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Meow Wolf Aesthetic Consumers Consume Aesthetics Part 1
If you’re trying to narrow down whether or not you’re a Pixelscape or a Supergraphic Ultramodern girl, some Meow Wolfers let us know what they think is in – and out!
February 8, 2024
We are living in an age of aesthetic labeling for everything. From Acidgrafix to Zen-X, if you can think of it, there’s an aesthetic label for it. We took some time to talk to some of our favorite creatives about what has been drawing them in, what inspires them, and what they think has heavily oversaturated the market.
What's your favorite aesthetic and why?
Marley Prudeaux, Graphic Designer
I mean it's super hard to choose a favorite aesthetic as a graphic designer – I don't even have a style of my own. I'm constantly falling in love with new things and making them mine, or pushing myself to be weirder or do stuff I literally hate because why not. So if I gotta choose, what I think is fun and weird and wtf and hell yeah: I think it would be Flat Blobs. Or maybe we call it Poison Frog? Or like Oil Slick?
Allyson Lupovich, Marketing Creative Director
I’ve always been drawn to the onset of normalizing sludge, vomit and boogery slime in design, aka Neon Ooze, from the 90s. At the time, this aesthetic established that all kids are nasty regardless of their gender and whether they liked cars or dolls. This transcendance shifted the toy industry and pop culture, and it truly has become unique and autonomous in how the 90s are represented. Yes I’m tired of this never-ending 90s revival too, but Neon Ooze brought gross to the masses in a way that was revolutionary.
Kat Lam, Marketing Creative Director
Supergraphic Ultramodern – The blocky shapes, the vibrating colors, the complex minimalism and unexpected curvatures—it's all just so confident and fun.
Luke Dorman, Graphic Designer
Pixelscape – Perhaps it's the everlasting influence of Where's Waldo on my psyche, but I love nothing more than getting lost in little 2D worlds full of detail. With Pixelscape, I love how the aesthetics can make a relatively banal scene like a cityscape into something that feels mystical and full of life where you wouldn't normally expect to find it. One of my most current fascinations is with experimental architectural drawing, some of which feels like it takes all of my favorite aspects of the Pixelscape aesthetic, but then pushes it to extremes of unfamiliar territory. The work of Drawing Architecture Studio specifically comes to mind – I love how they can use recognizable elements of a city as building blocks, and then distort and transform them into almost psychedelic compositions.
Quinn Fati, Brand Social Media Manager
Decoplex is where it’s at. I love big in-your-face neons with art deco arches and swoops and swerve – like a Miami nightclub in 2324 but imagined in 1982. Anything overwhelmingly maximalist, vibrant, full of life, textural, just gorgeous. I think there’s a lot to be said about this intense dive into minimalism and cool grays but ultimately I have no interest in it visually!
Max Neutra, Experience Designer
I find myself drawn to Cassette Futurism. It's probably due to my being a kid in the 80s. It feels related to a bunch of movies from the time (Alien, Star Wars). A kind of clunky plastic utilitarian look, that also has a feel of being thoughtfully designed with the user in mind. I'm a sucker for a cool looking retro-futuristic consumer gizmo. Look to Teenage Engineering for some recent examples.
Caity Kennedy, Meow Wolf Founder
I’m gonna go obvious with maximalism, which ridiculously also seems to have the name Cluttercore. I look for power clashing, pattern on pattern, floral forever. I love more information but with some nice clean empty breaks so the information can be digested.
Honorable mention: Weirdcore. Mix it with Dreamcore and to make it even better. So pretty and so confusing, so liminal and so sparkly.
What types of aesthetics or certain details do you wish would come back? What needs to go?
Marley Prudeaux, Graphic Designer
Corporate Memphis– All the 3D rendered corporate nonsense. I'm so over those bubblegummy 3D corporate characters.
Allyson Lupovich, Marketing Creative Director
What needs to go: This onslaught of Beige Minimalism and Austerbane, strays further and further away from being anti-establishment, which IMO is a problem ;) All in all though, I love all the messy and complicated aesthetics. I would love to see two unassuming aesthetics come together in unexpected ways. Like if the elitist/minimal nature of Austerbane had a baby with Neon Ooze. I just want all of these stuck up design aesthetics to get kicked around – just a little bit!
Kat Lam, Marketing Creative Director
I love clean lines and geometry. I don't think that aesthetic has completely disappeared by any means, but I wouldn't be mad if people embraced the timelessness of supergraphics. For things that need to go? I'm not gonna yuck anyone's yum here – I truly believe every aesthetic has a time and place to shine.
Quinn Fati, Brand Social Media Manager
Pueblo Deco needs to be revisited badly. Two incredibly formative buildings for me growing up and into adulthood have been the KiMo theater and Skip Maisel’s– just two really beautiful vibrant buildings that merge some really stunning aesthetics.
I think the nostalgia of Y2K returning is being done in rose-colored glasses. Let’s bring back the full scope, not just the cutesy stuff. Give me jeans under dresses, give me Nelly with a bandage on his face, give me mood toe rings.
Also minimalism sucks fr. That article that was like “minimalism is for the rich with no taste” I want tattooed on my body.
Max Neutra, Experience Designer
Bring back Disco Deco. There's a playfulness of colors and curves intertwined with somewhat architectural forms – a nice mix of hand drawn shapes and tool-drawn lines. Maybe it can help us remember how to be playful and open to flow and whimsy within our increasingly automated lives.
Caity Kennedy, Meow Wolf Founder
What can go away because I hate it, but its boundaries are subjective: Gross out horror. I never want to see it and don't need it in my very active and intrusive imagination. It makes me irrationally angry if pain and fear are involved. We won't agree about what's gross– a very subjective category.
What can go away because I find it boring: 50s image collage art, like some smiling guy with pleated slacks as he gestures salesman-like to a mushroom cloud; or a household appliance or animal with high heels / apron / beehive. Very boring. Very heavy handed. Sorry not sorry.
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