You can ‘retrofy’ your Mac with Mac OS ’84 icons, wallpaper

You can “retrofy” your Mac with a new icon and dynamic wallpaper set featuring 166 Mac OS ’84 inspired icons.

The original Apple Macintosh rolled off the production line in January 1984. It was the first mass-market personal computer with a graphical user interface, built-in screen, and mouse. Susan Kare’s pioneering pixel art gave the Macintosh charm, personality, and a level of craft that has never been bettered.

Now you can combine a nostalgic aesthetic with the benefits of modern computing thanks to product designer Ben Vessey. His latest project, “OS (Old School),” is a set of 166 retro icons, and five dynamic wallpapers, available in both dark and light themes. He says that each icon has been lovingly handcrafted pixel by pixel, resulting in a retro Apple experience that even Steve Jobs would be proud of.

This isn’t the first time Vessey has turned back the hands of time. Last year he launched the “iOS (Old School)” theme for iPhone, and the new project actually originated in 2012. 

“I first launched this project a decade ago, with a 20 icon pack. The project proved popular, receiving lots of publicity, praise, and downloads,” says Vessey. “It’s been long overdue an update, and I’ve finally been able to maximise its potential by adding more than one hundred extra icons, creating dark and light themes, and including dynamic wallpapers. It’s been a real labour of love, but a fun one!”

The “OS (Old School)” icon sets are available as a free sample pack with 10 icons in the light theme, or as a complete set of 166 icons, with dark and light themes, and 5 dynamic wallpapers for £5.99.

For those who want to fully commit to the throwback GUI, there’s a “Gold” option which includes five custom icons of your choice. Want to give your Windows machine a retro Mac vibe? No problem, ICO files and static wallpapers are included in the download.