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    • Main Project Summaries 2017
    • 2017 Blog Posts
      • Main Project Final Report 2017 Part 2
      • Main Project Final Report 2017 Part 1
      • Main Project Presentation 2017
      • Main Project Final Stretch Progress 2017
      • Construction Timeline 2017
      • Project aesthetics compared to 20th Century design movements (2017)
      • Top 5 Constraints 2017
      • Main Project Design Review Report 2017
      • Main Project Inspirations 2017
      • Skill Sets and Personal Aspirations 2017
      • Upcycle Final Report 2017
      • Design Loop Reality 2017
      • Upcycle Progress 2017
      • Aesthetic Explorations 2017
    • Main Project Summaries 2016
    • 2016 Blog Posts
      • Main Project Summaries 2016
      • Impact of 20th Century design movements plus update Weds March 30 2016
      • Update Weds March 16, 2016
      • Top 5 Constraints
      • Main Project Design Review Report
      • Main Project Inspirations
      • Aspirations
      • Skill Sets
      • Upcycle: Completed Projects
      • Upcycle Progress
      • Design Loops
      • Aesthetic Explorations
  • Aesthetics Game
    • Major Design Movements Aesthetics Game
  • Links
    • Upcycling
  • Course
    • Engineering Movie Night
    • Lecture notes
    • Schedule

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Student Work

Students in Aesthetics of Design will be posting here about their work all semester. Please read and comment.

Main Projects 2017

Rick Totem by Scott Lowenstein

Rick Totem by Scott Lowenstein

Snowboard Cup Holder by Matt Clark

Snowboard Cup Holder by Matt Clark

Jon Nelson Heart Beat Sensor

Jon Nelson Heart Beat Sensor

Smart Mirror – Ryan Daniel

Smart Mirror – Ryan Daniel

Chess Board-Benjamin Fried
Chess Board-Benjamin Fried

Chess Board-Benjamin Fried

Dummy Roping Calf by Colton Behr

Dummy Roping Calf by Colton Behr

Steampunk Clock | Marcus Gurule

Steampunk Clock | Marcus Gurule

The Lazy Susan, A Project By Tori Herfert

The Lazy Susan, A Project By Tori Herfert

2-Size Tablet Stand by Jian Kan

2-Size Tablet Stand by Jian Kan

iTunes Hologram by Oksana Schuppan

iTunes Hologram by Oksana Schuppan

Puppy Palace: K. Gresh

Puppy Palace: K. Gresh

Illusionist Locket: Katie Yarnell

Illusionist Locket: Katie Yarnell

Upside Down Fish Tank – Jason Savath

Upside Down Fish Tank – Jason Savath

Bamboo Fly Rod – Jeremy Parsons

Bamboo Fly Rod – Jeremy Parsons

cloudfootstudio & Thinkly – Luke Woolley

cloudfootstudio & Thinkly – Luke Woolley

Personal Lock Box – Errol Romero

Personal Lock Box – Errol Romero

Rotating Candle Holder by Faisal Al Balushi

Rotating Candle Holder by Faisal Al Balushi

Heart Rate LED Monitor by Shohei Hara

Heart Rate LED Monitor by Shohei Hara

Trebuchet by Gautham Govindarajan

Trebuchet by Gautham Govindarajan

Art Deco Zoetrope: Ridhvik Gopal

Art Deco Zoetrope: Ridhvik Gopal

Bear Spray Light by Emily O. Pearson

Bear Spray Light by Emily O. Pearson

Rotary Candle Holder by Alex Thompson

Rotary Candle Holder by Alex Thompson

Balerion: The Electric Longboard by Siddharth Nigam

Balerion: The Electric Longboard by Siddharth Nigam

Laser Cut and Etched Nightstand – Kyle Aulwurm

Laser Cut and Etched Nightstand – Kyle Aulwurm

Ryan Forsyth Aesthetics of Design 2017

Ryan Forsyth Aesthetics of Design 2017

Hunter Miller Pencil Holder

Hunter Miller Pencil Holder

Pizza Bed Stand by Alexander Lien

Pizza Bed Stand by Alexander Lien

Origami Pop-Up Diary – Morgan Ulrich

Origami Pop-Up Diary – Morgan Ulrich

Main Projects 2016

Links

Here we show examples of the intersection of engineering and art that have inspired us.

