"Global Village Coffeehouse" aesthetics: C/D?

Inspired by the discussion of the latest Vampire Weekend album cover

This covers the late 80's - early 90's aesthetics combining vague ethnic signifiers with rudimentary computer graphic design tools.

I think even at the time this looked really ugly, but there's definitely something about its cheesy coziness that makes it ripe for nostalgia.

vague ethnic signifiers are a dud but rudimentary computer graphic design tools are absolutely classic

It feels SO familiar... yet I can't find the cover it reminds me of !

I was just about to say "oh of course it looks like..." but all the LPs I'm looking at aren't it. It's a big LP from the early 90s, and I've seen it many times before.

ILX's collective intelligence will find the answer to this frustrating quest !

The orange stripe down the side and the circular type is giving me Neville Brody style top notes.

I was just about to say "oh of course it looks like..." but all the LPs I'm looking at aren't it. It's a big LP from the early 90s, and I've seen it many times before.

THIS EXACT SAME THING happened to me. I thought it was a Jesus Jones or Ned's Atomic Dustbin cover and it wasn't but it was something LIKE that.

Maybe it was just a t-shirt? I'm picturing a design on a shirt (maybe it was a record too though).

I was thinking of this but not sure it fits the bill ... the music, though

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PlanetDrumCD.jpg

Made me think of the Nation Records logo (y'know, Transglobal Underground and that crowd), maybe a comp on that label, but it's not all that similar really.

I'd swear the earth globe is some 90s clipart.

Not the same same, but https://www.depop.com/products/fzapata-escape-reality-universal-studios-hollywood/

Not mad on Bride Father of The as a title tbh.

I used to go to this coffee shop a lot, the name definitely fits here but the graphics are a bit more late 90s cheesy:

http://polarbearhockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/oneworldcafe.jpg

strongly associate this style with being in church in the 90s

Terrible album cover - reminds me of Soho's 'Goddess' from 1990:

https://goo.gl/images/6NPyKM

The cover for the single for Edie Brickell's What I Am came to mind when looking at the Vampire Weekend cover, but all that really has in common is a drawn round thing on white background.

Small World Coffee in Princeton NJ is my go-to for this aesthetic

http://www.smallworldcoffee.com/_assets/img/common/printHeader.png

Still using it in 2019 but this logo & type definitely dates back to the 90s or, for all I know, farther

That Vampire Weekend cover doesn't really take the 90s aesthetic far enough imo, winds up just looking very generic

sorry if large, this one is a local example for me:

https://scontent-ort2-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/10169444_10152316743742520_88410142_n.jpg?_nc_cat=108&_nc_ht=scontent-ort2-2.xx&oh=4a13c5d3166b95bf7f345bf0ba29a2d3&oe=5D0D7D0E

Small World Coffee in Princeton NJ is my go-to for this aesthetic

http://www.smallworldcoffee.com/_assets/img/common/printHeader.png

― Guayaquil (eephus!), Monday, March 11, 2019 10:46 AM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Dude are you from the princeton area? That is my spot

Or *was*

I like this aesthetic. I think it will become my new aesthetic. The Brooklyn country gentleman thing has gotten tired.

I used to go to small world coffee a lot -- Princeton trips were a regular thing from Rutgers. The PREX-Hoagie Haven-small world trifecta. Maybe also throw in a bookstore or two.

Can trade in my red wings for tevas

There is only one bookstore left there. It’s this aesthetic too somewhat. I used to work there.

definitely associate this aesthetic with coffee shops that existed in the 90s

some plants around, a counter where you order or someone might take your order if they're out dropping drinks off at tables. big chalkboards listing fresh beans

The green new deal needs a look imo. This might be it

Excited to see ezra’s outfits on the new tour

I was searching "earth day shirt" to try and find the urtext for this.

