Design style: retro
Retro websites with the mood of another decade
frascati can give your site a retro feel when you ask: period fonts, colours and print layouts. It keeps text readable and skips scanlines, glow and grain.
What defines it
- A display font with a period feel, such as a 70s serif, and a readable font for body text
- Colours from the era: warm orange, mustard, olive or faded pastels
- Layouts borrowed from print: posters, menu cards, tickets
- Large photos that match the mood
Where it fits
- Diners, bars and cafés with a period interior
- Vintage shops and record stores
- Bands, labels and event series
- Barbers and traditional crafts
A prompt to start from
Copy it into frascati and change the details to yours.
“Build a retro website for our record store in Bern with a 70s mood: a warm serif display font, a cream background, dark brown text and a mustard accent, and our opening hours set like a concert poster. Pages for new arrivals, events and directions.”
The first version takes about two minutes.
Questions
- What makes a website look retro?
- Fonts, colours and layouts borrowed from an earlier decade, from 70s posters to early web pages. Done well, it feels like a reference to that time, not a costume.
- Can frascati build a retro site?
- It can take the mood when you ask: period fonts, colours and print-inspired layouts. It does not add CRT scanlines, glow, grain, animated GIFs or visitor counters, and text contrast stays at least 4.5:1.
- Will a retro site work on phones?
- Yes. The retro look is in the fonts and colours. The layout is still built mobile first and works on a screen 375 pixels wide.
Your website, about two minutes from now
3 days free with a card, then from $12 a month. The plan starts automatically unless you cancel.