From art project to a new industry: racing mechs

Jean HertzbergLinksOctober 27, 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBkvsbuSeqA
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Technomadics?

Jean HertzbergLinksSeptember 13, 2017

The Library of Technomadics

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Bad Design is Inspiring Too

Jean HertzbergLinksAugust 13, 2017

10+ Epic Design Fails That You Will Find Hard To Believe Actually Happened

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Material source for upcycling

Jean HertzbergLinks, UpcyclingJuly 11, 2017

They have a warehouse in Denver. Would be a good place to browse for an upcycling project. http://www.repurposedmaterialsinc.com/

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Crappy Robot Queen

Jean HertzbergLinksApril 26, 2017

This is so inspiring!

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Golden ratio sculptures

Jean HertzbergLinksApril 26, 2017

Spiral sculptures by John Edmark http://www.johnedmark.com/ Trained in computer science and then product design at Stanford.

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Sorcerer of Antiques

Jean HertzbergLinksMarch 26, 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irdTng8MbIE
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Artist and Mechanical Engineer: Arthur Ganson

Jean HertzbergLinksMarch 22, 2017

Also see the article in the April 2017 edition of Mechanical Engineering Magazine (for all you ASME members).

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The Four-Letter Code to Selling Just About Anything – What makes things cool?

Shohei HaraLinksJanuary 22, 2017

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/01/what-makes-things-cool/508772/ 

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Moving Sculptures

Jean HertzbergLinksJanuary 15, 2017
https://www.facebook.com/mymodernmet/videos/10154868333664299/
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Laser cut automaton

Jean HertzbergLinksDecember 22, 2016

I wish I could give better attribution for this! Can anyone read the artist’s name?

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Silver Swan Automaton 200 years old!

Jean HertzbergLinksDecember 17, 2016

http://www.viralvo.com/silver-swan/ I wish I had any confidence that any of our current technology would still be working in 200 years!  

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Solidsmack

Jean HertzbergLinksNovember 1, 2016

There are plenty of tech and design blogs out there, but this one seems well-curated, with frequent and interesting posts: Solidsmack

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I Love Junk

Jean HertzbergLinks, UpcyclingOctober 9, 2016

Ah. I’m not alone in enjoying junky hardware:

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Drones play James Bond theme

Jean HertzbergLinksMay 10, 2016
https://www.facebook.com/kunsht/videos/271407379864562/
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Product Design: 365 Knitting Clock makes time more tactile by making a scarf

Jean HertzbergLinksApril 8, 2016

Siren Elise Wilhelmsen is a Norwegian product designer based between Bergen and Berlin. She produces objects that challenge the concept of traditional functionality and transform natural materials into intricate mechanical objects. Through her practice she seeks to find ‘a conceptual way to stimulate ideas and discussions around our everyday objects, rituals and culture.’ Source: Product…

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Dynamic Chandeliers

Jean HertzbergLinksApril 6, 2016
https://www.facebook.com/citytraveldreamer/videos/717970868345087/
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Steampunk vision of New York

Jean HertzbergLinksApril 5, 2016

“The Old New World” (Photo-based animation project) from seccovan on Vimeo. BY Alexey Zakharov

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Bathtub to couch

Jean HertzbergLinks, UpcyclingApril 5, 2016

Диван из старой ванны. Афигительно!! Posted by Видео БУМ on Saturday, April 2, 2016

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Today’s Influential Designers

Jason McgrathLinksApril 5, 2016

Unfortunately I cannot make it to class Wednesday to hear about today’s influential designers, but I thought I might share who’s work I find inspiring. I’d be interested to see who’s currently inspiring you too. I don’t find Martha Stewart terribly inspiring, but what other female designers are influencing product design? Marcel Wanders http://www.marcelwanders.com/ known…

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Chairs of China

Jason McgrathLinks, UpcyclingApril 4, 2016

Since we’re talking about chairs as the classic design case study, I thought you may enjoy my chair book featuring the chairs of China. Some are up-cycled, some are at end of their life, all are rad. Have a seat and enjoy: http://www.blurb.com/b/6437590-have-a-seat

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A dress with parking sensors…

Jean HertzbergLinksMarch 25, 2016

Anouk Wipprecht integrates parking sensors and headlights into 3D-printed fashion collection from Dezeen on Vimeo. I wonder how big the battery pack is, how long it lasts and where it is in the dress.

