Superflat Pop

For the formal art movement, see Superflat.

Superflat Pop is an aesthetic and graphic design style that was prevalent from the late 2000s to early 2010s, inspired by Murakami's established art movement called Superflat. It is characterized by the use of vibrant color palettes, Kawaii motifs, and funky clothing. It is often used in animation, video games, advertisements, and fashion. It bears similarities to/otherwise overlaps with Y2K Futurism, McBling, Frutiger Aero and Frutiger Metro, but focuses more on Kawaii elements.

History[]

Main article: Superflat

Superflat was coined in 2000 by Japanese artist Takashi Murakami to describe his established art movement based on the flat aspect of traditional Japanese art with anime and manga craze of post-war Japanese society. He helped other artists to put Japan on the art world map and bridge the gap between fine art and commercial aesthetics, basically Japan's answer to Neo-Pop art.

The term "Superflat Pop" was coined by the CARI (Consumer Aesthetics Research Institute) to refer to the Superflat style being adopted for commercial purposes, showing a more corporate-friendly form of the original art movement. The pop suffix was added in reference in pop culture according to CARI.

Visuals[]

The visuals of Superflat Pop are inspired by the poppy and flowery graphics seen in some artworks by Murakami. The disturbing topics found in the original Superflat art movement are pretty much always discarded, for wider commercial appeal. It aims to reflect shallowness and the current state of Japanese pop culture, similar to what Pop Art had been established from the late-1950s to the mid-1960s, as well as Neo-Pop art.

The key features of this aesthetic are:

Geometric shapes
Vibrant (either neon or pastel) color palettes
Strong and bold outlines, usually colored black (although it can be other colors)
3D visuals
Kawaii motifs
"Sweet and Sunny" flowers
Graffiti
UPA Revival influenced visuals
Urban vinyl figures and sculptures
Otaku culture
Fonts like Roundhouse font from House Industries, VAG Rounded, Billo by Fontalicious, along with other rounded fonts between the 90s to early 2010s