Experience Design Elements in Cyberpunk Space

Experience Design Elements in Cyberpunk Space

——The Use of Visual Elements in Cyberpunk Works

Jiayi Guan

LumePulse Design, LLC

Introduction

What does experience design in a cyberpunk space stand for nowadays? Mass media has given the answer of a stylistic collage of elements. From popular cyberpunk novels, movies, animations, and games, audiences learn to categorize certain aesthetics as “cyberpunk”. To name a few: geometric and infographic icons; pink, green and blue neon colors; numbers and barcodes on human skin that show identities as humanoid; cyberspace navigation and typical cyberpunk cities with fancy skyscrapers as well as dingy ghettos. There’s nothing wrong with categorizing elements into a genre. If fact, audiences define and distinguish art genres according to these traits. Subtle, ornamental, and highly decorative patterns indicate art nouveau or art deco. Thin, small, rapid brushstrokes with composition highlighting the contrast of values are presumably impressionism artworks. Geometrical shapes and prime colors instantly link people with De Stijl and Bauhaus.Yet under the cover of mass media representations the fundamental principles of designing such elements are veiled by pure visual interpretations. For example, triple-A-produced games and internationally and critically acclaimed movies are usually visually appealing with action senses, 3D models, and special effects. Granted, people may deem recent cyberpunk works more mainstream thanks to these appealing effects. The philosophy of designing and constructing senses and elements is, however, forgotten by larger audiences overindulging in appearances. Nevertheless, the philosophy behind the design of Cyberpunk work is so essential that, after thirty years of its origin, cyberpunk does not wind down. In contrast, it becomes

ever more popular, climbing into major platforms, switching its role from a sub-genre

science fiction for small groups of people to acclaimed hits for generalized audiences. Artists and designers in cyberpunk work subtly designed their visual elements so these elements are attached to the main theme of creating cyberspace and focus on the interaction and conflicts between technology and life, urban landscapes and cyberspace, powerful monopoly corporate companies and common people. By doing

so, this genre almost delivers the prophecies of the future we are facing - and that is the true reason for its popularity.

Lines

Lines symbol connections between two entities or block off and separate one entity from another. Line uses are ubiquitous in design settings. The use of lines in Cyberpunk works, however, has its distinctive representation: grids, perspectives, and cables. In graphic design, a grid is presented as a system where information is organized around. Using sets of intersecting lines designers can manipulate elements on the page with ease. In the cyberpunk world, grids and lines are used to construct an interpretation of cyberspace - without digital tools to build such illustration on the computational or algorithmic platform, early designers think of using grids and lines as representations of cyberspace and other symbols under the ontology of cyberspace - electrical system, circulation, data streams, to name a few. In the design of the original

book cover of Neuromancer (1984), the designer distorted lines, forming a one-point perspective extending to the end of introductive typography elements. Lines expand, fold, and concentrate, creating a self-explanatory three-dimensional space. The

title of “Neuromancer” is displayed and merged into perspective grids. The human figure in the center is, similar to typography, constructed by intertwining lines. This symbolizes the cyberpunk motif of identities traveling between cyberspace in the forms of data streams - in Neuromancer, hackers reach the dreamland of virtual reality through

computers, turning themselves into, essentially, data streams. Even after digital design

tools are developed, similar motifs are kept in numerous variations of future publications, like different versions of covers for Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (1968) and Snow Crash (1992). In the cover of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, the grid system is presented as the background of the title, while Snow Crash constructs its cover page around a sword in extending line patterns that symbolizes the power of cyberspace as well as typical chaotic

and unsettling nature of punk-style underground violence.The use of lines points out the cyberpunk motif of technology advancement and establishes an essential position for readers in cyberspace, leading them into a world with vertical depth and horizontal broadness cyber world to navigate, through relatively clumsily, imitating the perspective from typical protagonists in cyberpunk novels.

Space

Space is tightly connected and interweaved with lines, shapes, and forms - the structure of the environment is a result of united forms and shapes. In cyberpunk works,

two categories of space are specifically and distinctively depicted: the “real” space of city landscapes as well as the “fake” space where the mind of cyborgs navigate. An urban environment in Cyberpunk is distinctive as it’s typically a representation of high tech versus low life, and corporate power versus common people. “Real” spaces of city landscapes are usually dark and dirty, represented by overcrowded living spaces and narrow alleys, filled with illegal activities and violence. The drug use problem is pervasive. In Cyberpunk 2077 it’s more than normal to see addicts be dragged away for

treatments, while people are dying from crimes like robbery or gang fights. Players are

directed to explore cities as a vertical landmark - complicated constructions of circular corridors and small, limited spaces with massive operating machines, wireframes, and cargo boxes almost turn the city into a running algorithm. The city dynamic is constantly shifting, with vibrant neon color, loud ambient music, and citizens with body alternation, it’s hard to distinguish from real or imagined, from chaos to clear nature. The complex nature of data is thus shown. Similarly, in the Blade Runner series as well as Ghost in the Shell the conflicts between humans and androids become the main reason for civil unsettlement and gunfire.