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99% Invisible – A Podcast About Design

Joseph GraffLinksMarch 18, 2016

I’ve been listening to this podcast for a while now, and it has quickly become one of my all-time favorites. If you love podcasts, design, history, interesting stories, or just some strange amalgam of them all, then you’ll love 99% Invisible. Recommended Episodes: – Episode 110: Structural Integrity – Episode 114: Ten Thousand Years –…

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Marble Music Machine

Laura BonneyLinksMarch 13, 2016

I ran across this video and thought it was worth sharing. I think it is an amazing intersection of engineering and art. Enjoy!

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Kinetic Art

Jean HertzbergLinksMarch 7, 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvK0XHpzaMw#t=136
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Steampunk lamp

Jean HertzbergLinksFebruary 20, 2016

A lovely example from artist choe u ram:

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Military Surreal

Jean HertzbergLinksFebruary 15, 2016

Several students chose military hardware as upcycle source material, and made benign objects from it, like Ethan Gehring’s nutcracker from a grenade casing, Shen Shu’s toy cannon, and Chad Alvarez‘s string of shotgun shell lights.      Here is a full scale example from Kris Kuksi, a “post-industrial Rococco master”artist. Many layers of meaning here.  

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Dynamic tables

Jean HertzbergLinks, Student WorkJanuary 26, 2016

“Top 10 Intelligent Wooden Tables”. Fun ways to make the static table into something dynamic.

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Kinetic sculptures by Anthony Howe

Jean HertzbergLinksJanuary 25, 2016

Wonderful examples of dynamics.

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Yarn from plastic bags

Jean HertzbergUpcyclingJanuary 24, 2016

My sister in law crochets grocery bags out of other plastic bags; very robust creations. This woman takes it further and makes fine thread.

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A short film about design

Jason McgrathLinks, Student WorkJanuary 22, 2016
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Giant pinecones from shovels

Jean HertzbergLinks, UpcyclingJanuary 16, 2016

  From RecyclArt.org. Looks like a good site for upcycling inspirations.

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Beer can costume

Jean HertzbergLinks, UpcyclingJanuary 16, 2016

Someone in class mentioned that they had a lot of soda cans that they were thinking of using for the Upcycle Assignment. Here is an example of upcycling that I can’t find the origin of, but it looks like a Brazilian Carnival troupe: I found it shared on Facebook.

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Rolling through the bay

Jean HertzbergLinksJanuary 9, 2016

Source: Rolling through the bay A wonderful example of upcycled outsider art. Scott Weaver created an elaborate sculpture of San Francisco, made entirely of toothpicks, around 100,000 of them. A ping pong ball rides on tracks through the sculpture, visiting sites of importance to the sculptor. I saw this at the American Visionary Museum in…

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Enter the annual DWR Champagne Chair Contest

Jean HertzbergLinksJanuary 4, 2016

If you want to get started with a pre-course warm-up project, check out this competition for tiny chairs made from champagne corks and wire cages. Competition closes Friday Jan 8, 2016. Happy New Year!  

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Course

Everything administrative. Syllabus, lecture notes, assignment requirements, schedule and more.


Schedule


Movie Night


Lecture Notes etc.

32 Wrapping Up

April 21, 2017Jean Hertzberg

Hi. I’ll try to collect all of the end-of-semester details here, in rough chronological order.   Make a post for Monday 4/24 with your project name as the title. This will be a placeholder for your presentation video only, so your pod can comment on your presentation regardless of the state of your final blog…

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31 Design Awards

April 21, 2017Jean Hertzberg

Today we finished our discussion of contemporary designers by looking at Steve Jobs and Jonny Ive, and their shared design philosophy. Then we broke into groups to sift through a variety of design competitions, looking at the winners. 31 Design Awards

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End-of-Semester Final Portfolio Template

April 20, 2017Michael Parish

Hello everyone! I would like to provide a written explanation to be used as a reference for creating the final summary portfolio for your project. What you can expect from reading this is how to create portfolio (not a post), apply a template, and some of the available features for customization. This is simply a…

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30 Current Designers: Hadid, Pagani, Jobs

April 20, 2017Jean Hertzberg

We are all done with sketching instruction. Now it’s up to you. Notice what you are seeing around you, and practice! Today we looked at the work of Zaha Hadid (‘Queen of Curves’), Horacio Pagani and Steve Jobs. In Jobs’ case we were able to talk about early influences and how they were expressed as…

