Contrast Gallery · original visual studies
All twelve studies are newly authored composites. They demonstrate compositional possibilities while avoiding fake provenance, fake brands, fake historical objects, and copied media.
Nostalgia / Whimsy
Use the controls to change the set. A no-results state is handled explicitly.
A fictional ticket stub becomes a memory index: perforation, hand-numbering, and a tiny route map imply use without claiming a real venue ever existed.
Recipe: Warm off-white stock · one spot color · condensed numerals · tiny pencil annotation · no brand marks.
Status: editorial prototype. This is an ICU-authored composite study, not a discovered historical object.
A lunch setting behaves like a wind-up machine. The absurdity is concentrated in one mechanism so the plates, blanket, and basket remain recognizable.
Recipe: Circular composition · one moving focal device · brass-like geometry · plain labels · generous negative space.
Status: editorial prototype. This is an ICU-authored composite study, not a discovered historical object.
A foldout educational device turns a coat pocket into an observatory, pairing diagram-like authority with clearly fictional scale.
Recipe: Fold lines · numbered windows · midnight field · cream ink effect · “visualization” label.
Status: editorial prototype. This is an ICU-authored composite study, not a discovered historical object.
A deliberately generic low-resolution interface uses scan-line rhythm, chunky focus states, and weather icons without copying a specific console, network, or video brand.
Recipe: 4:3 framing · block cursor · low-detail icons · soft noise · current accessibility labels.
Status: editorial prototype. This is an ICU-authored composite study, not a discovered historical object.
A household button collection becomes a star chart. Familiarity comes from domestic sorting; whimsy comes from the impossible astronomical role.
Recipe: Clustered scale · thread-like connectors · handwritten category names · restrained sparkle.
Status: editorial prototype. This is an ICU-authored composite study, not a discovered historical object.
A fictional circulation card records books that were “almost borrowed.” It uses archival structure while explicitly marking every title and stamp as invented.
Recipe: Grid ledger · rubber-stamp texture · pencil dates replaced by fictional sequence codes · provenance note.
Status: editorial prototype. This is an ICU-authored composite study, not a discovered historical object.
A toy-like instrument reports impossible forecasts such as “puddle migration” and “cloud nap,” separating playful copy from actual meteorology.
Recipe: Dial face · bold pictograms · visible screws · toy scale · “not a forecast” boundary.
Status: editorial prototype. This is an ICU-authored composite study, not a discovered historical object.
A transit diagram connects narrative locations such as “The Last Porch Light” and “Button Hill.” The system borrows map logic, not real geography.
Recipe: Simple lines · landmark glyphs · chapter stops · accessible list equivalent · fictional-place label.
Status: editorial prototype. This is an ICU-authored composite study, not a discovered historical object.
Calendar structure and fountain-menu typography frame a lunar sequence, but dates are replaced with phases and invented flavors to avoid false almanac claims.
Recipe: Menu columns · crescent motif · two-tone palette · no real business identity · interpretation label.
Status: editorial prototype. This is an ICU-authored composite study, not a discovered historical object.
Four-panel rhythm turns observational notes into a tiny adventure while avoiding recognizable characters, strips, mastheads, or copied panel art.
Recipe: Four beats · thick gutters · original mascots only · handwritten captions · final-panel reveal.
Status: editorial prototype. This is an ICU-authored composite study, not a discovered historical object.
Workshop tools become interchangeable paper tabs that teach silhouette and function through playful assembly rather than realistic simulation.
Recipe: Cut-tab geometry · labeled parts · safe simplified shapes · high-contrast outlines · keyboard equivalent in digital form.
Status: editorial prototype. This is an ICU-authored composite study, not a discovered historical object.
A generic numbered key tag becomes an index to imaginary rooms and moods. It evokes an object type without reproducing a real property name or logo.
Recipe: Large numerals · rounded diamond tag · simple metal loop · fictional room notes · no venue claim.
Status: editorial prototype. This is an ICU-authored composite study, not a discovered historical object.
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