Color

The cyberpunk genre has a distinctive color palette, distinctive enough that people may easily categorize anything with neon colors as cyberpunk colors. Indeed, neon color is used in almost every single audiovisual cyberpunk work - yet cyberpunk color scheme is much more than blue and red neon signs. Both

The Matrix and Blade Runner series constructed a dark, dim and unclear environment, adopting it from the early genre of Film Noir, which are crime stories that usually emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. Stories of The Matrix are set under a tinted grey-green filter, while the real world in The Matrix is gloomy with potential attacks from machine intelligence. Its iconic digital rain has a neon green color popping up clearly on top of

black backgrounds, imitating the way data streams.In Blade Runner blue neon lights construct the city ecosystem. The height of skyscrapers, almost covers the nature lights the city lets in, strangling the life out of the city altogether. Grim, weak lights cover

other parts of the city. Human figures get simplified into shadows and silhouettes, while the neon pink three-dimensional commercial figures become the central piece of the city. Cyberpunk 2077 utilizes dark red and neon blue to construct the user interface -

even the dashboard is red while typographic assets are blue. The health points are

highlighted in neon green.Low saturation blue, red with different shades of grey, and black are constantly utilized in different cyberpunk works. This specific choice of the color palette has a rationale behind it. A neon-noir scene creates a strong

contrast between two colors - a naturally eye-catching effect. The commercial billboards and shop signs are attention-catching, high saturated, bright, and vivid. Yet the actual city life is gloomy and unfortunate. Three-dimensional, virtual reality neon posters are high tech, while the streets covered in dirty rainwater are a low life. By using specific color palettes, the central idea of cyberpunk is shown in almost every sense of audiovisual works.

And Nowadays…

Cyberpunk works have blossomed recently. Altered Carbon and Westworld were great hits, Cyberpunk 2077 was one of the most successful and hyped video games, and new The Matrix movie will be released soon. Besides all the accumulated popularities of the genre, the once limited landscape of cyberpunk works seems more crowded than ever. Though obscured by captivating visual elements, audiences are drawn to cyberpunk works for different reasons. Frist is no doubt the visual elements - the neon colors, the visual effects, etc. Yet the attraction comes from far more than only

visual components. The design elements analyzed above are not futile. All the elements work hand in hand, indicating and emphasizing the social upheavals, technology developments, and dystopian future. These representations lead audiences back to current society. The similarity of atmosphere between cities now and in cyberpunk is daring. Developments of urban landscape turn cities into cyberpunk-esque space. Skyscrapers exist in most major cities, factories dimming the sky, light pollution causing murky light effects, not to mention people use their phones and other electronic devices with a much higher frequency, actively putting themselves into the cyberspace.

Moreover, recent social and political events - pandemic, for example, makes people more separated, agitated, even hostile towards each other. Large corporations are ubiquitous and powerful, extending far beyond one community or nation. Technology becomes more influential, yet privacy is in danger, and certain corporations abuse their power to manipulate data and knowledge. No one is sure about the future, and cyberpunk as a genre tells the story of how the future, while alluring and progressing, fails to be as wholesome and peaceful as imagined. Cyberpunk works elicit constant comparisons between now and the dystopian future - and makes the genre more intriguing and upsetting. According to Mike Pondsmith, who wrote the tabletop RPG that inspired Cyberpunk 2077, “there’s a ridiculous amount of power ...(in the society), but who uses it? What do they use it for? Are you the person who is used? Are you theperson who uses it? That’s why people are looking at the cyberpunk milieu.”As people continue to think about answers to these questions, cyberpunk may continue to be popular and inspirational for the foreseeable future - who can say no to the experience of navigating this dystopic, chaotic yet fascinating space with freedom?

Work cited

“Crashing through to dystopia,” The Age, First published on April 25, 2009, https://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/books/crashing-through-to-dystopia-

20090425-ge7tk6.html

“Cyberpunk,” The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Entry updated 12 July 2021, https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/cyberpunk

“Elements of Art,” The J.Paul Getty Museum, accessed on December 10th, https://www.getty.edu/education/teachers/building_lessons/formal_analysis.html

“Headjack,” The Matrix Wiki, accessed on December 10th, 2021, https://matrix.fandom.com/wiki/Headjack

LUMAS. “Art Genres and Movements,” accessed December 10th, 2021, https://www.lumas.com/art-genres/