendulum is slowly swinging back in that direction. Windows 11 is noticably less flat than 10.

[@TheSUPERWIND2023]

@@EnigmaticLucas I've been using Windows 11 since it first released, I remember being so blown away by how nice it looks. It still looks awesome. Up there with XP, Vista, and 7 imo.

[@korneliusfrik9545]

They just have to slap 2 gradients on that it's so simple!

[@ZachryMedearis]

Windows 7 will always be my favorite because of aero and skeuomorphic design. It also had the added benefit of not feeling clunky, no two settings programs, no hiding useful features behind extra clicks, everything integrated perfectly.

[@webmasale]

The only thing I would change from W7 is the file Explorer, other than that it was peak windows design

[@rabahaicha7724]

the aero glass transparency is better than win 10 and 11 combined

[@SCPfan173]

real

[@swagknightx]

i loved vista

[@staringcorgi6475]

Control program should’ve been the only settings of windows bc it makes sense

[@realmynameshiro]

Frutiger Aero looks so much much much more futuristic than anything "modern" nowadays

[@9852323]

I agree. When windows 10 came out I thought it looked like windows 95 and was a downgrade.

[@JamesR624]

That's cause "modern" design that we have isn't design at all. Companies realized they could fire most of their design talent to cut costs and increase profit margins, and then just market the resulting zero-effort trash as "modern" cause they knew half the public would fall for it and the other half made up a small enough portion of the populace that their dissent wouldn't be a threat and they'd eventually just give in and buy the trash anyway; and we did, because we have no choice. The TOTAL DESTRUCTION of ACTUAL Graphical User Interfaces is a prime example of the overwhelming power of corporations and capitalism.

[@LARKXHIN]

Today's modern is just sterile and cheap

[@belstar1128]

it was actually high tech you needed a decent gpu to run vista

[@LilacMonarch]

it really is

[@poweroffriendship2.0]

The KZbin App depicted as an old TV set from the 50s and Instagram as a Polaroid shows how peak the skeuomorphic designs truly are. The glossy iconography feels similar that to button pin badges.

[@Brushedmetal69]

I liked the old insta logo but hated the old iOS KZbin logo back then

[@SharkIey]

These insane people prefer modern art than glossy things

[@shiro3146]

i honestly also likes those old icons, except i dont like how it was made too 3d that it felt clunky ans clutter lol maybe Human/WinUI3 styled Visuals of that may help the current trend again i may change my opinions as fast as 3 years or less and may also be many years to come

[@GeekFilter]

The beginning of the video gave me PTSD. I worked on the Microsoft Vista website and did the “wow“ banner that’s there! I also worked on the ill fated dinosaur campaign, though I did not come up with the idea! The whole aesthetic of that era was really more of a function of low bandwidth and small screen size rather than some sort of overall cultural reflection. At least that’s what it felt like to the people who were actually designing that at the time, including myself.

[@pir_hana]

The complex shapes and presentation of everything and how it all pops out is probably why people (like me) still think about this style, even today, there's simply nothing like it

[@StefanTCTS]

What year range would you say encompasses this?

[@GeekFilter]

@@StefanTCTS I was trying to remember the dates of trends while I was watching this. I had a response written to you, thankfully I copied it, because it’s vanished. Maybe it was too long I’m not sure but I will try again after this message. I was trying to reference to URL and maybe that might be part of the problem.

[@GeekFilter]