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29 Current Designers: Stewart, Rashid, Lovegrove, Behar

April 20, 2017Jean Hertzberg

Today we looked at how to represent metal in sketches; neutral, desaturated colors and fake reflections, suggesting a photography studio environment. We also looked at the work of a range of current designers: Martha Stewart – what is unique about her work? Organized clutter! Karim Rashid’s biomorphic shapes Ross Lovegrove: Captain Organic. Rejects biomorphism/blobism/consumerism, but…

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28 Glass sketching and Phillipe Starck

April 20, 2017Jean Hertzberg

Today we looked at how to represent glass in sketches; show something inside the glass, show its refractive effect, its shadow and glossy surface. Then we started discussing current designers; who comes to mind. Just a few from students: Martha Stewart Dyson Apple; Jonny Ive Elon Musk David Kelly IDEO/Stanford D-school Martha Stewart and Jonny…

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27 Chairs: Eames Lounge, Monobloc, and Beyond

April 15, 2017Jean Hertzberg

Did some sketching; how to represent a glossy vs a matte surface. Watched a video about making the Eames lounge chair as an example of organic design that blends the production process with the ‘good host’ chair aesthetic. Contrasted the Eames lounge chair at $5000 with the Monobloc plastic chair at $12. 27 Chairs Eames…

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26 Timeline to Chairs

April 10, 2017Jean Hertzberg

Today we did some sketching of spheres, and then looked at the work of Charles and Ray Eames. Above is a video about the Eames lounge chair. 26 Timeline to Chairs

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25 Golden Ratio

April 7, 2017Jean Hertzberg

Today we talked about schedule, final expectations and Expo registration. See the notes for full details, but here is the registration link. Deadline is 1 week, next Friday! April 14. We will probably all be grouped in the DLC, so we can have group music. Each student should provide one song for a playlist, no…

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24 Anthropomorphic and Geometric Aesthetics

April 5, 2017Jean Hertzberg

Today we talked about the Magic Factor of 7, needed for planning time management. Also covered a bit about sketching horizontal cylinders, and then finished the anthropomorphic aesthetics. Covered the geometric aesthetics except for Golden Ratio; that will be Friday. 24 Anthropomorphic and Geometric Aesthetics

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23 Color and Anthropomorphic Effects

April 3, 2017Jean Hertzberg

Today we did sketching practice: ellipses, useful for showing horizontal circles in perspective. Homework: practice drawing ellipses, as many and as quickly as possible. Practice to correct your errors. Here is a link to some good exercises for drawing ellipses: http://mydrawingtutorials.com/a-drawing-exercise-every-beginner-artists-should-do/ We talked about color spaces, including HSB, RGB and Pantone. Went over a psych…

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22 Stuff and Color

March 22, 2017Jean Hertzberg

Today we went over the schedule (Pictionary Friday!) and looked at a couple of UPS videos: Black and Red Effects. Came up with some answers to “why aren’t all products black?” Also looked at some color nomenclature; brightness vs saturation, and complementary colors. 22 Stuff and Color

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21 Aesthetics Game Redux: Timeline Engagement

March 20, 2017Jean Hertzberg
Today we had team time, including application of the major 20th and 21st century design movements to everyone's project, and suggestions of other aesthetics in preparation for this week's post. Students were also invited to the Zotero online library for the course. Make yourself a login at http://zotero.org, then request to join the AeDes group....
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20 Guest Lecture: Sketching Instructions for Travellers

March 17, 2017Jean Hertzberg

Today (3/10/17) Korkut Onaran (Principal, Pel-Ona Architects and Urbanists, Assistant Professor Adjunct, College of Architecture and Planning, University of Colorado, Denver and President, Colorado Chapter of the Congress for the New Urbanism) gave a wonderful talk on how he learned sketching, and the role of sketching in his architectural process. He brought us some new…

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Wood is Not an Aesthetic

March 14, 2017Jean Hertzberg

Neither is metal. Go deeper. I saw some excellent expressions of aesthetics in presentations yesterday, and I also saw students struggling to commit to, let alone express an aesthetic. Wood and metal are merely materials. Once formed, all artifacts have an aesthetic. Aesthetics bring meaning to the artifact, and this can work on many levels….