Excited to see ezra’s outfits on the new tour

http://www.undertheradarmag.com/uploads/article_images/vampire-weekend-harmony-hall-video-pancakes-ezra.jpg

i mean

https://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_500/MI0000/040/MI0000040206.jpg?partner=allrovi.com

different but there's something there

There's the whole line of Putumaya comps that were always displayed at bookstores, global-village type stores, and so on.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5XYiqHni398/S72054Z5MOI/AAAAAAAADGg/v23yWYDi87c/s1600/41EXKD6MBKL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

https://www.oneofthethree.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/1993-09-19-San-Francisco-WOMAD-flyer.jpg

Future Zone: A Virtual Village

http://www.sandygarnettstudio.com/files/4514/2232/7992/1992HordePosterw8.jpg

don't know why my image is broken; here's the link: http://www.sandygarnettstudio.com/files/4514/2232/7992/1992HordePosterw8.jpg

did u all see this exchange, amazing:

We're just waiting for the Global Hypercolour tee shirt

— Jesus Jones (@jesusjonesband) March 7, 2019

I'd forgotten Big Head Todd. They were kinda big, weren't they, though they closed out the era.

Bittersweet you could say

i feel like keith haring was a big influence on this aesthetic.

this is bringing back lots of "going to the houses of friends with aging hippie parents in the early 90s" memories...

also my uncle's recycling/green office supply company totally rode this wave:

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1014234044777676800/ryWkJk0z_400x400.jpg

The globe art of this era wreaks havoc on the Canadian arctic.

would not be totally shocked if big head todd could still draw comparable live numbers to vampire weekend

"jam band adjascent" + "a couple huge 90s alt rock hits" is a powerful combo in the U.S.

http://i66.tinypic.com/2z54nlw.jpg

Chagall seems like an influence here too, in addition to haring

Also idk if this was linked yet. Good analysis of why these looks might be coming back

this shit is what gives me righteous fury

I typed a thread a while ago on how the obsession w/ graphic design aesthetics of the 80's and 90's among young designers today is a cry of rebellion against... THIS https://t.co/JBZSvz3z7g

— 〽️ax krieger's big mood (@MaxKriegerVG) February 14, 2018

Wait, so Jesus Jones and I BOTH think the Vampire Weekend cover is reminiscent of Jesus Jones aesthetic but there's no actual Jesus Jones album cover that looks anything like it? Weird.

Sorry here is the for real og thread

I theorize that the rise in popularity of all sorts of pre-2008 visual designs, from "vaporwave" to synthwave to anime futurefunk to memphis milano to "global village coffeehouse" to y2k to "mcbling", is a cry of rebellion against the modern state of consumer graphic design

— 〽️ax krieger's big mood (@MaxKriegerVG) December 28, 2017

See also:

Just found out the wonderful @ScienceMuseum logo designed by @johnsonbanks has been replaced with a simple typeface. From Burberry to Yves Saint Laurent, brands are doing this and IMO it's a shame and a copout. So, coining a #portmanteau for this: brand + brand+ blah = #blahnd. pic.twitter.com/yAy9Jwg5tT

— Irene Hoffman (@ihoffman) March 7, 2019

Yeah this shit is wild.

Part of me likes this trend to sans serif, user focused Appleworld—it’s kind of like, the final and unexpected triumph of Modernism. But the context is wrong. For the Bauhaus, Le Corbusier, these kinds of people, there was a utopian dimension to modernism, even a Marxist dimension, which is totally lacking here. They’re not trying to shake off the dead weight of the past, they’re cutting corners. It’s fast food.

i don’t know, who cares? design looks this way because this is what design looks like in 2019, we don’t always need to ascribe moral qualities to aesthetics

Hegel says it means something

I'm confused, have y'all heard of vaporwave?

Oh sorry lol

oh no our poor brands

I linked to it on the VW thread, but for the sake of this thread, here is where the Global Village Coffeehouse aesthetic is laid out:
https://www.are.na/blog/the-global-village-coffeehouse-aesthetic

Also, from the same site, a glorious gallery of examples:
https://www.are.na/evan-collins-1522646491/global-village-coffeehouse

Good place to find this aesthetic: early 1990s issues of Utne Reader pic.twitter.com/VyuoHlr1VQ