@@StefanTCTS Early early (94-97) Internet was more skeuomorphic than say 1999/2000. In 1997 I worked with a company that did training software and everything, I mean literally everything was as if you were entering a building and then going to a room and learning something there and then clicking on a folder on a desk are my favorite using the computer within a computer! Then for a little while it got more streamlined. Abstract swoops and arcs were very popular because everything was so rectilinear as far as layout. I did the first online car promotion (for General Motors)c alled Ticket to Ride and we figured out a way to make the website look oval. I would say around 2003/4 it sort of came back but not as all encompassing. It would be an icon with realistic lighting, textures, drop shadows etc. I know that Frutiger Aero seems to be defined by the Microsoft aesthetic, but at that point Microsoft was always playing catch-up. Their design choices were always after someone else did it. So I would say it’s actually Apple who started the trend. Didn’t seem like it was until about 2007/8 that Microsoft started to make their own creative decisions. it was kind of a mess and trying to follow their style guide was a nightmare but at least it was not on the heels of Apple. This was also the time (2005-2007) when designs briefly went back to the ‘very skeuomorphic’ look. For Microsoft we did a campaign with dinosaurs in an office(sort of a disaster at the time because of industry bloggers, which today would be influencers, making fun of it) it started with the user stepping out of an elevator, going to a front desk choosing things like the conference room etc.. I changed jobs about a year after that and did a few sites in a row that were also environment based. One was a viral campaign for the TV show Chuck called ChucksSecret, that can still be found on the way back machine. During this entire time however children’s websites pretty much stayed as if it was a physical place. We worked on stuff for Nestlé and I remember there was a treehouse or something-the main Nestlé website was just a website. And then in 2007 the iPhone came out and everything changed. As mobile became the targeted platform everything became simpler and cleaner because of bandwith issues and screen size and then that propagated back into the larger screens and now we have the extremely boring design we have today. I still do web design but it’s more like hanging photos in a house instead of building the house itself. That was probably more information than you wanted! Kind of feel like I should do my own video or at least write an article.

[@GeekFilter]

@StefanTCTS Part 1: Early early Internet was more skeuomorphic than say 1999/2000. In 1997 I worked with a company that did training software and everything, I mean literally everything was as if you were entering a building and then going to a room and learning something there and then clicking on the desk. Then for a little while it got more streamlined. Abstract swoops and arcs were very popular because everything was so rectilinear as far as layout. I did the first online car promotion (for General Motors)c alled Ticket to Ride and we figured out a way to make the website look oval. I would say around 2003/4 it sort of came back but not as all encompassing. It would be an icon with realistic lighting, textures, drop shadows etc. I know that Frutiger Aero seems to be defined by the Microsoft aesthetic, but at that point Microsoft was always playing catch-up. Their design choices were always after someone else did it. So I would say it’s actually Apple who started the trend.

[@jonetsu_lv]

frutiger aero has a type of peace that’s like no other…

[@halfsine]

really?? it makes me feel sick and panicked

[@hazehaha]

@@halfsine believable used to be bait

[@halfsine]

​@@hazehaha how is that bait?

[@hazehaha]

@@halfsine elaborate on how frutiger aero makes you feel that way

[@birdbowah]

Real

[@Minty1337]

i feel like jj has a fundamental misunderstanding of what aero is, most things in the 2000s was not frutiger aero, but most frutiger aero things were made in the 2000s. its not an era, it's an aesthetic that was somewhat popular during an era. obviously something like ratatouille isnt aero since not everything in the early 2000s had to be, its not an aesthetic created by limitations in technology, it's just something a lot of people liked and transparency is a fancy way to show off a new OS theme.

[@ChucksSEADnDEAD]

It's like assuming everything in the 1960s was Vietnam protests and hippies attending live concerts. The Macintosh desktop design with the transparent plastic and striking colors was not something everyone had. I actually didn't see them that often. But they still defined that era.

[@Minty1337]

​@@ChucksSEADnDEAD exactly, another good example imo is disco and the 70s, there was probably more rock music made at that time, but disco is unique to the time, so it defines the decade.

[@belstar1128]

i always just view it as the windows vista look and windows vista or 7 was something most people used so when you were online or using your pc you would see it even if it was not your focus

[@misseselise3864]

aero*

[@Minty1337]

@@misseselise3864 yea that's a weird word, im not a huge fan of it lol.

[@SwaggyG_2102]

Frutiger Aero, to me, represented a new era of futuristic innovation that so many people were optimistically looking for following such a dark tragedy that had occurred so early in the 2000s.

[@WMan37]

I consider the Y2K and Fruitiger Aero aesthetics grandfather paradoxes. They're what the future was presumed to look like, thus we saw them for a while, which made people nostalgic for them, and therefore now that we are in the future, we are making them come back, making it technically true that they are the look of the future. Oh and we even got CrowdStrike to happen to really complete that monkey's paw wish for the Y2K aesthetic to come back.

[@CYLITM]

I really love how your sponsor segments are entire skits. I've seen a few other videos do that but it's very unique and engaging.