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19 Streamlining to Post Modern

March 9, 2017Jean Hertzberg

Here is the administrative info for today (Wednesday March 8, 2017): This Wednesday Blog: What are your top 5 constraints? Aesthetics should be one of them. Friday: Guest Lecture: Prof. Korkut Onaran (CU Denver, Urban Planning), pel-ona.com Next Monday: Prototypes are due! Must show aesthetic design. Does not need to function. Small scale is fine….

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14 Adam Agee guest lecture

March 6, 2017Jean Hertzberg

Here is a partial recording of Adam Agee’s guest lecture to the class on 2/24/17.

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18 Art Deco and Organic Movements

March 6, 2017Jean Hertzberg

A look ahead: This Wednesday Blog: What are your top 5 constraints? Aesthetics should be one of them. Friday: Guest Lecture Next Monday: Prototypes are due! Must show aesthetic design. Does not need to function. Small scale is fine. Same presentation rules and pods as last time, starting Monday. Report blog Weds March 15 Following…

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17 Bauhaus and Beyond

March 3, 2017Jean Hertzberg

Bit of admin: Please post your Upcycle presentations! A little advice on posting videos: Post your video on Youtube or Vimeo. Make the link to the video the first text in your post, and select post type to be video. Now your video will show up with a play button as a featured image. Also…

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16 Art Nouveau

March 1, 2017Jean Hertzberg

Today we discussed the moralism of the Arts and Crafts Movement, then looked at the Aesthetics (Art for Art’s Sake) Movement, and then Art Nouveau. Love those whiplash curves. 16 Art Nouveau

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15 Ideation and Brainstorming

February 28, 2017Jean Hertzberg

Most folks are closer to choosing their main project, so today was ideal to do a bit more ideation, to get over the hump into a better idea space, or be more sure of their current choice. We used methods from Thinkertoys; a linear method called False Faces, that challenged basic assumptions, and an intuitive…

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13 Arts and Crafts Movement

February 22, 2017Jean Hertzberg

Today Admin/schedule Team time History of design: 20th Century Timeline Sketching practice 13 20th Century Timeline

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12 Taking Stock and Sketching

February 20, 2017Jean Hertzberg

Taking stock: looking back at Upcycle, and ahead at Main Project Some sketching UPS on color Tonight: Between The Folds Wednesday Blog: Info for team building – what are your skill sets, and what are your personal aspirations (not inspirations)? What do you want to do when you graduate? What do you aspire to be?…

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Upcycle Presentation and Report Requirements

February 10, 2017Jean Hertzberg

Upcycle Presentations In class next week, all three days, we will have presentations in pods, groups of teams. These will be the pods for the rest of the semester too, so remember your pod assignment, shown below. Your pod has an assigned facilitator/timekeeper/session chair to keep things moving along. Locations for the presentations will be…

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11 More sketching plus…

February 10, 2017Jean Hertzberg

Today we went over the requirements for the Upcycle presentations and reports (those will be in a separate post real soon). We also did a little practice sketching basic shadows of boxes. 11 Supernormal Stimuli

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09 Aesthetics Game

February 6, 2017Jean Hertzberg

Today we played the Aesthetics Game. Teams drew a random object and applied a randomly chosen aesthetic, and made sketches on the whiteboards around the room. Some awesome mashups resulted! Very popular: the Mob Culture electric razor, and the Sk8r Shoe Toilet. 09 Aesthetics Game

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08 Team Upcycle Discussion

February 6, 2017Jean Hertzberg

We went over the schedule: All blog topics are listed there blog posts are due every Wednesday, critiques due every Sunday; one on a teammate’s post, and the other on anybody else’s post. If you are late with your critques, Michael may assign you to a post nobody else has commented on. We talked about…

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TA Contact & Post Guidelines

February 6, 2017Michael Parish

Hello Everyone! As most of you are probably aware, my name is Michael and I am working as Professor Hertzberg’s teaching assistant for this class. I am making an effort to attend at least one session every week, time permitting, however I am always available through my E-mail if anyone needs help. The address on…

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07 Sketching a block, and team behavior

February 1, 2017Jean Hertzberg

Went over 0,1,2 and 3 point perspective, and then how to sketch a block. Based on Steur, Roselien, and Koos Eissen. Sketching: The Basics. Amsterdam: BIS Publishers, 2011. Then we listed to an excerpt from This American Life, #370, on how bad apple behavior (slacker, jerk, depressive) can ruin a group. 07 Sketching and teams

