Although it has a multi-generational shot, if it exists The age group for which the word WordArt evokes mixed feelings is between 35 and 60 years old.. Again, I know there are quite a few people outside of that age range who also know very well what I’m talking about, but from my memories of that time (crazy 90’s) and the conversations I’ve had since then to the present, within that range, where I met with the most cheerful reactions.

Although many people associate it with the early versions of Word for Windows 95/98, the truth is that WordArt debuted in Microsoft Word 6.0, released in 1993 for both MS-DOS and Windows.. But it’s normal that not many people remember it, because of course the golden days of this tool came with the arrival of Windows 95/98 and the first versions of Word, which already took advantage of the huge evolution it represented. their arrival in relation to the graphic part.

A text element created with WordArt in Microsoft Word 6.0 for Windows.

with the same Microsoft decided to give WordArt some, shall we say impressive, designs, and this by no means went unnoticed, especially when they were used in documents in which their use was not justified. And as a coincidence, the golden era of WordArt coincided with the Comic Sans typography (which we also give a well-deserved space for). Thus, between the late 1990s and early 2000s, it was fairly common to find documents written in Comic Sans with WordArt-composed captions. There is a lack of studies linking this trend to the many eye defects that their users later encountered.

But before we continue, a quick recap for those who don’t know what this is all about. WordArt is a tool included in some Microsoft Office/Microsoft 365 applications that allows the inclusion of text elements but with different graphic styles. In the image above the previous paragraph, you can see how it was used in Word 6.0, but the landing of the most remembered styles of this tool happened several years later. And as we remember the great glory of those days, it also coincided with… actually Clippy!

Word 97’s combination of WordArt graphic styles, Comic Sans typography, and Clippy takes many of us back to the past of digitally induced lysergic experiences.

for several years The trend was a combination of captions created in WordArt and texts formatted with Comic Sans, initially due to the novelty and striking aspects of his appearance, but later and increasingly as a meme as his visual excesses began to become a joke shared among users. And so for a time we lived in the coexistence of users who used them without ulterior motives, compared to others who used the already mentioned elements ironically.

To understand this a little better, we need to realize that the designs of this generation of WordArt were clearly designed to be very visually striking, but contrary to what a reader who has not experienced these times may think, Even then, they were a bit over the top, with a style that (according to my limited knowledge of graphic design) was more in line with the extreme colorism of the eighties than the somewhat more restrained trends of the nineties. You can see them in the following image:

Although many people think that WordArt eventually disappeared, the truth is that it did Today it is still part of Microsoft Office/Microsoft 365 applications, although the designs it currently offers are undoubtedly much more sober than the ones that made the tool so popular in its day. They are currently the following:

However, Does this mean that the heyday of WordArt is already forgotten? Well, the truth is, not quite. It’s true that it’s no longer common to find elements designed by this version of the tool, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be found. This week, as you recall, we told you about the case of an American airline that managed to avoid the problems caused by ClowdStrike Falcon because it continues to use Windows 3.1 and Windows 95. And this reminds us that even today we can find production systems that use old operating systems… and therefore your own applications.

This brings us to a tweet recently published by Ciudad Real’s wikiCR account, a message in which we can see poster issued by the City Council of Ciudad Real (according to this account) with a call for the forty-fifth annual Limoná Contest, which is part of the program of activities of the main city festival Pandorga 2024. And what makes this call so special? You can see the tweet below this paragraph:

As you can see, in mid-July 2024 we find completely novel, over-the-top and terrible or wonderful design, depending on each person’s taste. Of course, we’re not sure if the virtues or vices (because it depends on each person’s worldview) are accidental or intentional, that is, if the person who suggested it honestly thought it was a great success, hilarious and punchy, or is- if behind it a person who knows perfectly what he has done, and therefore everything is completely intentional. However, I am inclined to think that it is rather the first possibility.