[@L0rdOfThePies]

Tbh i wish he went all the way with it like the harry gold show. Its still cool to see KZbinrs trying to make a boring but necessary part of the video more interesting

[@CR0NO-NL]

Mama twins skit is better.... Raycon.. with nouiise cansulation.... Those who know the channel know the skit know what I am talking about...

[@pocketglove]

​@CR0NO-NL you could've just said internet comment etiquette, which would've been good etiquette

[@Lilleh__]

Very good work to make it look like a 50s tv ad.

[@lainiwakura1776]

Still doesn't beat Nord Man.

[@NottJoeyOfficial]

That video of JJ's that you showed off was interesting because his whole point was that you shouldn't put a term to these aesthetics and that's bad, then went on to talk about how his generation made super specific terms for things like the feeling of going to the mall in the 90s. It's such a weird thing to go "This generation is doing this and it's dumb" then saying "but it's ok when my generation does it"

[@Phasma]

Yeah I find the guy insufferable for reasons such as that. He has a fundamental misunderstanding of what frutiger aero is and whines in the most stereotypical millennial fashion about it. It's not that deep but maybe frutiger aero held his family for ransom and won't let them go, who knows?

[@JeditheScribe]

I know, that’s why I hated that video so much. JJ’s such a hypocrite.

[@Game_Hero]

@@Phasma not to forget his anti-minority groups views

[@TheGlobalguest]

@@Game_Hero HUH?

[@Game_Hero]

@@TheGlobalguest yes, he has numerous times stated hatred and biggotry toward linguistic minorities enjoying official status for essentially being parasites who make government jobs discriminate against dominant language speakers because they have to learn a new tongue that's not english, boo hoo. Like he legit got an entire parliament voting to unanimously condemn his statements, that's something, and he was boasting about it in a joking manner, the dude found this funny. And all his fans just believe whatever he says and absord it, not realizing this mentality is the same as the ones against other kinds of minority groups.

[@FlowGD]

Why does J.J. bring up Terminator, Jurassic Park, Toy Story in this discussion? Those are all 90s and earlier.

[@_Ker]

A lot of the gaudy gif ridden websites were also 90s and early 00’s too, which I think was slightly before the peak of skeumorphism around the late 00’s.

[@Game_Hero]

Because he doesn't know what he's talking about, as usual

[@misseselise3864]

i missed the part where he said this only applies to the 2000s or later…

[@Game_Hero]

@@misseselise3864 the part being : absolutely everyone in the Frutiger Aero scene.

[@kirillholt2329]

he doesn't know what he is talking about that's why

[@ciabox284k]

the cycle of "aesthetics"getting overused and people get sick of them for being overused then wanting them back will never stop and will be here forever

[@sky_skipper]

The interview with JJ irritates me because as much as I am open to the idea that Frutiger Aero is an inadequate term to describe the design themes, he doesn't propose any sort of replacement. He doesn't sort the various themes young people associate with FA into smaller sub-themes. It seems he spoke only to tear down.

[@tarikbleak]

The most depressing part of being an early 2000s kid is watching all the frutiger aero aesthetic just become ai videos and realizing we will just live in Cyberpunk 2077 with exploding hardware and insanely big governments and coporations eventually the one good side is I won't have to live in it since I'll be too old but the future we are moving to does not sound good on paper or video.

[@CYLITM]

At least things are starting to change

[@TwilightVaramek]

id love to live in a cyberpunk 2077 future it looks so good with neon everywere and big blocky massive mega buildings

[@denkifriedkalamari1730]

​@@TwilightVaramek If that's what you take away from cyberpunk you should probably take literacy classes

[@frtzkng]

We enter Cyberpunk 2077 but with way less cool brutalist architecture.

[@tarikbleak]

@@frtzkng Yeah if I have to live through it I want to see cool neon signs everywhere and Hong Kong architecture in every major city.

[@0123-v1o]

Mirros Edge 1 has somehow allways been "Frutiger Aero: The Game" for me. With how glossy and polished everything is. At least in my memory.. i have to replay that game.

