Pixel art ideas from the retro style that’s stirring up contemporary design

It’s 2025, and pixels are everywhere. Of course, they make up the displays on our phones, laptops, watches, and cars, but recently, pixels have been blowing up differently.

The old-school retro pixel art style is back, and brands, artists, and trendsetters worldwide are getting in on it. Let’s dive into the origin of this trend and look at some pixel art ideas from designers who are pushing boundaries one pixel at a time.

Pixel art is a 2D design style in which digital images are created purely from square pixels. It all started in the 1970s, when 8- and 16-bit computers produced the low-resolution, limited-color designs that defined a generation. From Atari to arcade games, the now retro pixel art style was once the cutting edge of digital design, used to create fonts, icons, computer games, and sprites.

Many designers initially used graph paper to create pixelated scenes or drew directly onto a computer-generated grid. As screen resolutions got clearer and color palettes became more varied in the 1980s and 1990s, the chunky pixels of the 1970s became less on-trend. 1970s pixel art walked so that today’s hyper-realistic graphics could run.

Susan Kare is a notable pioneer of the pixel art style. The American designer began working at Apple in the 1980s and was trusted to create new graphics for the Macintosh Group. Inspired by mosaics and needlework, Kare drew ‘pixelated’ square drawings into her notebook, which she translated into the now iconic suite of icons and fonts. This is even more impressive given she had minimal knowledge of computer software—it shows how the pixel art style truly is for everyone! Susan Kare’s pixel graphics made Macintosh’s new interface famous for its friendly, accessible, and highly original feel. She also ultimately created the first generation of emojis; we’re forever grateful for that!

If you’re wondering how to make pixel art yourself, keep scrolling—we’ve got tons of pixel art ideas and other fab resources to get you started in this pixelated world.

The retro trend of chunky, pixelated graphics is hot right now. This is partly because this 8-bit aesthetic is so nostalgic for millions who grew up with video games like Super Mario Bros, The Oregon Trail, and Pac-Man (just to name a few). A playful, cheeky, and charming vibe is built into this aesthetic. However, contemporary indie games such as Stardew Valley, Undertale, Terraria, and Minecraft have also brought the old-school pixel aesthetic to new audiences. 

Also, with the rise of hyper-realistic graphics in video games and AI art, more artists are turning to pixel art because it showcases a human element often missing from photorealistic art. Pixel artists build designs that clearly show the craft, care, time, and skill that went into them.

For creative pixel art ideas, just look at the work of Hong Kong-based artist Fatbeard or the designs of Lebanon-based designer mloukhiyyé. This new wave of intricate, handcrafted pixel art is refreshing in a world of photorealism and instant AI imagery. 

We can trace the start of the pixel art style renaissance back to the NFT boom a few years ago. The now iconic CryptoPunks and Solana Monkey Business created unique pixelated designs that sold for millions as non-fungible tokens (NFT). NFTs are bespoke digital assets that signify the ownership of a digital or physical item, such as an artwork. This pixel art craze gave artists incredible control and autonomy over their designs. Not only did these designers help bring crypto into the mainstream, but they also ushered in the current new wave of chunky pixel art.

Pixels are often used as a visual trope to celebrate and represent technology in marketing, art, film, and fashion. Think of The Matrix, for example. For those in the tech world, this cybercore aesthetic might seem like an obvious choice, but magic can happen if you put your own twist on it.

EE rebranded its font to a circular, pixelated typeface, putting its own spin on the classically square pixel design and giving its brand a friendlier feel. EE’s latest adverts also include a glitchy gaming vibe that aligns brilliantly with its services. EExcelent effort from them (hehe). Twitch’s live-streaming platform recently recrafted its logo into a 3D, blocky, pixel-inspired masterpiece.

We’re also obsessed with the pixel-inspired rebrand for Girls Who Code.

Brands have also been bringing this pixelated aesthetic into the real world. Pixel art ideas are everywhere, from Loewe’s pixelated runway garments to the Seletti x Roberto Bruno collab, which brought pixelated emojis to life in mirror form.

Minecraft (the ultimate pixelated brand) joined forces with Lacoste to create a new collection that could be worn by Minecraft players and IRL humans alike. This crossover is playful and clever, and the videogame marketing for it was something of a masterclass.

The emerging textile studio HEX Fibre Art creates a range of macrame pixel artworks using a physical grid pattern that emulates the virtual grid used in digital pixel art. The results are glorious. There’s something very satisfying about seeing the wholesome, chunky pixel brought into the physical world. More of this, please!

Across mainstream media, it’s common to see the use of pixelated design to censor specific images. Think about graphic photographs in the news or across social media—this technique literally blurs the reality of an image from the viewer. Online health provider Wisp recently played with this concept in its campaign, ‘We Heart Healthy Vaginas.’ Last summer, it pasted large, pixelated posters of vaginas around New York City to take a stance against the censorship of womxn’s health in advertising and on social media. Using pixelated graphics to speak out against sexist censorship is smart and powerful. We love to see it.

Marketers are also using pixelated design to promote upcoming products in a way that creates intrigue and grows interest without giving away too much. Sunshine Child, the independent ceramic studio, does this brilliantly in their marketing by pixelating upcoming products for their latest drop. It gives you a peek at what’s coming but leaves you wanting more!

We’re predicting that the retro pixel art style is here to stay (at least until 2025, if not beyond!). So now is the best time to adopt it. Minecraft is also releasing a mega-movie this year, which we anticipate will be huge.

As the world around us becomes more chaotic, more brands and artists are leaning into the wholesome, friendly, and welcoming vibes of pixel art and chunky pixel-created universes. Now is the time to experiment with this retro trend, go all in, and connect with people worldwide who also feel an affinity for this nostalgic pixel style.
If you’re wondering how to create pixel art, check out our Photoshop tutorial. Or follow this step-by-step guide to help you build pixel characters (very NFT vibes). Find more pixel art ideas from Envato, with unlimited downloads from an unmatched range of digital assets.