I didn't take your rebuttal / question as trollish in the least! Cars are a good analogy. Designers have a huge palette of historical references and callbacks t

I didn't take your rebuttal / question as trollish in the least! Cars are a good analogy. Designers have a huge palette of historical references and callbacks to choose from, along with newer concepts and whatever is currently in vogue. The difference between a thoughtful design and a bad one is whether those things are blended meaningfully, intentionally, and finally in a pleasing and functional way. So like, not to get flamed if someone happens to be a PT Cruiser fan (because I'm friends with a guy who loves them), but I think that's an example of pastiche. The web design equivalent would be using a blatantly absurd "40s looking" font on the body text as opposed to using it judiciously on a couple of header elements, maybe. I'm a Datsun guy myself, and I like what Nissan did aesthetically with the new Z, because it's not a replica but it's got just enough callbacks in the form. I think in all types of design, historical reference is a large part of your "color palette". But you don't want to fall into retro nostlgia or pastiche unless that literally is the whole point of the brand (like, Johnny Rockets or something). One of the most embarrasing things that can happen to a designer (and I know from experience) is to find out that a style they chose or an image they created because they thought it looked good was inadvertently referencing something they either didn't know about, or which they had absorbed subconsciously. When other people get a reference in your work that you didn't intend, that's a mistake. It's why when I interview graphic designers I'm not looking for whether or not their work "looks good" - which is completely subjective. I'm interested in how versatile they are at mimicking and synthesizing a broad array of visual language, and whether they can explain their choices - including their awareness of cultural callbacks and the intentionality that went into choosing them.