Personal Aesthetic: Function over Form

My personal aesthetic is hard to define, mostly because it draws on a couple of design movements because I received influence from many different places throughout my life. The primary element of my aesthetic is minimalism. I believe that only things that serve a purpose should be part of any design, and anything unnecessary is just clutter. I also appreciate the streamlining movement, as I am a huge fan of aerospace and aeronautics. I love the look of airplanes and the amazing designs that the engineers come up with to serve a specific purpose, aerodynamics. This aesthetic creates beautiful flowing lines and the impression that the design is moving when it is standing still. I believe that my personal aesthetic is a combination of these two styles. When I begin to design something, I try to conform to these basic rules, not only because they are aesthetically pleasing, but these choices usually also contribute to the reliability and ease of manufacturing of the design.

I drew influence from many sources as I have grown up. Both of my grandfathers were engineers for Lockheed Martin, as well as some other members of my family, so I grew up with people who loved tinkering with mechanical things and designing functional components for whatever was being serviced. My father is also a gearhead, so I developed a love for cars early from him. This opened up a whole new world of design for me as I started to play racing videogames, because there are so many different aesthetics applied to automobiles that I could explore. I find myself drawn to the older simpler cars with basic lines and boxy proportions, but with aggressive features. I think this comes from my function over form mentality because cars of this style usually didn’t have as many unnecessary options but boasted higher performance and I feel as though the overall aesthetic of the vehicle should reflect that.

As you may have noticed, cars have influenced my life greatly, and therefore I want to make something related to the automotive industry. This is why I want to make something unique and beautiful that will be a part of my personal car for my final project. I want to continue with my personal aesthetic of streamlined minimalism because I think it will fit the theme of my vehicle well while also being visually pleasing. I would like to design and fabricate my own air intake system that includes a polished aluminum enclosure to fit in place of the original intake system. I think this fits into my aesthetic well because it is very functional as it will improve the performance and likely efficiency of the vehicle, while also reducing the complexity of the intake system and making the engine bay more aesthetically pleasing. I want it to match the smooth flowing aesthetic that can be seen throughout the engine bay, but I also want it to fit in a very specific space while looking like it belongs. I would appreciate your thoughts or questions on my final project, as I still have a lot of design decisions to make.

Image Credit:

Cover Photo: https://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=15694

Picture 1: https://oai.org/kent-state-university-to-offer-master-of-science-and-doctor-of-philosophy-in-aerospace-engineering/

Picture 2: https://twitter.com/m_mediouni/status/652491047252140032

Picture 3: https://www.google.com/search?q=airbox&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS829US829&sxsrf=ALeKk00S8YqOqmW5eXNN7w-Q2cFwep0eKg:1615437230822&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiN7LLStKfvAhXyAZ0JHWCzDdgQ_AUoAXoECBAQAw&biw=1677&bih=837#imgrc=PcZouDrrV9Q5QM