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06 Process and Sketching

January 30, 2017Jean Hertzberg

Today we talked about the design process, ideal vs real. Also looked at some design sketch examples, especially the ideation phase, where you make LOTS of quick little sketches. 06 Process and sketching

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05 Sketching and Aesthetics Tour 3

January 27, 2017Jean Hertzberg

Did a progress check on the Upcycle project. Most students (60%) have some idea of direction, but many are still looking. Did a little sketch/brainstorming, then the conclusion of the Aesthetics tour, including Arts&Crafts, Art Nouveau, Art Deco. Plus glam, Gucci and Disney princesses. Pdf: 05 Aesthetics Tour 3

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04 Critique and Aesthetics Tour 2

January 25, 2017Jean Hertzberg

Today we talked about some posting details, and laid out the assignment for critiquing blog posts. Then on with the tour! Lecture in PDF: 04 Aesthetics Tour 2

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03 Aesthetics Tour 1, and Upcycling

January 23, 2017Jean Hertzberg

Today we reviewed definitions of art and aesthetics, and started looking at examples. We also spent a little time towards the end of the hour on what is upcycling. Lecture in pdf format 03 Aesthetics tour, Upcycling Lecture in OneNote format

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02 Definition of Aesthetics

January 20, 2017Jean Hertzberg

Plus Hertzberg’s Theory of Art: a vision instantiated. Lecture notes in pdf format: 02 Definition of Aesthetics  

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01 First Class 2017: Fresh again

January 18, 2017Jean Hertzberg

Design, art, engineering: all iterative processes. This will be the third offering of the Aesthetics of Design course. The class is full, the students are eager, and I’m stoked to do this again: learning and presenting new content, expanding and honing what I already have, greeting students from previous courses and meeting new ones. Looking…

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Is the Aesthetics of Design course right for you?

December 9, 2016Jean Hertzberg

This is the letter I’ve been sending to students, both enrolled and waitlisted. The idea is to clarify expectations. Thanks for signing up for the Aesthetics in Design course. I’m writing to give you a bit more information about the course, and get you thinking about your design project for the course. An updated flyer…

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Spring 2017 Enrollment is Open!

November 1, 2016Jean Hertzberg

So excited to offer this again! There were a lot of changes and development last spring; I think we are getting to a good place with the course. Final tweaks will involve setting it in the context of our ME design curriculum for both grad and undergraduate students. Here is the enrollment info: Aesthetics of…

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A Few Videos

April 26, 2016Jean Hertzberg

Here are videos of a few of the class projects presented at the Engineering Design Expo last Saturday, April 23 2016, and at the ATLAS Expo, April 27:  

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24 Wrapping Up

April 21, 2016Jean Hertzberg

Hi. I didn’t hear any screams of protest, so let’s go forward with the final page idea, due Sunday May 1 at   7 pm. Create a Page (not Post)  for your work. Title it for your main project. It should have a featured image, a very brief description of the project (< 50 words), your…

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Pattern Workshop by Kara Priest

April 6, 2016Jean Hertzberg

We had two after-hours sketching workshops from Kara Priest, a local painter, portraitist and art educator. The first workshop focused on the human face, and on light and shadow, using pencils and shading tools. The second was on patterns, done with sharpies. We were given a number of skill- building exercises; repeating patterns to practice…

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24 Current Designers of Note

April 6, 2016Jean Hertzberg

Today we talked about current designers of note. Can’t use the term ‘modern’ designers; that gets you all the Mid-Century Modernists. ‘Contemporary Designers’ is a bit better, but focuses on clothing fashion. We listed famous designers, and then talked about Jonathan Ive, Philippe Starck, Martha Stewart, Karim Rashid, Ross Lovegrove and Yves Behar. Full Lecture…

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23 Chairs: Eames Lounge, Monobloc, and Beyond

April 4, 2016Jean Hertzberg

Today Workshop with Kara Priest: Textures and Patterns. Case studies: Eames lounge chair Ubiquitous Plastic Chair: Monobloc Updated schedule posted. Expo Registration is open now, and will close at 4:00pm on Friday, April 15th.  Please register early. Register as an individual, or coordinate with your team to make sure space requirements will accommodate all of…

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Tips on how to comment

April 3, 2016Thomas Briedis

Hi everyone! Prof. Hertzberg introduced me in class on Monday, but for those of you who didn’t catch it, my name is Thomas Briedis and I am taking over for Suchit as the TA for Aesthetics of Design. So far, I’ve read the posts and comments for the week before spring break and have started…