[@alexms1993]

Hell yeah. However I’m trying not to replay it. That way it can’t disappoint me 😂

[@tarajoe07]

The jelly-ish 3d imagery was absolutely a 2000's aesthetic. Even the Linux distros embraced it. KDE even brought the desktop switcher cube

[@paisan8766]

Ironically, JJ is the stereotypical aesthetic of a Gen Xer

[@kidanimatoryt]

NationSquid makes me feel old without being that old 🗣🔊🔊

[@Thatrandomwelshguy]

Ye

[@TairyHesticles]

Don't worry you'll get there

[@Thatrandomwelshguy]

@@TairyHesticles I just wanted to comment early

[@tbk2010]

One thing that often gets lost in these retrospective views on the designs and aesthetics of an era is that what was trendy at the time wasn’t necessarily omnipresent. Yes, Vista itself had that cool glossy look, but the applications people ran on it had, in 90% of cases, the same boring, flat, gray look as before-either because they were older or not particularly focused on keeping up with the trends. Making an application look like that took time and money, not to mention it strained the machine's resources and could impact work efficiency. Similarly, if you look at a typical living room from that era, it doesn't resemble what you see in an IKEA catalog from the time-unless you happened to have completely renovated. Instead, it was a mix of the aesthetics from the 2000s, 90s, and even 80s, because that’s when you bought your furniture and tech and so on.

[@starzainia]

We can still revive Frutiger Aero in the mainstream, we can make the future that we never got! I'm very grateful you've done a video on Frutiger Aero! It's incredibly underrated...

[@rad4924]

This is one of few channels where the sponsorship content is often almost as good as the main content.

[@gehenna14]

I agree with j.j in that what I miss a lot more than the aesthetics of the time is the structure of the internet/computers back then, the traditional desktop experience yk. Everything was a lot more compact and customisable and you could do a lot more. Nowadays everything is comprised of huge buttons and dumbed down UIs that are quite frankly a pain to use (and are also very resource hungry!)

[@CyanRooper]

The customisation is what I think people miss the most, especially since the customisation helped to fuel their interest in computers. So many people got into web development because they spent hours customising their MySpace page, for example. I think a good comparison would be the racing games of the 2000s which introduced car customisation as a result of them cashing in on the popularity of the Fast and the Furious movies at the time. Suddenly people who weren't interested in cars found themselves playing racing games like NFS Underground 2 and Midnight Club 3 because they liked customising the cars to make the cars look how they wanted them to look.

[@DienerNoUta]

I mean, you can use Linux and rice your desktop/window manager whatever you want. heck, even people rice xfce/KDE with an aero aesthetic

[@catis4]

I think the huge buttons and the disappearance of customization had to do with the rise of mobile devices. Nowadays, websites have to take into account that they are going to be accessed in big and small screens, therefore they use very simple and minimalist layouts with very little customization. That way they can ensure that the website will work properly on any device

[@CyanRooper]

@@catis4 smartphones from the late 2000s and early 2010s still used skeuomorphic designs and people didn't have any issues with that. It really is more of a case of trends coming and going than anything else.

[@gavinisdie]

To me, Frutiger Aero represents a positive future where man perfectly coexists with nature

[@jojothenoble1]

This is an amazing analogy.

[@FightingTable]

I love aero so much. I love how it looks and how it feels. I wish Microsoft kept it

[@kaleeshsynth9994]

Imagine in 10-15years people being nostalgic for the oversimplified logo area, if we ever move past that

[@MondySpartan]

I might say it’s unlikely but…we’ll never know. I’ve seen some people being nostalgic for Windows 8’s UI already.

[@Youecan]

It likely will but that's simply their memory of the past

[@lilmonix]

Frutiger Aero is something quite special. I was born in 2008, luckily I have been using computers since I was 3 years old. So things like Windows XP and Vista (somehow my dad used Vista instead of 7 at that time) were embedded in my memories... And when I later grew up around 4th grade, I started playing around with Longhorn builds and being an Windows 9x... I feel nostalgic like I used it and stuck with it for a long time, even though I obviously only used XP and Vista back in the day. Kids my age don't have the same nostalgia as me.

[@CYLITM]

Seriously. Even though Windows 7 perfected Aero, Vista had more reflective and new elements. Like Windows Media Player back then and the power button being orange and bright, glossy. Good times.

[@astronautwashere]

i was born in 2009, a year later than you, and i grew up on windows 7 since my dad refused to update. i absolutely loved the look of it

[@Cut3yKat]

This experience is SO REAL. I was born in 2011, been playing video games and such since I was 4, I am the only 8th grader in the entire school to know what a WiiU is, and use a windows 8 computer. People know nothing about classic tech, all the kids just care about pc specs and whatever the new playstation is.

