One of the strongest memories from my childhood are the various shades of electronic’s grey and beige ABS plastic. A daily aspect of my life; from school, to home, to my bedroom: there was an array of it on every surface and in every corner.

As a kid, I collected every forgotten machine I could get my hands on, only to install whatever “ancient” OS and browser, or Linux distribution and Apache server it would support. Shades of tan and yellowed plastic on cheap CRT monitors with unbalanced colors became the frame for my first forays with the web. It was the backdrop to a life of exploration and endless opportunities to break, reassemble and communicate with an entire world outside of my home and suburb.

It was a familiar color, warm and inviting of so many possibilities for what could be built within. As both I and the hardware aged, it became yellower, the web became better, and I developed into an adult who spends most of his days working on the web.

Now, faded, sunbleached, oxidized, and time-worn, this color is the nostalgia of a childhood filled with well-loved, second-hand and discarded hardware. While that hardware has long become relegated to closets and storage, it’s familiar temperature and temperament will not soon be forgotten.

Josh Gross is a partner at Planetary, a product development studio based in NYC. You can follow him on Twitter at @endtwist.