History Main / TheAestheticsOfTechnology

** Inter-Planetary Shipping: Northstar (IPS-N) is a shipping MegaCorp first, mech manufacturer second, essentially selling their own anti-piracy security measures as a highly profitable sidegig and working every corner of the galaxy they can reach. Their designs are textbook UsedFuture: Relatively simplistic and rugged, big on heavy plating and proven mechanical anatomy - to the point their non-human mechs like the Lancaster are practically Boston Robotics designs. This reflects their philosophy of highly reliable, uncomplicated and heavily armored platforms made to last.
** Smith-Shimano Corpro has ''always'' been big on elegance and the perfection of the human form, and their designs reflect this: Almost everything they have is perfectly humanoid, with bright colors and sleek, soft-edged designs made for speed and acrobatics, and often carry extraneous decoration like ribbons just for style's sake. Often their mechs resemble warriors from an ancient epic more than a futuristic weapons platform - and their high emphasis on mobility and unusual technologies while forgoing armor and general ruggedness makes the comparison even more apt.
** Harrison Armory are remnants from the imperialist (and sometimes outright fascist) [=SecComm=] that survived as OneNationUnderCopyright. Fittingly, their designs are boxy and highly militarized, war machines first and foremost that openly show their unmistakeable armaments and general power, and downplay any elegance (though they sometimes ramp up the intimidation factor). Said war machines are just as powerful as they look, packing openly lethal technologies and high-powered (though oft unstable) reactors that fuel ''brutal'' weaponry to keep their wars of conquest going.

** Jakobs ships are boxy, Maliwan ships are curvy, and Hyperion ships are accused of "trying too hard" to look modern (implication: VerticalMechaFins...'''[[RecycledInSpace IN SPACE]]'''!)

** Compare the controls of the 1860s [[http://www.bob2000.com/20130908m.jpg Jupiter]] with the 1941 [[http://www.tycoforums.com/tyco/forum/uploaded/MM%201498/4014bulkhead.jpg Big Boy]] - the newer locomotives have more features to control, but the major components such as the throttle are easy to recognize.

*** GDI technology is made in yellows, beiges, and grays, with orange highlights. Their tech is visibly [[OurWeaponsWillBeBoxyInTheFuture heavy with solid, blocky designs that give clear indication of their resilience and through design process.]] GDI Units are progressively iterated on tried and true designs, and favor a combination of hard-hitting conventional firearms with railguns and sonic weapons built on a solid, reliable base that can stand a beating.

** Compare the controls of the 1860s [[http://www.bob2000.com/20130908m.jpg Jupiter]] with the 1941 [[http://www.tycoforums.com/tyco/forum/uploaded/MM%201498/4014bulkhead.jpg Big Boy]] and 1961 [[http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8156/6998743812_f098c94954_c.jpg Evening Star]] - the newer locomotives have more features to control, but the major components such as the throttle are easy to recognize.

*** The private [[UsefulNotes/SpaceExplorationTechnologiesCorporation SpaceX]] Dragon, a capsule with a capacity of seven currently fulfilling a NASA contract for shuttling astronauts (taking over part of the old role of the Shuttle and relieving pressure on Soyuz) and (in an automated configuration) supplies (relieving pressure on the automated Russian ''Progress'', Japanese H-II, and European ATV) to the ISS. However, the CEO of the company had ambitious plans to send the thing to the Moon and Mars before replacing it with a [[ShinyLookingSpaceships giant bare stainless steel-skinned bullet-shaped spacecraft]] called “Starship”, with its internals essentially being a fully autonomous rocket stage with a megasized capsule on top, its hexagonal heat shield tiles being glass on black ceramic, and its flaps being intended to mimic the role of wings in the Space Shuttle’s re-entry and atmospheric descent.

* [[UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer Personal Computer]] enthusiasts, especially hardcore gamers, sometimes have fun with this trope with regards to Case Mods. Just look at [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Saibotmoddedcase.jpg some of the things]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Saibotcaseside.jpg they can do]] with their rigs.

*** Of course, the ''Enterprise''-D was {{lampshaded}} on TNG itself as being a "Flying Hotel" compared to other less luxurious starships like those of the much more numerous ''Excelsior'' class. When Scotty from TOS era visits the ship he is placed in a standard guest quarters, he remarks that such a spacious room in his time would be reserved for an Admiral.