[@CYLITM]

@@Cut3yKat And to think that this is just classic tech for us. Times are changing fast

[@Brick_One_A_Lego_Story]

You know what, I always like reading such comments from different generations. I was born in 2000. My first computer was Windows XP. All the computers at school were Windows XP. The mark of the older (unupdated) ones was having Windows 95 lol. The school library still had the large ugly kinescope monitors. I remember the push to Windows 7 and then 8 though many computers remained Windows XP for years. Last year I noticed a Microsoft XP in the university where I study. Ironically, it was a teacher's computer in a computer workshop room.

[@unamelable256]

Remember when you could actually install themes on Windows? Now you only have dark theme that not even finished..

[@alexander_mejia]

Frutiger Aero as an aesthetic is a real thing. But the way it's presented today is not how we experienced it in the 2000s. It wasn't like every commercial on TV had fish swimming in some futuristic city with water everywhere. You had maybe something like that for every 5 ads shot cheaply because people were still transitioning away from their SD 480i equipment still, so there were a mix of aesthetics in popular media at the time.

[@halu8868]

I'm 15, but have been on the internet since 2013-4 ish. I have great nostalgia of the ending of the Frutiger Aero era of the internet/technology. It's a great style, and i dearly miss it

[@Nerfyboy800]

Reminds of the City of Glass from Mirrors Edge, very glossy and shiny, saturated colours, on the surface everything looks perfect

[@Pyracantic]

Ah I was born in 94. Been using windows since 98 2005-12 were the goat years!

[@maxaffe3195]

yes my man

[@CYLITM]

This upload scheduling was genius. Friday night movie.

[@herodoesstuff]

honestly i agree about "being based on the premise that the current internet is bad"- i think a lot of my yearning for this aesthetic comes from that idea. but its mostly bcuz of losing things like win7, and the way the internet and windows os's Now have been so flattened, corporate, and sucked of any character or love. frutiger aero takes me back to that, the kind of "old" vision of what the future would be like, when now the future is flat squares on a flat background. i think i just carry this gripe about how that was all taken from us lol. i think i'll be dreaming about vistas graphic design for the rest of time

[@Robdeltonie]

TIL a significant portion of people disliked your technicolor video that I really liked.

[@kermitthefrog3207]

I WAS AWAKE FOR A REASON, NATIONSQUID POSTED!!!

[@AyyVeeCee]

Right???? I was just about to go to bed when I got the notification! 😂

[@LAyersFur]

And for me it's the start of the day 😮

[@Wanted797]

8:32 who taught this guy to say Aqua???

[@JSSMVCJR2.1]

A spanish teacher.

[@Palmtop_User]

dora

[@TheElusiveReality]

wtf is it with older ppl being so condescending, of course we put labels on things in a world where, when you try to post on a website, it literally ASKS YOU to give a succinct description and categorization. "the youth are just taking things too far!!" with no context is never a valid point

[@scarm_rune]

it is the moral law to make fun of the younguns.

[@Revoltyx]

I would still be using Windows 7 today if I could

[@CiRdy34]

same, it was amazing performance and design wise

[@CYLITM]

It's crazy to think that this was close to 20 years ago at this point. It really did not seem that long ago a few years ago. I guess the creative era is over.

[@gregreee]

DISCO IS MOST CERTAINLY STILL A THING ! It’s been making a slow, but steady & gradual comeback since the late 2010’s, and I’d say it’s kind of at its peak right now with many music festivals & events being dedicated exclusively to disco. I know that was such a minor point you made in this video, but I’m so passionate about disco that I had to comment lol. Also, love that you got JJ in this video 😊

[@frtzkng]

NationSquid: Disco is not a thing anymore Kylie Minogue: am i a joke to you

[@Game_Hero]

you shouldn't, this biggot lies to you.

[@victor5953]

My take on FA is it is more of a developer initiative. Using familiar icons and soothing design was to get everyone acclimated to the internet, and computers became more affordable to everyone. We now live in a time that the same companies have worsened the experience of the internet in order to charge us more, gouging us out of our money more often than when the internet started. The difference is now we know the internet, and it’s our lives now. The developers don’t have to sell us on anything else so they have to sell us on tiers of convenience, subscriptions to information and tools, and the idea that we don’t own the things we buy. It’s truly no the future we were promised

[@SnoFitzroy]

>FA that doesn't stand for what you think it does...