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22 Chairs: Eames Lounge Chair

April 2, 2016Jean Hertzberg

Today we had a bit of team time, and then looked at the first half of the 20th century furniture time line, using the Vitra Museum website. Then we looked at Charles and Ray Eames, and finally at the iconic lounge chair and ottoman. Full lecture notes:23 Timeline to Chairs

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21 Timeline Engagement

March 28, 2016Jean Hertzberg

Today we played the Aesthetics Game, but instead of the random aesthetics we used the major design movements of the 20th Century, as defined by Fiell and Fiell. Check the posts category Student Work > 2016 > Aesthetics Game > 20th Century design movements. We will continue presentations of the results on Wednesday. In other…

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20 Pictionary

March 18, 2016Jean Hertzberg

I wanted to give the opportunity to practice sketching concepts, so we played a home-made version of Pictionary in class. We had four teams of 3-4 students each (this was the Friday before Spring Break, after all). At first I used a ‘medium’ difficulty wordlist from the Game Girl. The artist from each team came…

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19 Bauhaus and Beyond

March 16, 2016Jean Hertzberg

Today we finished discussing the timeline of 29th century design movements. Everything changed around 1920; Modernism rose with it’s ‘less is more’ austere designs, lacking in ornamentation and cultural references. Now we live in the Post-Modern era, where the value of symbols in ornamentation is more appreciated. I had a lot of fun writing these…

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18th lecture: 20th Century Timeline

March 14, 2016Jean Hertzberg

Our current aesthetics are the culmination of influences stretching back to the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and beyond. Today we talked about economic, political and artistic influences from 1880 to 1930, when big changes happened. Full lecture notes:18 20th Century Timeline

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17 Geometric Aesthetics

March 11, 2016Jean Hertzberg

Today: Full notes here:17 Geometric Aesthetics All designers carry a sketchbook New TA starting next week: Thomas Problems posting video? Post to YouTube, then insert link. Clay workshop from Bernt Savig, local sculptor and art instructor. $20 per person in materials, modeling clay, armatures, tools. Options. Start with an Most Popular; I’ll arrange this for…

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16 Anthropomorphic Aesthetics

March 11, 2016Jean Hertzberg

Today:  Full lecture notes: 16 Anthropomorphic Aesthetics Part 1, 16 Anthropomorphic Aesthetics Part 2 Last Presentations Shawn Sprinkle + ? Universal Principles of Design General Aesthetics 20 Aesthetic-Usability Effect Anthropomorphic Aesthetics 26 Anthropomorphic Form 34 Baby-Face Bias 242 Uncanny Valley 240 Top-Down Lighting Bias Included in notes, but not covered in lecture Face-Ism Ratio Waist-to-Hip…

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Schedule

March 6, 2016Jean Hertzberg

  2017 Week Monday Wednesday Friday 1 Jan 16 MLK day, no class Syllabus, First assignments: Catme, blog, survey, then aesthetic, upcycle artifact Art History intro. Definition of Aesthetics 2 Jan 23 Upcycle examples, Aesthetics Tour 1 Aesthetics tour 2 Critique introduction Blog post 1 due: Aesthetic Explorations Sketching exercise, Aesthetics tour 3 3 Jan…

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14 Color

March 2, 2016Jean Hertzberg

We talked about a few design guidelines for using color, plus color nomenclature and color spaces, including RGB, HSB, CMYK and Pantone. Full notes: 14 Color Jason McGrath commented on the previous lecture w.r.t Pantone: Today (3/2/16) you touched on how industry tends to manufacture products in colors that follow Pantone’s color of the year….

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13 Stuff and Color

February 29, 2016Jean Hertzberg

Today (Friday 2/26/16) we had/covered 20 minute team time Housekeeping Schedule New text resources Universal aesthetics topics Red Effects It’s all here: 13 Stuff and Color

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Build in Progress

February 25, 2016Jean Hertzberg

Yesterday (Weds 2/24/16) we had a guest lecturer, Tiffany Tseng, tell us about tools for documenting designs as they are being created. In particular, Build in Progress looks like a nice tool that you might consider for this class. The design flow chart part will be helpful at a minimum.

