NostalgiaOS
Vivek Bajaj
In the age of nostalgics, we are surrounded by art that originates from the past. Nostalgia OS focuses on the role of nostalgia in contemporary culture and aims to question and understand its purpose. Due to the internet boom, our society is able to interact with each other in a way never imagined before. Hyper globalization has lead to a rise in social media and in turn consumerism. We are so used to instant gratification and rapid change.
In these conditions, nostalgia can be used as a device to offer a notion of permanence and identity, owing to its ability to transcend cultural barriers like language. Nostalgia OS is an attempt to explore the role of nostalgia in contemporary culture and design. Adopting cultures from both the past and the present, the project takes two forms: a website and a book. Although the mediums are different, both of them are designed in a similar fashion, with the use of modular forms and shapes that call back to the early computer era. The typography alludes to the relationship between humans and computers, employing the first typeface recognizable by both. The book serves as a guide to understanding nostalgia, while the website functions as a more interactive medium, and serves to convey the meaning of the project through its interaction.