[@victor5953]

@@SnoFitzroy what do you want? A trophy?

[@jojothepro15]

16:50 Ratatouille may not be the best choice. Nemo tho, perfectly fits the Frutiger Aero aesthetic !

[@Wanted797]

I remember absolutely loving the look of vista. When I got my first laptop (with vista and later 7) I’m pretty sure I found a theme that looked like windows xp, start bar green and blue but added a gloss aero look. It was by far my favourite theme ever.

[@Kennyyule-c8h]

To be honest. The Frutiger Aero style freaked me out. But now makes me feel tingly. Because seeing that is what I saw. When my chubby 5 year old fingers. First touched a keyboard. Marking a beginning of a new chapter in my life

[@predeterminedtornado]

One of my favorite KZbinrs talking about one of my favorite aesthetics...I'm all in.

[@dstinnettmusic]

The fact that JJ can be insightful, even when you disagree with him, is why he is such a valuable voice. It speaks to both his own nature as “not taking himself too seriously” and the necessity of multiple points of view.

[@CYLITM]

I am realizing as I listen to JJ's segment that this is almost like a debate. Whether or not modern aesthetics (mainly online) are better or worse now for being standardized. I think it's just not new or crazy anymore. It's established. Also Frutiger Aero has two eras in my opinion. A 90s, 2000s one which is not fleshed out (like XP graphics), and a late 2000s, early 2010s which is and looks better. In the end, it's that 2010s look compared to now.

[@Axrosable]

I usually skip through video sponsors, but that was the smoothest ad placement I’ve ever seen.

[@hariranormal5584]

the aero styles weirdly something I can relate my 2010's off. Especially that old compound I used to be in there, my dad's office was very "aero like" for it's time with it's modern architecture but still existed around 2005. So it all kinda blends and gives me quite some nostalgia thinking about it.

[@eirikmelum]

Frutiger Aero was everything 🥰❤️🌍

[@ouatedephoque]

I was a huge fan of the Windows XP and Vista look back in the days and I still am now. I feel nostalgic about that time because this was the time I started to use my computers a lot, I was a young adult, I was making music, I used to surf on the internet, using forums etc... Internet felt safe and fun then.

[@ShadowLinkxMaster]

Everyone wake up, it’s our bro NationSquid! ❤

[@kierangrossman1814]

NGL, I was kind of putting off watching this video for a bit because I thought that everything that could be said about Frutiger Aero had already been said. Turns out you had more to add! Great video. Also I’d like to add that I think pop culture aesthetics kind of serves the same function as genres in that it’s a tool of discussion and identification more than it is an exact set of rules. Like, of course there were other aesthetics that were popular in the 2000s. No person invested in this stuff is claiming that “everything was frutiger aero.” They’re just saying that the aesthetic was common, which it was.

[@PenguitoTheMonkey]

Nationsquid has got to be my favorite channel, it fullfills my autistic tech need perfectly.

[@etherealnene]

"...Promised something that we never received." This hurt. I really liked seeing Frutiger aero all over my old computer, the Wii even. I loved the Glass-like look, the water, the futuristic look. I'd kill to experience that again.

[@therealseanw.stewart2071]

This is certainly an aesthetic that is deeply nostalgic to me, a wild tech junkie back in the day. The Windows OS, the desktop backgrounds and several games with colorful early CG aesthetics are so comfy to look at now. Somehow they felt like a world that was so much bigger than it appeared. We miss it dearly. That was one slick and seamless ad placement by the way.

[@colingznetworkplus4618]

We need to go back to this aesthetic

[@Pinkcircleguy]

I absolutely LOVE the sponsor segment, really well made

[@FightingTable]

You've got the best sponsors and the only sponsors I don't skip, I love how you make them

[@Chrismw81]

Just discovered this channel a few days ago. Among my favorites now

[@ArtDumbster]

An in-between of frutiger aero and flat simple designs, simple shapes but with volume That sounds interesting

[@letsgoaway]

kinda reminds me of what windows 11 is trying to do

[@ArtDumbster]

@@letsgoaway rare windows 11 w

[@annarc8862]

Omg I love it so much that you made this video. I have been so into the whole feuriger aero lore lately und you’ve visualised and vocalised all of the thoughts and questions that I’ve had. Thank you so much for making it !