*** This winds up being explained away as the fancy new technology not meshing well with the Enterprise, and Captain Pike having everything downgraded to less advanced, but more mature and stable technologies such as viewscreens instead of holograms.

* Pretty much the reason why people generally scoff at anything that NASA shows to the public at large about their computers and it doesn't really look like anything you'd see in more recent popular scifi at all. For example no fancy monitor interface, just a simple commandline interface because removing the need for any sort of fancy interface interaction and graphics beyond text frees up a lot of precious computing power. (More likely, CLI is just better than GUI wherever discoverability isn't one of top priorities.)
** There is also a critical reliability issue with spaceflight computing - hardware has to be as reliable as possible, even if that means using very old equipment. If a brand-new processor that's currently on its way to Pluto turns out to be flawed, the replacement options are limited. Similarly, software used in space needs to be reliable, robust, and as simple as possible. Ask an astronaut if he wants to see a desktop-computer-style driver conflict error on his navigation computer.

* A lot of people on the internet mocked the Chinese when their Space program finally put a man space, wondering about "what took them so long" and scoffing at how their space capsules looked little more advanced than the Russian Soyuz. Their plans to launch a space station in 2011 have also been met with similar snorts of "welcome to the 1970s." This is forgetting the fact that the electronics suites and equipment used in these vessels have benefited from the tech advances in the last three decades and are just as capable in terms of computing power and functionality as anything in most of the modules of the ISS. In fact, most of the modules of the International Space Station itself look pretty much similar to other space station modules launched decades earlier. Even the high-tech looking Crew Return Vehicle (think miniature space shuttle, except sleeker) was canceled for budgetary and design concerns and the ISS now depends on the old and dependable but ugly and "obsolete" looking Soyuz capsules.

** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E16TheWatersOfMars "The Waters of Mars"]] has the Doctor using a spacesuit that's from humanity's future but doesn't look like it, making the comment from the base crew about its advanced technology rather odd. It's possible that this is because it's noticeably less bulky tharin the suits they're using, so of course they'd wonder where it came from.

* Downplayed examples in ''Fanfic/FracturedSovereignGFC'', a ''Franchise/MassEffect''[=/=]''Franchise/StarWars''[=/=]''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' [[MassiveMultiplayerCrossover crossover]] and its sequel, ''Fanfic/{{Origins}}''.

* Downplayed examples in ''FanFic/{{Fractured}}'', a ''Franchise/MassEffect''[=/=]''Franchise/StarWars''[=/=]''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' [[MassiveMultiplayerCrossover crossover]] and its sequel, ''Fanfic/{{Origins}}''.

*** The private [[UsefulNotes/SpaceExplorationTechnologiesCorporation SpaceX]] Dragon, a capsule with a capacity of seven currently fulfilling a NASA contract for shuttling astronauts (taking over part of the old role of the Shuttle and relieving pressure on Soyuz) and (in an automated configuration) supplies (relieving pressure on the automated Russian ''Progress'', Japanese H-II, and European ATV) to the ISS. However, the CEO of the company had ambitious plans to send the thing to the Moon and Mars before replacing it with a [[ShinyLookingSpaceships giant bare stainless steel-skinned bullet-shaped spacecraft]] called “Starship”, with its internals essentially being a fully autonomous rocket stage with a megasized capsule on top, and with flaps intended to mimic the role of wings in the space shuttle’s re-entry and atmospheric descent.

* A new spacecraft intended to take over with the space shuttle being discontinued is called Orion ([[OrionDrive not THAT Orion]]), which is... the 1960s Apollo "moon rocket" program with microcomputers. This makes the decision to destroy the Apollo production facilities look pretty stupid.

*** The aforementioned Orion, as part of a pared-down Project Constellation called the Artemis program. Its launch vehicle is the Space Launch System. Orion had its first successful unmanned test in December 2014; its first unmanned mission as a complete system is set for November 2022; and its first crewed mission is set for about 2024.
*** The private [[UsefulNotes/SpaceExplorationTechnologiesCorporation SpaceX]] Dragon, a capsule with a capacity of seven currently fulfilling a NASA contract for shuttling astronauts (taking over part of the old role of the Shuttle and relieving pressure on Soyuz) and (in an automated configuration) supplies (relieving pressure on the automated Russian ''Progress'', Japanese H-II, and European ATV) to the ISS. However, the CEO of the company had ambitious plans to send the thing to the Moon and Mars before replacing it with a [[ShinyLookingSpaceships giant stainless steel bullet-shaped spacecraft]] called “Starship”, with its internals essentially being a fully autonomous rocket stage with a megasized capsule on top, and with flaps intended to mimic the role of wings in the space shuttle’s re-entry and atmospheric descent.
*** The Boeing-Bigelow Aerospace CST-100, essentially a private, Low Earth Orbit-focused version of Orion, fulfilling the same ferry/resupply role...except that because it's focused on LEO, it doesn't need the extra crap for going farther away and can thus handle 7-person crews, like the Shuttle.