— John M. Cunningham (@jmcunning) March 9, 2019

Trϵϵship go home ur drunk

This is supposed to be a safe space to care about aesthetics

Never stop, treeship

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8f/Thebeloved_conscience.jpg

bingo

"Einstein Bros. Bagels-core"

https://i.pinimg.com/236x/23/2c/e0/232ce01d321617e8ed80486d10c5378b--bagel-music-to.jpg " class="noborder">

https://theblacksheeponline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/einsteinbrosweirdwallartjpeg.jpg " class="noborder">

oops

https://theblacksheeponline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/einsteinbrosweirdwallartjpeg.jpg
https://i.pinimg.com/236x/23/2c/e0/232ce01d321617e8ed80486d10c5378b--bagel-music-to.jpg

https://img.discogs.com/cjAHW381umqRh0tiRoJTMpqaVOM=/fit-in/300x300/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(40)/discogs-images/R-189069-1336110266.jpeg.jpg

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71KZA7EJEBL._SX360_BO1,204,203,200_.gif

It feels SO familiar... yet I can't find the cover it reminds me of !

― AlXTC from Paris, Monday, March 11, 2019 9:37 AM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I was just about to say "oh of course it looks like..." but all the LPs I'm looking at aren't it. It's a big LP from the early 90s, and I've seen it many times before.

― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Monday, March 11, 2019 10:15 AM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

ILX's collective intelligence will find the answer to this frustrating quest !

― AlXTC from Paris, Monday, March 11, 2019 10:19 AM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Also, you guys are definitely right. If it's what I'm thinking of, the design was a big departure from other album covers the artist had released. The Soho Goddess album that Willl linked to is close but not quite it.

Its really bugging me so I've been on a deep dive through early 90's album covers. Candidate #2 = 'Let Them Eat Bingo' by Beats International: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f5/LetThemEatBingo.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f5/LetThemEatBingo.jpg
apologies, img embed fail

! That's a good one. I had been thinking that whatever it is, it might be on the dance/electronic spectrum too.

yeah definitely ! for me there's got a be a geometric and electronic element in the visual mix.
Not juste the global village coffeehouse aspect.

https://t2.genius.com/unsafe/220x220/https%3A%2F%2Fimages.genius.com%2F2b6008c0dccf6288ce4e4bb4a6d56d79.600x600x1.jpg

perhaps it's something to do with early 90s web design rather than a particular album cover?

(sorry for the typos...)

https://www.variaworld.nl/fotogroot/0006645000_voorzijde.jpg

I had considered Beats International too, but that's not what I'm thinking of. We'll get this!

I linked to it on the VW thread, but for the sake of this thread, here is where the Global Village Coffeehouse aesthetic is laid out:
https://www.are.na/blog/the-global-village-coffeehouse-aesthetic

Also, from the same site, a glorious gallery of examples:
https://www.are.na/evan-collins-1522646491/global-village-coffeehouse

― jaymc, Monday, March 11, 2019 7:56 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

seems to me that global village coffeehouse aesthetic is very much not what this vampire weekend cover is going for

as in no hand drawing, too minimal, not very natural or earthy looking, no wavy lines, etc.

Yeah, there's something different going on there for sure.

The thing about the cover I'm thinking of re Vampire Weekend, is that I don't actually know the group very well. However, I'm familiar with the cover because someone on ilx mentioned it, like "remember when _______ came out with that weird album cover? What a mistake!" or something.

Font is wrong, but...

http://img.clipartlook.com/http-www-teacherfiles-com-clipart-earth-day-earth-day-25-jpg-earth-day-clip-art-250_250.jpg

maybe the VW cover looks familiar bc... it is a blue and white earth on a white background and this image has been everywhere for a long time. sorry i am being kind of a dick

also deep forest these guys were on this trip for sure

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Forest_(Deep_Forest_album)#/media/File:DeepForestDeepForest.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f0/DeepForestDeepForest.jpg

the little logo seems congruent, not sure about the rest of it

this was their whole vibe!

