Personal Aesthetic and Design Inspirations

Featured image from Ikea.com

I believe that my personal aesthetic is very dynamic. I think it draws a lot from my personality and my interests. I am very passionate; you get me started talking about something I am interested in and I will go for hours. This leads me to appreciate putting effort into things, so I appreciate putting some effort into wearing clothes that look good and work well together. I am known amongst my friends for doing it right if I am going to do it. They have seen me in my black shirt, black suit, and bright red tie with red pocket silk in many a formal setting. I am also very practical, which is likely born from growing up in a fairly rural area and a practical household, my dad will fix something 10 times until it breaks too bad to be practical and reasonable to fix. Part of this aspect is that I always have a multitool and a belt on me, they are multipurpose items that can be useful in a pinch.

During anytime but the summer, I can almost always be found in a leather jacket, it’s perfectly practical, good against wind, rain, falling off my longboard, and even crawling around under a car when a friend calls me and says their’s is making a weird rattling noise going down the road. I love that jacket because it’s stylish, practical, and fits the functional part of my aesthetic.

I sometimes refer to myself as a 1950s greaser. I love cars and everything else on wheels, I have big hair that I take immense pride in, something of a rebellious nature, and I am very fond of that leather jacket. I am Italian, so there’s some strong connection there too. The greaser aesthetic also carries into the next part of my aesthetic: skater kid. It can be said that the greaser style evolved into the skater kid style. A little bit extravagant (some would say a function of passion), but with something you wouldn’t mind putting a hole in if you ate it. So to summarize this very long rant, my aesthetic is a mix of greaser, skater, and functionalist.

For my project, I want to make something that will fulfill a role, be cheap, be durable, and look reasonably good. These criteria have been at the root of things I have bought and built in the past. Including the desk that I am sitting at as I write this and the computer that I am using to facilitate writing this. Both I bought for a function, one to be a workspace and the other to be a gaming machine and double up for productivity. I bought the desk from Ikea, the premiere company for cheap, functional furniture. I built the computer using good return parts. Meaning a high performance-to-expense ratio. Ikea makes desks that last for a long time under regular use. I still have the same desk in my childhood room that I have had since I was probably about 14. The computer in one form or another has been around since that same time. A few of the parts are still original to the PC, many have been upgraded over time to match increasing demands. And both I am very happy with the way they look, especially together.