Connor Fairclough

Brand & motion

01/09/2025
RESEARCH JOUNRAL — 01

ASCII:
An accidental visualisation of technology

ASCII is a well known visual language, most commonly accosiated with industries such tech, due to its retro-future aesthetic. Around for seemingly forever (at least during the digital age), I wanted to better understand this process, and how it rose to prominence.
 I’ve noticed the “ASCII” aesthetic popping up more frequently over the past 12 months. Having been interested in the style for some time, I hadn't taken a chance to understand the origin of this visual language.

On the surface, ASCII seems like a way of creating grid-based visuals using text, symbols or shapes, most likely triggered by input such as footage, gradients or 3D models. (A kind of procedural set up, black = 1 and white = 2, and assets are mapped between the variables). However after a deeper look into ASCII, I was fascinated by its origin.
 ASCII originated as a purely functional coding system, a means to assign numerical value to 128 letters, numbers, punctuation and control commands. However, over time creatives began to reinterpret ASCII characters as a toolkit for creating visuals. Illustration, patterns and typography, built line-by-line on a character grid.

Propelled in the 90s with the rise of email, instant messaging, and early web culture, a visual language emerged. Consciously or otherwise, ASCII art became a part of our digital lexicon, from the simple and familiar :-), to intricate illustrations utilising expansive and dense grids made entirely of characters. What followed was a wave of reinterpretation. Creatives have abstracted the core principles as a means to create progressive methodologies. No longer restricted to working with the original 128 ASCII characters, but evolving the logic to work with shapes, imagery, illustration, colour, almost anything. Resulting in a contemporary visual language, that touches on a sense of nostalgia.

Past techniques naturally influence contemporary design, ASCII exemplifies this. With the meteoric growth in the number of AI and tech companies, it is common for designers to look back on traditional codes within a sector and evolve them for contemporary application. In this case it may be ‘technology’. Which most likely explains why this visual approach is becoming more prominent.


CLOSING THOUGHTS
What is arguably most compelling about ASCII is not the visual attributes, but its evolution. From something developed out of pure utility with no intention for creative use, seamlessly growing into a source of visual expression that holds up today. Exemplifying the value of finding original reference points in the unexpected, potentially even mundane, places.



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