Deep Forest is the first studio album by the musical group Deep Forest, consisting of French duo Eric Mouquet and Michel Sanchez. The album mixes New Age electronics with UNESCO field recordings of music from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Solomon Islands, Burundi, Tibesti, and the Sahel. Deep Forest was nominated for the Grammy Award as Best World Music Album in 1994. For Sanchez and Mouquet, the most important purpose of the album was to express their own fascination with the Efe people, and open the world's ears to the exquisite sound of a quickly vanishing culture. As Mouquet noted, "It's not very often you can hear a Pygmy singing on the radio."

Yeah I think some of these are getting pretty far afield from what's essentially a clipart globe w/words wrapping around it (tho I agree it's prob. gesturing toward the era in question)

The white album cover thing is definitely of the time though

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/98/Seal-Seal%281994%29.jpg

http://jamiroquai.com/upload/jam_new/albums/album-cover-1.jpg

xp. ok yah very on brand.

strikes me that the java logo is a bit this

The white album cover thing is definitely of the time though

It's a shame The Beatles never thought of it.

seems to me that global village coffeehouse aesthetic is very much not what this vampire weekend cover is going for

― ( ͡☉ ͜ʖ ͡☉) (jim in vancouver), Tuesday, March 12, 2019 11:22 AM (two hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I agree. Someone mentioned Global Village Coffeehouse in a Hipinion thread about the Vampire Weekend album, but I don't think it was in reference to the cover, more just the general ~vibe~ that the band seems to be currently interested in.

The discussion of GVC in the Vampire Weekend FOTB thread was prompted by this Jordan S. post:

idk the visual aesthetic they're referencing in this stuff is pretty obvious to me... i guess ezra & i are roughly the same age and prob grew up around a lot of the same ppl (upper middle class suburban jews) but ironic riffing on the iconography of boomer hippies-turned-settled down adults and their kids (life is good brand clothes, tevas, fonts on the first wave of organic products, environmentalism, jam bands etc) is pretty in the sweet spot of the kind of social milieu this band has always occupied itself with

I was hoping this thread would be more about GVC and less about the VW cover!

Yeah. This whole aesthetics captured a certain middle aged contentment, still clinging to a vaguely progressive mindset. So boomers in their 50s basically.

From the gallery:

https://d2w9rnfcy7mm78.cloudfront.net/2365279/large_139ea3eea71eb5497d36ec66fb814677.jpg?1530161891

lol

I'm very into that gallery

i don’t know, who cares? design looks this way because this is what design looks like in 2019, we don’t always need to ascribe moral qualities to aesthetics

― marcos, Monday, March 11, 2019 11:50 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this is so motherfucking otm i can't even

I think it’s just the 20 year nostalgia cycle we’ve been experiencing since, like, 1973

i was just thinking about how it was weird at woodstock they had sha na na play dress up 50s rock when many of the original rock n rollers were still doing great work at that time and killing it live

That's an interesting point, there aren't even any on this list: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodstock#Declined_invitations_or_missed_connections

Looks like Chuck Berry (for example) was actively playing festivals that year: He also played at large events in North America, such as the Schaefer Music Festival, in New York City's Central Park in July 1969, and the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival festival in October. (per Wikipedia)

I tried Googling the question, and the best I could find was a web page containing this info:

Elvis himself had no interest in hippies. He was a part of a previous generation and viewed hippies as a threat to society.

i think design trends are interesting, idk

xp

You should follow this blog (serious, not snarky, suggestion): https://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/

i didn't realize 'global village coffeehouse' was actually a term used outside of this thread

https://www.are.na/evan-collins-1522646491/global-village-coffeehouse

anyway this was the first thing that came to mind

http://https%3A//www.nonesuch.com/sites/g/files/g2000005811/f/styles/album_detail__545___545_/public/201709/Le%20Mystere%20Des%20Voix%20Bulgares_1%20black.jpg

meh

http://https%3A//www.nonesuch.com/sites/g/files/g2000005811/f/styles/album_detail__545___545_/public/201709/Le%20Mystere%20Des%20Voix%20Bulgares_1%20black.jpg%3Fitok%3D1aR49Iru

mother fucker just look here: https://www.nonesuch.com/sites/g/files/g2000005811/f/styles/album_detail__545___545_/public/201709/Le%20Mystere%20Des%20Voix%20Bulgares_1%20black.jpg?itok=1aR49Iru

i think design trends are interesting, idk

― Trϵϵship, Tuesday, March 12, 2019 5:47 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i agree! but finding design trends interesting doesn't require us to imbue them with moral value. brands widely shifting to sans-serif typefaces in their logos in 2019 does not warrant moral outrage imo

I think outrage overstates my position. I love minimalism but don’t like how it’s becoming de rigeur.

xpost ah, I thought about that "les voix bulgares" cover too !

