Fresher Styles for Web Designers: More Eye Candy from the Underground

Chapter 05. Dot Matrix Style

Â	DOT MATRIX N. A DENSE GRID OF DOTS OR PINS USED TO FORM CHARACTERS OR DESIGNS, AS BY SOME COMPUTER PRINTERS AND VISUAL DISPLAY UNITS.	Â
Â	--THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY

Most design approaches are radically affected by the typefaces they employ, and Dot Matrix style is no exception. It begins with monospaced typography—either typewriter text or bitmap “computer” text—and proceeds in a homemade, do-it-yourself, low-tech fashion. Dot Matrix sites are constructed from the same raw digital materials as other web sites, including XHTML, CSS, Flash, and so on; but they are intentionally made to look as if they were published in someone’s basement, evoking an overt nostalgia for amateur press fanzines and online ...