*** In the late 2000s, the Japanese had the same plan as the Europeans, adapting the H-II Transfer Vehicle into a manned craft. A decade before that, there was the cancelled HOPE spaceplane.

As a more modern equivalent to the "Robby vs Data" example, a gaming PC with a [[https://www.google.com/search?q=futuristic+pc+case&tbm=isch sleek case with lots of RGB/rainbow-capable lights]] appears to be more advanced than a PC with a plain exterior but the same processor and graphics card on the inside. Visual complexity is still a key factor here; for another example, a flashy [[https://www.google.com/search?q=sci-fi+interface&tbm=isch sci-fi interface]] with lots of animated circles and hexagons looks more advanced than graphical user interfaces found in real life, even if they are designed to perform the same function and the extra circles are only decorative.

*** In the late 2000s, Japanese had the same plan as the Europeans, adapting the H-II Transfer Vehicle into a manned craft. A decade before that, there was the cancelled HOPE spaceplane.

*** The Japanese have the same plan as the Europeans, adapting the H-II Transfer Vehicle into a manned craft.

* A new program intended to take over with the space shuttle being discontinued will be called Orion ([[OrionDrive not THAT Orion]]), which is... the 1960s Apollo "moon rocket" program with microcomputers. This makes the decision to destroy the Apollo production facilities look pretty stupid.

*** The private [[UsefulNotes/SpaceExplorationTechnologyCorporation SpaceX]] Dragon, a capsule with a capacity of seven currently fulfilling a NASA contract for shuttling astronauts (taking over part of the old role of the Shuttle and relieving pressure on Soyuz) and (in an automated configuration) supplies (relieving pressure on the automated Russian ''Progress'', Japanese H-II, and European ATV) to the ISS. However, the CEO of the company had ambitious plans to send the thing to the Moon and Mars before replacing it with a decidedly ShinyLookingSpaceship called “Starship”, intended as a giant fully autonomous rocket stage with a megasized capsule on top, and with flaps intended to mimic the role of wings in the Shuttle.

*** The Russian "Rus" project, which looks like a cross between Soyuz and Apollo.

* The Boeing 787 will be the most advanced airliner ever designed and will be built using truly exotic construction techniques. It looks just like any other jetliner.

*** It also mean you don't get any Challenger-like failures between parallel components, because there aren't any, (unless you're using booster rockets).

*** The aforementioned Orion, as part of a pared-down Project Constellation called the Space Launch System. It had its first successful unmanned test in December 2014; its first unmanned mission as a complete system is set for November 2021; and its first crewed mission is set for about 2023.
*** The private [=SpaceX=] Dragon, a capsule with a capacity of seven currently intended to fulfill a NASA contract for shuttling astronauts (taking over part of the old role of the Shuttle and relieving pressure on Soyuz) and (in an automated configuration) supplies (relieving pressure on the automated Russian ''Progress'', Japanese H-II, and European ATV) to the ISS . However, the CEO of the company has ambitious plans to send the thing to the Moon and Mars.

** The [=M12=] Light Reconnaissance Vehicle, better known as the Warthog or the [[Machinima/RedVsBlue Puma]], doesn't look like it should be used in 2552, but has seemingly unpoppable tires. Also, it doesn't need gasoline; it actually runs on water.

* Lampshaded in ''Machinima/FreemansMind'' episode 57. After puzzling for a while over the purpose of some holograms and rotating platforms, Freeman concludes that they're just there to impress funders who expect to see lots of flashy effects and moving parts.

->''"That design is a hundred years old, but instead of primitive atomic missiles and lasers, our scans show photon torpedoes and phased energy weapons. They also have real-time subspace communication, a matter transporter, ship-to-ship visual, uncensored swearwords, and a galley that doesn't serve coloured cubes as food."''

* ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'' uses a gradual shifting of design to emphasize how [[UnitedNationsIsASuperpower Global Defense Initiative]] and [[NGOSuperpower Brotherhood of Nod]] slowly diverge from the TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture (from a 90s point of view atleast) shared asesthetic of the first game, into their own vastly different design philosophies.
** GDI technology is made in yellows, beiges, and grays, with orange highlights. Their tech is visibly [[OurWeaponsWillBeBoxyInTheFuture heavy with solid, blocky designs that give clear indication of their resilience and through design process.]] GDI Units are progressively iterated on tried and true designs, and favor a combination of hard-hitting conventional firearms with railguns and sonic weapons built on a solid, reliable base that can stand a beating.
** Nod tech on the other hand, is [[RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver pitch black with red highlights]] with either rounded aerodynamic shapes in front and bladelike edges in the back, which at the same time appears partially alien and quite advanced, and yet often has glaring design flaws and impractical elements that show the relatively impatient design process and emphasis on form over function. Nod uses light firearms and rockets, but quickly drops them in favor of high-tech lasers, chemical weaponry, and flamethrowers equipped to [[FlawedPrototype fast, powerful, but often fragile or overspecialized]] chassis.

* You can decide for yourself in ''TabletopGame/GeniusTheTransgression'', the roleplaying game of [[MadScientist Mad Science]]. Geniuses can make their [[WeirdScience Wonders]] look like pretty much anything they want, and 'Aesthetic' is a signature trait for most. It lists a number of sample Aesthetics, ranging from {{Steampunk}} (the currently most popular style) to RaygunGothic to [[EverythingIsAnIpodInTheFuture 'iPod' style]]. Some of them can be quite unusual, such as the [[SufficientlyAdvancedBambooTechnology Stone Age aesthetic]] one character has.

* A lot of things in the ''Franchise/MassEffect'' series play this trope straight. WordOfGod states that they wanted to deliberately invoke a clean, futuristic look, especially in the most civilized areas. On the other hand, it is averted in the seedier places (like Omega, which still has an enormously advanced level of technological development, despite being the epitome of a WretchedHive) and by the ''really'' advanced people--consider the Collectors' ships, which look more like a chunk of rock with a spaceship engine than the sleek and cool-looking Normandy or Destiny Ascension.
* Played with in the ''VideoGame/MegaManClassic'' and ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' series. While the hero character had a simpler-looking design than the bosses, said hero was the one who can copy bosses' weapons for his own use, supporting a wide arsenal of powers. X is literally described as having unlimited potential, and throughout his series, developed abilities that were previously seen after he picked up armor parts or health upgrades; it's like the concept of Weapon Copy was taken to its logical conclusion and turned into an Ability Copy.

* One fan of ''VideoGame/CortexCommand'' has complained that the technology isn't very advanced. The technology looks modern rather than futuristic, but considering that this is a game where humans are brains in jars that travel through space, cloning has been completely perfected, everyone has an unlimited supply of clones and robots that they can remote control, that jetpacks have been perfected, batteries can recharge themselves from thin air, that tools that can literally disintegrate dirt, but leave gold unharmed and that humans have spread themselves all across the galaxy the fan's complaints are ungrounded. In fact, the only sleeker technology at this point is the laser guns and the dummy robots. The dummy robots are cannon-fodder and the laser weapons are only effective against unarmored opponents.

* In ''VideoGame/SwordOfTheStars'', aesthetics are not always indicative of how powerful a faction's ships are. The dish-dash, slapped-together Zuul craft can be as effective or moreso than the sleek Morrigi ships.
* In the ''VideoGame/{{X}}-Universe'' games, [[AvertedTrope aesthetics are not very reliable on how powerful the ships are]]. The [[PlanetTerra Terran]] ships are by far the most advanced and powerful ships, but look essentially like sleek Space Shuttles, or in the case of their capital ships, flying white bricks - while their even more advanced [[EliteArmy AGI Task Force]] ships are very ornate and boxy. The [[LizardFolk Teladi]], who [[ProudMerchantRace buy or reverse-engineer all their equipment from the other races]], have very cobbled-together designs (often likened to "[[UsedFuture flying junkyard]]s"), but they are very effective and much more versatile than Terran ships. The Boron have the most [[LivingShip aesthetically refined and elegant ships]] in the game, of the kind that would make you think "unbeatable awesomeness" in other games, but here their fighter craft are little more than glorified {{Joke Character}}s, and while they have extremely powerful capital ships, they are sorely lacking in [[PointDefenseless flak cannons]]. Played straight with the [[SpacePirate Pirate clans]]' ships, which are [[UsedFuture often cobbled together from half a dozen ships]], and show it in their stats, which are usually flat-out inferior to a new ship bought from a shipyard, though Pirate ships have a great deal of cross-compatibility with different races' weapons, such as their [[MileLongShip Brigantine-class destroyer]] being able to mount Boron Ion Cannons, Teladi Gauss Cannons, and the Pirates' own Incendiary Bomb Launcher.

* ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'' distinguishes each gun manufacturer with different attributes, appearances and names. For example, Maliwan favors a Space-Age-y look with blue/silver stocks and glowing orange lights. They also use battery-like powerpacks instead of conventional magazines. On the other hand, Bandit-made guns are an aggressive red (or at least what you can see underneath the coat of filth and duct tape), not to mention most guns made by Bandits have jury-rigged extra-large magazines onto their guns (this throws the accuracy right off, but what do they care? They just like spraying bullets everywhere.) The other companies can be read about on the ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'' page.
** The idea that things that look higher-tech are automatically better is averted, though - the Jakobs corporation makes guns that look very old-fashioned, with wooden stocks and Wild West aesthetics, to the point of having pistols where fanning the hammer speeds up rate of fire. Their sniper rifles are considered the ''best'' for a dedicated sniper character, due to their massive [[BoomHeadshot critical hit]] damage bonus.
* ''VideoGame/CivilizationBeyondEarth'' has three technological affinities (Supremacy, Harmony and Purity) that the player's faction can adopt later in the game. Supremacy units have a sleek CyberPunk look and feel, the Harmony forces have a OrganicTechnology vibe while Purity units have a very retro-DieselPunk look to them. This look is intentional on the part of the Purity engineers as they are trying to recreate and honor the past glories of Earth and it doesn't mean the Purity units are any less capable or technologically advanced. The DLC adds hybrid affinities that feature different aesthetic: Harmony-Purity tends to go with the "ancient Greek god" look, Supremary-Purity is of the EverythingIsAnIPodInTheFuture style, and Harmony-Supremacy barely even resembles anything human.
* ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'': There are different design aesthetics for each of the different factions. Corpus technology is [[OurWeaponsWillBeBoxyInTheFuture boxy and gray]], Grineer weapons are [[DieselPunk crude and industrial]], and Infested weapons ''are'' [[BioTech biological]]. All Orokin technology is [[BlingOfWar covered in silver and gold]] [[ClarkesThirdLaw but still ridiculously powerful]], while Tenno technology [[ArchaicWeaponForAnAdvancedAge archaic and hand-made]] designs based off of [[LostTechnology whatever they can still figure out from the old Orokin weapons]].