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Division_Bell#/media/File:Pink_Floyd_-_Division_Bell.jpg

urgh
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5182VSyGE6L._SL500_AA300_.jpg

pink floyd design rules!

Really like this thread! The first thing that came to mind was the second Soul II Soul album:

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61ISrAr0oUL.jpg

I guess someone mentioned Putumayo comps upthread already, but those are the first things that come to mind. They seemed to be in every bookstore and coffeehouse in the 90s. Were any of them ever any good? I remember listening to a few and not thinking much of them.

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a3427711619_10.jpg

VW cover feels kinda like a shit ver of this to me

https://e.snmc.io/i/600/w/f59054970a2db9b20278fe89c7617fb4/1931175

This Canadian celtic-tinged college folk-rock thing:

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51huzAlcbRL._SX425_.jpg

Nice! Got some globes in various positions, a terrible font, elongated torsos, equitable gender representation...

The print edition of the New Yorker 3/11 (lol) is plastered with this aesthetic

Vw and the ny’er being synced up seems about right ...

xp - when you think about it we all live in this house called planet earth

There's a Facebook group simply titled "Global Village Coffeehouse" that has loads of examples, for fans of the style. It's not quite the same but the "Shiny Happy People" video reminds me of this aesthetic--maybe the similar vibe of "earthy multicultural positivity".

Not the same vibe, but speaking of that era's design, also worth a look is the "Factory Pomo" group, which compiles this style:

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GNeiWPpVzEc/WAQwxqEMzYI/AAAAAAAAEcs/ekVCMisKDzg8MS8VAAt_7fNJ_3nmvDMcACLcB/s1600/front..jpg

Thank you, blatherskite! I'm pretty sure that the album cover I'm thinking of would fit more comfortably into the Factory Pomo genre. I joined the group and there are definitely a lot of earth/nature symbols in there too, but in a markedly different style than the Global Village Coffeehouse stuff.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51EVX1G902L.jpg

London, Ontario's own!

The one I was thinking of was

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00000IPKN.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

which wasn't as similar as I thought.

not global village coffeehouse or factory pomo really.

Saw a good example of GVC at my mom's house the other day. It was basically a flat metal sculptural form of the woman in this print. My mom said she bought it in Sedona lol.

https://d2w9rnfcy7mm78.cloudfront.net/3980706/original_04f9ea5e120ee6e319a4e217b2cd0b8a.png

I lived in flagstaff in the late 90s and Sedona was like peak gvc then but with bobus kokopelli everywhere

This feels like it fits in with this aesthetic.

https://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_500/MI0002/790/MI0002790545.jpg

I have an album in my collection called The Planet Sleeps. It's a collection of lullabies from all over the world. It's really nice! It was released in 1997 (on compact disc only), and it fits this aesthetic to a T:
https://i.imgur.com/m1p45TR.jpg

happy earth day :)

https://images.app.goo.gl/Mc1Lg2q65ooExs3QA

http://aggieinthecity.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/earth20day205r2.jpg

Feel like the opening titles to Northern Exposure are the purest distillation of this aesthetic: the theme tune already sounds like a Vampy Weeks pastiche.

https://youtu.be/hKDzDA-jgRs?t=83

lol good call

I got strong vibes from this plate someone left in the breakroom sink:

https://i.imgur.com/EdccsaY.jpg

I imagine this plate magically adds sun dried tomatoes to anything you put on it.

smells like fiddlehead ferns

Feel like the opening titles to Northern Exposure are the purest distillation of this aesthetic: the theme tune already sounds like a Vampy Weeks pastiche.

