Also note that “futuristic,” the term searched, is different from “the future.” It’s an aesthetic, not an objective trait. There’s not going to be a clear direct opposite—“pastistic” is not a word, and words like “ancient” and “historical” aren’t antonyms. Historical futurism is probably a thing, like studying HG Wells or something.
Asking why “futuristic” is coded black and blue and silver probably does have the explanation you gave, in terms of those being the colors of common symbols of that aesthetic.
But exploring this question will probably lead to insights comparable to asking why “natural” is green.
I was thinking the same thing about retro, but it seems to have connotations of recent past, i.e. living memory. Hundreds or thousands of years ago is not “retro”, IMHO.
Also note that “futuristic,” the term searched, is different from “the future.” It’s an aesthetic, not an objective trait. There’s not going to be a clear direct opposite—“pastistic” is not a word, and words like “ancient” and “historical” aren’t antonyms. Historical futurism is probably a thing, like studying HG Wells or something.
Asking why “futuristic” is coded black and blue and silver probably does have the explanation you gave, in terms of those being the colors of common symbols of that aesthetic.
But exploring this question will probably lead to insights comparable to asking why “natural” is green.
“Retro” is a existing concept which is pretty asthetic in the opposite time direction than futuristic.
I was thinking the same thing about retro, but it seems to have connotations of recent past, i.e. living memory. Hundreds or thousands of years ago is not “retro”, IMHO.