* The five factions of ''VideoGame/{{Battleborn}}'' have different aesthetics when it comes to their technology.
** [[TheAlliance The UPR]] has a modern military look to them and their tech. They are rather ulitarian as they prefer function over fashion in this regard. They're however not as advanced as factions like the LLC and the Jennerit whose tech are just as sophisticated in level as they are in appearance.
** [[ArmyOfThievesAndWhores The Rogues]] have a duct taped together look to their tech which fits in line with their principles of freedom. It's all scavenged and cobbled together from tech from other factions such as the UPR and doesn't have a real sense of uniformity. With such a look that's all over the place, their technology is likewise as such and can't exactly be considered overall advanced.
** [[NatureHero The Eldrid]] use OrganicTechnology and the like that harmonizes with the natural laws of the Universe. As such their technology has a very natural and ancient looking aesthetic to it. Due to their millennia worth of history, it's actually more sophisticated than it appears to be. It's just that they refuse to exhibit their technology's sophistication in a way that clashes with nature like the other factions do.
** [[TheEmpire The Jennerit]] are one of the more high tech of the factions and are capable of using dark energies to bend the universe's laws to suit their needs. As such the aesthetic of their technology reflects how both advance and dark it is. The aesthetic's best described by WordOfGod as "Gothic Tron" which mixes dark foreboding Gothic art with the art visuals from ''Film/{{Tron}}''.
** [[ProudMerchantRace The LLC]] are the most technology oriented of the factions. They however value fashion just as much as function in accordance of their wealth showcasing principles. Thus the aesthetic of the LLC's technology is extremely clean and shiny with a lot of Victorian inspired ornate designs decorated about. It's best described by WordOfGod which states that if the aesthetic of the Jennerit is "Gothic Tron" then the LLC's is "SteamPunk Tron".
* Each faction in ''VideoGame/EndlessSpace2'' has a distinct aesthetic:
** The United Empire ships are black and red in colour with a bulky and imposing shape and a chisel-like prow, and even their non-combat ships have cosmetic missile ports. As befits your typical evil militaristic/xenophobic human empire.
** The Vodyani (hyper-religious space vampires) have sleek gray ships with glowing yellow highlights, and many of them have EvaFins.
** The Sophons, BadassAdorable high-tech space lizard people reminiscent of the [[VideoGame/KerbalSpaceProgram Kerbals]], lean towards [[EverythingIsAnIPodInTheFuture smooth-white ships seemingly devoid of visual intimidation]].
** With characteristic eccentrism, Horatio ships are segmented mechanical {{Space Whale}}s that slowly swim through the cosmos, covered in bronze-gold plating etched with intricate geometric patterns. Naturally, such elegant fragility pays through the nose both at the shipyard and in battle.
** The Cravers (''very hungry'' mechanical PlanetLooters) had to scavenge their way back into space and it shows through their ship designs; patchwork plates of brown metal barely covering rough internal sections. Exposed pipes and reactor spheres are common, suggesting a haphazard throwing-together of functional systems.
** The Lumeris (space mafiaso criminal types) have their ships being divided almost evenly between smooth, colorful sections of hull and exposed sections of piping or engines. This makes more sense if you consider their navy to essentially be comprised of re-purposed civilian ships.
** The Riftborn crew very similar ships to the Lumeris and the Sophons, but their extra-universal nature reveals itself in their floating, geometrical modules.
** The Unfallen vessels are vaguely biological and have leaf-like solar sails. The Unfallen themselves are a beautiful and gentle race of spacefaring tree-aliens.
** The Vaulters (spacefaring viking nomads) build ships that are grey and sturdy in line with the StandardHumanSpaceship, although they tend to be wide where the United Empire is tall. They also have a fondness for mounting thick sheets of metal to the hull via girders which gives their ships the impression of hiding behind walls, reflecting their hardy, defensive military doctrine.
** The Hissho, as a highly artistic ProudWarriorRace, build ships covered in elaborate Mesoamerican-style engravings detailing past acts of valour and significant events. They kill and they look good while they do it. Their ships also have elegant wing-like fins at the back and pointed bill-like protrusions at the front, a nod to their avian ancestry.
* In ''VideoGame/GreyGoo2015'', human technology goes in deep on the EverythingIsAnIPodInTheFuture look: curvy and pretty, [[HoverTank everything either hovers or flies]], and all their weapons are directed plasma projectiles. The alien Beta, by contrast, use blocky and industrial-looking vehicles, ones that are coated in thick plating and get around on mechanical legs, and as one human character notes with exasperation, "[[KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter they still use]] ''bullets'' in their guns!" The Goo are nanomachine StarfishAliens.

* Played straight with virtually ''anything'' that Apple has made in the last 10 years, [[TropeNamer starting]] with the [[IProduct iPod]] itself. Their aesthetics have since taken ruthless advantage of this principle.

In the Digital Age, doing an image search for "[[https://www.google.com/search?q=technology&tbm=isch technology]]" or "[[https://www.google.com/search?q=high-tech&tbm=isch high-tech]]" does not result in pictures of Robby the Robot. Instead, you get mostly abstract imagery of [[HolographicTerminal Holographic Terminals]], HighTechHexagons, [[EverythingIsAnIPodInTheFuture sleek smart devices]], [[ComputersSpeakBinary binary code]], [[TheInternet connected dots]], or TronLines and ExtremeGraphicalRepresentation in the form of concentric arcs/circles or printed circuit board patterns to denote that something is "advanced" or "futuristic." And it usually tends to be [[https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/future-screens-are-mostly-blue/ blue]].