[@TheSUPERWIND2023]

In the big 2024 KZbin is including ads when you pause the video. This era of tech, graphic design, and general use is depressing.

[@TF2cv]

I was in college studying Music Tech in 2005 - 2007. Logic and Reason certainly weren’t Fruitiger Aero. Lots of forums back then (and web pages), still looked quite blocky - very similar to how they looked in the 90s. Fruitiger Aero wasn’t necessarily the stylistic movement that you might think it was. Fruitiger Aero, on scroll bars and backgrounds and soap dispensers and knock off MP3 players looked as cheesy back then as it does now. It does make me nostalgic, but as someone who grew up with it, it wasn’t quite the overwhelming stylistic choice that you may think it was. Even back in the early 2000s people were joking that Apple were “early learning centre” computers (I’m English).

[@jojomations2596]

Reject frutiger aero, return to vaporwave

[@MykezStylez]

Vaporwave became popular again in the mid 2010s after people became sick of frutiger aero. Do what you want with that.

[@Napoleonic_S]

I didn't even know about "frutiger aero" term before this video despite living through that era

[@Daniele63]

the term is pretty recent (2017)

[@genefletcher1932]

As a 2000's kid,I may not have seen this aesthetic everywhere but when I did see it,I was always paying attention to it for the simple fact that it was colorful in way that I wasn't seeing at all at the time. I associated it with entertainment but I still knew that I wasn't at that reality at that point in time. All this to say that it was a very real aesthetic to me and to the people that saw it and it just had more soul to me. So yea,I was aware of it,I didn't see everywhere but I saw it sometimes and I think that it's nice to look back on it despite everything.

[@LAyersFur]

I'm gonna call HelloFresh "Hell of Fresh"

[@fab555trainspottingandmore]

Yeah i know. Sponsors are stupid, KZbin should not be like a TV channel but yeah we have 2024 so that's sadly normal 😔😢

[@yorrickwi]

you are the only youtuber i enjoy watching the sponsored section.

[@Konic_and_Snuckles]

Yes! Finally! I was waiting for you to dip your toes into the Frutiger Aero pool. There's a number of excellent mini-documentaries on YT already, but nothing really takes me back in time quite like a NationSquid video.

[@nekipeh7373]

I still use Windows 7, and its still my favorite OS. Not just becauae of design, but overall UI and settings. And not that many updates like 10. One recently even screwed with my network drivers. And its just too modern looking for my taste, while XPs style is too much nostalgic. Also, that add for Hello Fresh is great! You never fail with doing them in an enjoyabke way!

[@AlexWithMSG]

That sponsorship transition was beautifully smooth

[@clapclapapp]

This is the most creative ad I've ever seen on KZbin. Well done

[@Crocogator]

It wasn't until this video that I really had to think about it. I feel something for the era and the aesthetic, but then I remembered: in XP I always immediately turned the settings to be 'classic'. 98 SE is my thing.

[@beatmania3rdmix]

I might be showing my age here, but I started graphic design when this aesthetic was at its peak, circa 2006-2008. I remember its demise as a 1-2 punch in 2012 - 2013. First came Windows 8, which flattened everything like Windows 98, but with this unsettling, modern, and cold digital lighting. It was absolutely despised when it launched. Then came iOS 8 in 2013, which took the most extreme shift away from the aero aesthetic. It was all about simple lines and colors - nothing more. It felt more like ancient hieroglyphs than a design meant for interacting with devices. Needless to say, people hated that too. In both cases, Microsoft and Apple essentially said, "This is how interacting with computers looks now," and just like that, we lost the aero/agua aesthetic. There was no formal sendoff, and there wasn’t even any real indication to my recollection that society had grown tired of it. It was a decision made by corporations, and they got the change they wanted.

[@antmoundsock1122]

Most people prefer minimalism its more clear and concise and doesn’t distract

[@KidMan373]

all we get today is corporate greed 💀

[@scmbgoogle7790]

This was the most engaging sponsorship. Relates and connects to the video.