The reactions to it, as we could already imagine, were not long in coming and, as stated in the previous paragraph, There is one for every taste. Some people find it wonderful (and I am one of them), others find it unacceptable, and of course jokes were interspersed between the comments of the other.

We spoke to Beatriz Albir, artist and graphic artist, about WordArt and the “La Limoná” poster

Beatriz Albirová, artist and graphic designer.

I specified earlier that I am not a design expert, but I am lucky to know Beatriz Albir, a sensational artist and designer whose work I was lucky enough to discover through her collaboration with renaissance artist (in the best sense of the word) Elena Casado on her successful book project “August is the coldest month of the year”. You can learn more about Beatriz’s work on her Instagram account.

Beatriz also represents, and that’s why I found it so interesting to have her participation and criteria, the youngest part of the age spectrum that she mentioned at the beginning of the article, and that’s why we talk about a person who experienced the WordArt boom at the timeto which we must add his extensive knowledge of the most current trends in graphic design. Will it speak to us from the perspective of nostalgia? Restoring “old” styles? About the ironic use of this type of resource?

VeryComputer: What is your opinion as a designer on the La Limoná competition poster? Do you think her use of graphic resources is accidental or intentional?

Beatriz Albirova: I’m absolutely sure it’s a coincidence. Although the use of WordArt or Comic Sans in an ironic way has become commonplace, it needs to be something much more obvious to understand the intent. Moreover, when a designer is aware of the importance of this type of graphic elements, he also knows better tools to emphasize this aesthetic. In fact, today, even for the most beginners, there are applications like Canva that already show you templates with a retro aesthetic, where the intention is evident..

VeryComputer: And more generally, do you think that resorting to elements of this type, so connected to a specific moment and which can evoke nostalgia but also rejection? Is it a success or a failure? Maybe it depends on the context?

Beatriz Albirova: It is an absolute mistake. If we want to evoke nostalgia, we would have to be more explicit and adapt past aesthetics to the present, as it happened in his time with the retro-wave or as it happens today with the revival of the 90s and 20th centuries without breaking the big rules of design. The fewer fonts the better, avoid the Office defaults and stick to a color palette of a few shades. If I followed these rules, even if I used WordArt, I might consider it intentional.

Even so, the bar for graphic design expectations is so low that as long as it doesn’t use artificial intelligence or Comic Sans, we’re already satisfied. Therefore, I think that despite everything, it is possible that the poster will be well received or taken as a joke..

VeryComputer: Do you think if the poster reaches more virality we will see more designs of this style in a short period of time?

Beatriz Albirova: It could happen and actually is already happening. It’s not because of this poster, but I’ve already seen similar campaigns with brands like Natulim or Jumpers. I myself provided information for a travel agency in Benidorm who were looking for a nineties aesthetic, but I tried to make the intention obvious..

VeryComputer: What is your personal and professional opinion on WordArt?

Beatriz Albirova: My first contact with digital art was with a second-hand computer that had Windows 3.1 installed. It wasn’t enough, even so I was already spending hours in Painting. I don’t hide it, rather the paint can and the spray are a thing of the past that I am proud of.

I later upgraded to Windows 95 and it felt like stepping from a bicycle to a train. Of course, not to the high-speed train, but to one of the regional trains that stop in 20 cities. But even so, the change was strong.

In terms of text creation, I have of course been a WordArt user for every one of my ESO projects. Like everyone else, I didn’t use Clip, I liked Gatulina better.

At the time, using WordArt was seen as the epitome of digital skills. But it wasn’t, at least not at a professional level. Of course, it was fine for school and high school work. But when companies or institutions used it, it was already creepy, or as the kids say now, cringe.

Later, in the formative phase, I learned about some pillars of graphic design that, like the ones I mentioned earlier, revolve around the concept of less is more. With the exception of irony, we have to find a balance in which we break some rules, respect others, and make our intentions and appeal to nostalgia clear.
If these trends, whether casual and honest or intentionally ironic, lead to a revival of WordArt, I hope that Office will get its act together and update its tools towards the current trends of the graphic dream..