Global Village Coffeehouse, abbreviated as GVC, is an aesthetic that was prevalent from roughly 1988 to 2004, overlapping with the Memphis Design/Memphis Lite aesthetic. It was inspired by the ambiance and cultural diversity often found in coffeehouses around the world. It blends elements of bohemian, eclectic, and cozy atmospheres with a touch of international flair. It was succeeded by the Mission School aesthetic.
History[]
Global Village Coffeehouse was a sort of reaction against the computer/tech boom of the 1990s. It focused on "natural" themes and "multicultural". This aesthetic emerged in the late 1980s, rose in the early 1990s, and peaked in popularity in the mid-1990s.
In late 1990s and early 2000s, GVC started to be displaced by the Y2K Futurism and Gen X Soft Club aesthetics as the pendulum swung back towards futurism, while for more "normal" uses industrial and the Mission School aesthetics came to be perceived as "more authentic", though traces of GVC design continued into the 2000s. Although less popular nowadays, the GVC aesthetic is still used by some companies such as Panera Bread and occasionally sees use in food packaging:
Visuals[]
The visual art style of Global Village Coffeehouse is characterized by its earth tones, detailed woodcut styling, and a use of Kokopeli[1] symbolism, along with other stereotypically "tribal" symbols. It overlaps in some aspects with the Memphis Design aesthetic, but with a much more rustic and warm color scheme and geometry, compared to much of the sharp and bold colors of Memphis Design. GVC borrows motifs from a wide array of early 20th century: Chagall, the Vienna Secession, Works Progress Administration, Impressionism, Cubism, Art Deco...
XTC - Drums and Wires (1979)
Pacific Punk Wave designs from the 70s and early 80s often have strikingly GVC-vibes
Graphical hallmarks:
- Primitive art, ranging from neolithic petroglyphs to merely exoticized traditional African or Native American motifs
- "Tribal" tattoos are a separate aesthetics (Neo-Tribal) popularized by 90s Cool movies
- Woodcut-style patterns
- Generally speaking a rough, hand-drawn look
- Lineart with gaps in it, as if sketched
- A general dislike of expanses of flat colors, which were usually textured in some way
- Keith Haring-style designs
- Aroma swirls
- Googie motifs revived by Pacific Punk Wave design
- Squiggles and drop motifs
- Background colors that are misaligned with their lineart (This was also shared with various styles of the era such as Memphis Lite, Shoe Diva and Mission School)
- Horror vacui (a trait common to several other aesthetics of the time)
Music[]
Global Village Coffeehouse was by and large a graphic and interior design aesthetics, however, its welcoming, multicultural feel-good philosophy was associated with a broader zeitgeist that did generate some music that can be considered GVC. That music and especially the music videos presented with the hallmarks of heavily exoticized (e.g. African, Indian) or appropriated (Native American) motifs, new age elements, wanderlust etc. Some examples:
- Paul Simon, "Under African Skies" (1986)
- Enya, "Storms In Africa" (1988)
- R.E.M., "Shiny Happy People" (1991)
- Wilson Phillips, "Hold On" (1992)
- Deep Forest, "Sweet Lullaby" (1992)
- Counting Crows - Round Here (1993)
- The Light of the Sun (Nickelodeon interstitial, 1993)
- Deep Blue Something, "Breakfast At Tiffany's" (1994)
- Rusted Root, "Send Me On My Way" (1994)
- Martin Page, "In the House of Stone and Light" (1994)
- Alanis Morissette, "You Oughta Know" (1995)
- Janet Jackson, "Runaway" (1995)
- Janet Jackson, "Together Again" (1997)
- Dario G, "Sunchyme" (1997)
- Sting, "Desert Rose" (1999)
- Nelly Furtado, "I'm Like A Bird" (2000)
- Rednex, "The Chase" (2001)
Occasionally videos full-on invoked GVC visuals:
Television[]
- Friends (1994-2004)
- Crashbox (1999-2000)
- Let's Go Luna! (2018)
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Kokopelli is a fertility deity, usually depicted as a humpbacked flute player, who is venerated by some Native American cultures in the Southwestern United States. Like most fertility deities, Kokopelli presides over both childbirth and agriculture. He is also a trickster god and represents the spirit of music.