[@RichieAlton]

idk if its because im a bias 30 year old but those shiny, glossy, real like frutiger aero icons and widgets look more modern than what we design nowadays. Esp the first iPhone app icons. I'm curious what that looks like to others because to me it looks more modern that a 1 color icon

[@Jav202x]

Thanks for speaking about this Aero era, I always enjoyed, those graphics looked really futuristic and revolutionary, I still like it, and those pics from longhorn used to looked like the windows final boss the pic of an era

[@deoredus]

I was ready to dismiss J.J.'s opinion, but that Kakashi Hatake shirt bought him five minutes.

[@N.EO-Quartz]

That Hello Fresh sponsorship segment was so well integrated! I loved it!

[@TeleviseGuy]

The sponsor segway was one of the cleanest I've seen on KZbin.

[@JSSMVCJR2.1]

and most clever.

[@orbitaljunkie]

Man I'm in tech *and* a designer and this is the first time I've heard the term Frutiger Aero. I guess someone named Sofi Lee coined the term in 2017. Not sure why a typeface needed to be associated with Aero, even if Windows used it, but alright. Nobody calls Apple OSs "Helvetica whatever". IMO the trend really came about because we quickly moved into 24-bit color depth being a standard once Win XP was released. This allowed us to create smoother gradients, along with more RAM/processor speeds allowing for things like transparency (glass effects). So it was a direct response to having the additional technology available to create the styles. Just like you mentioned color TVs in the 60s.

[@sigiligus]

Anything is better than flat design. Anything.

[@robotomo4249]

A bit late to the party, but as in typical NationSquid fashion, that lateness resulted in an extremely high level of content quality! I hope this video will push Frutiger Aero back into the spotlight once again! This aesthetic is by far my favourite. It instills such a strong sense of puruity, serenity and hopefulness within me, also not to mention that it is just beautiful. It feels sleek, futuristic and modern, yet warm and inviting. I was born in 2004, but luckily started using computers at an early age and have a pretty strong photographic memory, so I vivdily recall Frutiger Aero being everywhere, it was massive.

[@sislius7482]

I did not know it had a name. I love the colors of the early 2000s. Modern design is so boring on PC's. If I had those funky colors now, I would look forward to work lol!

[@hariranormal5584]

The good 'ol days of W7 + Alpha Minecraft. Truly an era we'll never see again ):

[@laurencmars]

I think this is the best day of my life- two of my all time favorite KZbinrs collaborating to talk about one of my absolute favorite topics! You guys are incredible 🫶🫶

[@lololordjr]

reject simplification return to frutiger aero

[@Ryanwheatley07]

That's Hello Fresh Sponsorship Ad Clip was actually super smooth

[@Spherius]

Without the need for icons on mobile phones, we might've still have frutiger aero improving and evolving

[@nguyentrongnghia2899]

Before 2013, smartphones had Frutiger Aero UI design although the screens are small. Although nowadays smartphone screens are larger, but mostly using flat design and neumorphism

[@Brushedmetal69]

​@@nguyentrongnghia2899 flat design is kinda dieing in the apple ecosystem at least because of the apple vision pro

[@bradbradson4543]

Somehow, I don't mind windows Vista, but those old iPhone ui designs were gross

[@AuthenticTerrificRickCastle]

I find it funny and witty that you've used old logos of Patreon and Twitter (maybe instagram too, but I'm not sure). Bravo!

[@DreQueary]

I don't think I've ever heard aqua pronounced with a G before. lol

[@wildcorn12790]

aqua was the name, he said "agua" which is the Spanish spelling for water. Lost all credibility when he said this.... Anyone who knows history of MacOS knows that Aqua was the major branding for OS X. So I take everything he says with a grain of salt after that mistake. This is like saying "Windows VEEEEEsta" instead of vista, which I've heard people say. If you say veeeeesta, you clearly have no clue.

[@grillinred]

Your videos never cease to amaze me! You're one of my favorite creators on this site fr

[@davidfrischknecht8261]

FYI, the early OS X UI style was called Aqua, not Agua.

[@MortCodesWeb]

A'GUAH!

[@operationsusfoods1354]

You ever watch a video and check how far along you are in it and say "yaaaay its a long video! "

[@IntellectualWave]

the 60s were colourful because of LSD. That's the root of that era's entire aesthetics.