Date of Award

11-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Art & Design

Department

Graphic Design

First Advisor

Dennis Schmickle

Second Advisor

Erica Blum

Third Advisor

Melissa Elmes

Abstract

While semiotics, diegesis, and retrofuturism have all been discussed at length in academia, it is uncommon to find the synthesis of all three. When these concepts are combined, it forms what I argue is a new genre of graphic design now prevalent enough in contemporary media to warrant definition and analysis. This thesis first explores the theories of visual semiotics, narrative diegesis, and retrofuturistic aesthetics individually before uniting them as a new design genre. Several candidates for this design classification will then be examined in case studies that meet the criteria of 1) containing a visual language that a modern audience can interpret beyond the text, 2) being diegetic in nature, and 3) a retrofuturistic aesthetic in its simultaneous use of historical design and science fiction conventions. By comparing and contrasting these works with their real-life inspirations, we can examine which elements were repurposed, and to what effect. To demonstrate this genre, I will design my own piece of diegetic retrofuturism with the cooperation of independent video game company, Unimposing Walrus, to use in the 1.2 update to their flagship game, Labyrinthatory. This will take the form of a mock user manual found in-game that uses 1980s aesthetics to supplement the gameʼs narrative.

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