** The TARDIS is kind of a subversion of this. It's obsolete by the standards of Time Lord technology, yes, but it's still an insanely powerful and infinitely reconfigurable dimensionally transcendental time (and space) machine... but it also quite often looks like it's either [[https://thedoctorwhosite.co.uk/wp-images/tardis/console-room-series-1/tardis-console-series-1.jpg made of junk]], or at the very least [[https://thedoctorwhosite.co.uk/wp-images/tardis/console-room-series-8/tardis-console-series-8.jpg fairly low-tech switches and levers and buttons]]. Partly this is an aesthetic choice in-universe (the TARDIS can look like anything it wants and the Doctor has a vaguely retro steampunk aesthetic) and from the production team (the Doctor dramatically flipping levers and toggling switches is a lot more visually interesting than him using touch panel controls, and the visual effects are cheaper). It also avoids the situation from the classic series, where the TARDIS was ''supposed'' to look like an ultra-high-tech machine, but now often looks [[https://thedoctorwhosite.co.uk/wp-images/tardis/console-room-season-21/tardis-console-season-21.jpg hilariously dated]].

** The NX-01 looks very similar to the ''Akira''-class ships from the Next Generation era (first seen in ''[[Film/StarTrekFirstContact First Contact]]''), which caused a rift among the fans. InUniverse, Starfleet cannibalized and repurposed old designs for years (the Excelsior class was, at least in ship design, used for over 80 years), thus allowing the ''Akira'' to be {{retcon}}ned as a spin-off of the "old" ''NX''-class design, but the fact that ''viewers'' saw it first "in the future" was all that counted. Officially, behind-the-scenes the NX was designed independently from the Akira, and the similarities were more incidental than intentional, in reality the only similarities between the designs as far as Starfleet ships go is the overhead silhouette [[note]]The Akira has nacelles that swoop down and forward, evoking a bowlegged design and otherwise having the same type of deflector dish and phaser strips. The NX has the nacelles go upward and back, while having older-looking nacelles and deflector dish.[[/note]].

*** This is explained as ''Galaxy''-class starships (like the ''Enterprise''-D) specifically being designed not only as Starfleet's flagship class, but for long-term exploration and diplomacy missions, even carrying entire families to live onboard for years at a time. As such, they're designed to have less of a [[BuffySpeak science-y]] feel and more of a 'home' feel. ''Intrepid''-class ships, though, are for science (but not ForScience) & exploration, and only designed to be used by a small crew for a few weeks or months at a time, and as such less attention was paid to aesthetics, and are covered in computer screens. The ''Enterprise''-E, a ''Sovereign''-class starship, has a more "futuristic" appearance than the ''Enterprise''-D, and is more of a battleship than an exploration ship.)

*** The [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Dream_Chaser_pre-drop_tests.6.jpg SNC DreamChaser]] is the odd man out among next-gen manned-spacecraft designs, being a derivative of NASA's cancelled [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HL-20_Personnel_Launch_System HL-20 Personnel Launch System]], which was a proposed "space-taxi" designed to launch vertically and land on a runway like the Space Shuttle, and carry up to 7 astronauts like the Shuttle, but without expending fuel for all that extra cargo-haul capability.

* [[http://www.motorstown.com/images/gmc-scenicruiser-02.jpg Futuristic buses]] from [[TheFifties the 1950s]] laid great emphasis on "aero" shapes, shiny aircraft-inspired outer panels, large panoramic windows. Modern buses are aerodynamically cleaner, with better interior space and larger glass areas, and look like a [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Setra_S_315_UL_100_3602.jpg high-tech brick.]]

As a more modern equivalent to the "Robby vs Data" example, a gaming PC with a [[https://www.google.com/search?q=futuristic+pc+case&tbm=isch case like this]] and lots of RGB/rainbow-capable lights appears to be more advanced than a PC with a plain exterior but the same processor and graphics card on the inside. Visual complexity is still a key factor here; for another example, a flashy [[https://www.google.com/search?q=sci-fi+interface&tbm=isch sci-fi interface]] with lots of animated circles and hexagons looks more advanced than graphical user interfaces found in real life, even if they are designed to perform the same function and the extra circles are only decorative.

* Aviation gives us a partial subversion: the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Su-47 Su-47 Berkut]] has badass forward-pointing wings, making it look more advanced, or at least more exotic and interesting, than fighter jets with standard wings ([[CoolPlane this very plane]] was [[WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated the basis for]] [[TheStarscream Starscream's]] [[{{Fancruft}} alt-mode]]). The wing design confers upon the plane increased maneuverability, the ability to take off and land on a shorter runway, and the ability to fly slower without stalling.