Can someone start a twitter campaign to get them to cover it?

place in Raleigh literally called “Global Coffehouse Village”, was this a known fact and I was just i. the dark? And yes, the logo is extremely predictable.

Someone posted this on Twitter and it's bugging me that I can't identify it. Disclaimer: it may not be an album.

Twitter, What is this and where is it from? Its doing my canister in pic.twitter.com/3cj91qXFKc

— SfH (@simonfromharlow) May 31, 2019

one of the first replies says saved by the bell and it does look identical to the aesthetic in the opening credits for that

looks like generic late-'80s Trapper Keeper art, could be from anything

it's definitely a tv show.

actually it appears it's a thing that's spread on whatsapp in the uk and might be a bit of a pain in the arse thing without a real answer (it's apparently not saved by the bell, may just be some generic patter than brings to mind that style)

tweeter you quoted has deleted the tweet due to finding this out

"and that sense of upper-middle-class 'global village' syncretic fusionism that I think really begins in the 80s"

Seriously no one ITT is bringing up Rusted Root, the Everything, or Dave Matthews?

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e9/25/38/e92538aeee4d8f3d58ad2f35bbb6f532.jpg

I saw a car this week with 2(!) of those stickers^^

i'm a huge fan of this band but this is way over the top

https://merch.ambientinks.com/collections/purebathingculture/products/earthling-tee

reminds me of duckman for some reason

Feel like this set of Big Thief merch really captures the vibe.

GUYS GUYS ITS HERE ITS SO BEAUTIFUL pic.twitter.com/UvOBmfJHU8

— BalaPatty💫⭐️ (@BalaPattySZN) November 19, 2020

New website for the Consumer Aesthetics Research Institute:
https://cari.institute/

that website is amazing!

this doesn't seem like a particularly good example of Global Village Coffeehouse (though it is listed a such), but this was actually the Nintendo website homepage at one point??! Insane

https://images.are.na/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJhcmVuYV9pbWFnZXMiLCJrZXkiOiIxOTg2NjI5L29yaWdpbmFsXzUwYzAxZTE0OGFjOTc1ZWE3YzU0MmQyNzAxMTU0MDE3LnBuZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6MTIwMCwiaGVpZ2h0IjoxMjAwLCJmaXQiOiJpbnNpZGUiLCJ3aXRob3V0RW5sYXJnZW1lbnQiOnRydWV9LCJ3ZWJwIjp7InF1YWxpdHkiOjkwfSwianBlZyI6eyJxdWFsaXR5Ijo5MH0sInJvdGF0ZSI6bnVsbH19?bc=1

Fantastic, so many looks from the 90s/2000s that I recognize but could never articulate as an aesthetic. Googie-Lounge Kitsch gives me vivid flashbacks of my Disney World vacations as a child in the early 1990s, particularly the MGM/Hollywood Studios park.

As a general FYI, you can still see surviving examples of actual Googie here in L.A.

that website is great, though i'm a bit disappointed in how lopsided it is towards more recent stuff. hopefully that will change.

this was actually the Nintendo website homepage at one point??! Insane

Definitely not, it appears to be their annual shareholder's report.

wow that website is the real fuckin deal

xp Deflatormouse, idk, looks more like a website to me. But maybe not their public-facing homepage? Letter to Shareholders looks more like a link, and why would it say "Nathaniel's Fun Factory" on the letter to shareholders?

but yeah now that I think about it, why would it say 1999. maybe you're right. still confusing, beyond the very confusing branding

its the website for the shareholder report - found it on wayback

def gonna get baked and look at that site tonight

Yes sorry shareholder report *in website form*

Nintendo homepage ca. 99 is here:
https://web.archive.org/web/19990427192531/http://www.nintendo.com/home/index.html

I like this but how many of these "aesthetic categories" are basically just riffs on Memphis Milano

this doesn't seem like a particularly good example of Global Village Coffeehouse (though it is listed a such)

It does to me. Earth with a childlike hand-drawn face on it, warm colors, sun/moon imagery -- all of that feels very GVC.

I kinda want to live inside "Corporate Tech Laser Grid"