Blog Post 6: Solwave

Coming up with “my own personal aesthetic” was definitely more of a challenge than I imagined. After looking through pages and pages of aesthetics I found a few that personally grabbed my attention the most, so before getting into mine, I’d like to discuss some of the major movements it draws from.

The first major movement my aesthetic is drawn from is minimalism, especially in fashion, and home / workspace design. Minimalism is easily the biggest inspiration I’ll talk about as it definitely seeps into almost every area of my life. I value focus, simplicity, conciseness, and a lack of distractions in my life and minimalism offers that in all fields.

The next movement I drew inspiration from is Bauhaus, specifically in furniture and home decor. While the abstract geometry found in Bauhaus is slightly contradictory to minimalism, the clean lines and emphasis on function make it very attractive to me. I very much enjoy the use of finished wood, steel, and glass in furniture and functional parts of a home, combined with geometric, bright art prints on the walls.

Another aesthetic I drew inspiration from is Ocean Academia. For me, this bridges my engineering / science brain to a more philosophical place. Ocean Academia captures my environmentalism, curiosity, and ceaseless pursuit of knowledge as well as the existentialism I feel at times of relaxation and low stimulation.

I thought these three aesthetics were the combination that built “my aesthetic” but it felt incomplete to me. It was too rooted in engineering, a part of my life that has become more of my identity as time marches on, it was missing the brightness, activity, and fun that I forget to let myself have at times. Realizing this, the last aesthetic that ties into my aesthetic is Tropical. The Tropical aesthetic evokes feelings of nostalgia and connection to my younger mind through simplicity and connection to nature. Swimming, fishing, salty breezes, and balance between work and fun.

After finding out what I liked about each of these aesthetics I was able to combine and distill them into a single aesthetic I am going to call Solwave. This aesthetic comes from my love for Minimalism and Bauhaus, both results of me growing up around engineers my whole life. Also, Ocean Academia and Tropical, as a hard worker in all my endeavors in my life I have always held summer in an extremely high regard as it completes the balance in my life, working hard during the school years, and enjoying the peace and relaxation to its fullest in the summer months. Solwave is characterized by the importance of the sun, balance, motivation, relaxation, and comfort. In Solwave the sun is viewed as a godlike entity bringing life to our planet. The healing properties of the sun, both physical and mental, are undeniable and praised. The sun is an opportunity to get out and get in tune with nature, understand the value of earning a sweat, and releasing toxins from the body. The fashion in Solwave includes linen button downs, heavy cotton tees, shorts above the knee, flip flops, and sunglasses. Solwave in home / architecture would appear as minimalism with plants around the house, big windows allowing for natural lighting, and Bauhaus furniture and art.

I am willing to leave my comfort zone and move toward a steampunk / metalworking aesthetic for this project, however it is probably still going to have elements of my own aesthetic whether it be consciously or unconsciously.

Sources:

https://aesthetics.fandom.com/wiki/Ocean_Academia

https://aesthetics.fandom.com/wiki/Tropical

https://aesthetics.fandom.com/wiki/Bauhaus

https://softervolumes.com/shichirigahama-house/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/797348309018352657/