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12 Design Review Requirements and UPDes – Color

February 22, 2016Jean Hertzberg

In class today we spent 5 minutes to set up typical week team meeting times, for trading labor. If you were absent, it is your responsibility to contact your team and get this done. A couple of other logistics: Please comment on Aesthetics Game post For examples of May 2014 projects see http://aestheticsindesign.blogspot.com/ This week’s…

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11 Aesthetics of Design Game

February 19, 2016Jean Hertzberg

What a blast! Today we played the following Aesthetics of Design game. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. RULES: Each team picks a slip of paper from two bowls. One lists an aesthetic and one lists an object. These are your assignments. Your team will have 10 minutes to sketch…

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Upcycle Reports

February 1, 2016Jean Hertzberg

Hi, here is what we talked about in class today; what the Upcycle Reports/Blog posts should have. Then we saw some stellar projects! I am so excited by the quality! Upcycle Reports/Blog Due Weds Feb 3 Set a Featured Image OK to cut and paste from Progress blog Describe your actual design process vs ideal….

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Blog and Comments Policies

January 22, 2016Jean Hertzberg

Based on the class discussion and voting, we have the following policies: A blog post will be due each week, Wednesday at midnight. If Prof. H. has not set a specific topic, blog about your progress on the current project. In weeks with a major design review due (CDR, PDR or Final), the design review…

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05 Aesthetics tour concluded

January 22, 2016Jean Hertzberg

05 Aesthetics Tour Conclusion Voted on comment policy (see next post), then Meet Your Team. If you were absent, contact your team immediately!

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04 Logistics and more tour

January 21, 2016Jean Hertzberg

04 Aesthetics Tour continued Much discussion of what comments are reasonable to expect, and what comments students are willing to make. Bring clickers, we’ll vote next meeting.

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Idea Forge Resources

January 19, 2016Jean Hertzberg
Idea Forge Info sheet 1.12.16 List of who's who, what's where, and when in the Idea Forge.
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03 Upcycle examples and Aesthetics Tour Continued

January 19, 2016Jean Hertzberg

Lecture 03 Upcycle, Aesthetics Tour continued January 15,2016 Gave some examples of upcycling, using common or recycled materials for a higher value object. See the Links for other examples. Then continued the Aesthetics Tour.

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02 History of Aesthetics

January 13, 2016Jean Hertzberg

Today: admin stuff; ITLL and Idea Forge tour and workshop info. Then the History of Aesthetics, including the all-encompassing Hertzberg Theory of Art. Then we started a Tour of Aesthetics, to be continued on Friday. Many students wanted to see the rest of the Dance Vines 2015 video. 02 Definition of Aesthetics Lecture notes pdf.

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01 First class

January 12, 2016Jean Hertzberg

We went over the syllabus and initial assignments. At the end of the class I finally stopped talking and started asking questions: About half the class was familiar with WordPress as a blogging platform. Almost everyone has a clicker. I’ll bring a few to give out to the ones who need one (why doesn’t CU…

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Initial Assignments

January 8, 2016Jean Hertzberg

Initial Assignments pdf version Read syllabus, either hardcopy or online (AesDes.org). Return signed hardcopy syllabus agreement in class Friday January 15. Complete the AesDes Perception Survey by midnight Tuesday January 12! You will receive an email invitation from Qualtrics with a link. Your responses will be kept anonymous from me until after the end of…

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Syllabus 2016

January 8, 2016Jean Hertzberg

Syllabus2016 Pdf version Design is pervasive. The products of design surround us in all aspects of our man-made environment. More importantly, we also design our lives: every choice we make is an element in that process, whether conscious or not. The goals of design can be merely pragmatic; to optimize for best function, for minimizing…

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Student posting guidelines

January 4, 2016Jean Hertzberg

Post! Post! Post often! Do plan to describe your current project work at least once a week. Special posts will be requested for milestones like design reviews and other assignments. Outside of those requirements we are hoping that you will post links to interesting topics related to the course, and that you will comment freely….

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Aesthetics of Design starting soon!

January 1, 2016Jean Hertzberg

Aesthetics of Design is a course being developed at the University of Colorado Boulder by me, Prof. Jean Hertzberg (and thanks to Jiffer Harriman and Hunter Ewen, who co-taught with me the first time in May 2014). Grad and undergrad students from our Mechanical Engineering program, plus students from TAM and other programs will design…

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      • Update Weds March 16, 2016
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