Utilitarian

My aesthetic would be utilitarian: things designed with practicality first and foremost with its attractiveness — if applicable — a byproduct. One prominent 20th-century design movement from which it could have drawn inspiration is minimalism, as neither has any unnecessary features and is primarily uniform in color.

My first exposure to it was my fascination with the military portions in Michael Bay’s Transformers (2007), which had significant screen times dedicated to displaying things like tanks, fighter jets, and geared personnel. The one vehicle that always stuck out, aside from the awesome action scene that it was a part of, was the representation of the Buffalo Mine-Protected Clearance Vehicle (MPCV).

The sloped underside, thick windows that jutted out from the chassis, and robotic arm made it stand out from the muscle cars and trucks. While one may be curious as to why the MPCV was designed in this manner, it’s only after understanding the reasoning behind each aspect that one appreciates the engineering that went into them. For instance, the sloped underside redirects the force of an explosive blast away from the vehicle rather than upwards if the vehicle drives over a mine or IED.

Or take the M1074 Joint Assault Bridge (JAB) System that may initially look peculiar — being built around an Abrams tank chassis — but provides a critical role by enabling the crossing of rivers or once impassable terrain with the foldable bridge it can deploy on top.

However, not all purposes are well-known to the general population. Take the F-35C that was seen sporting an unknown mirror-like coating a few years back. Despite many speculating the intentions of this new finish to the fighter, one theory being to reduce the jet’s signature, it had an unintended result of capturing the attention of many due to the rather unique geometric patterned surface.

While I still appreciate the aesthetic of vehicles and aircraft in the real world, I usually gravitate towards the utilitarian appearance of those seen in the creative media. As a matter of fact, the countless hours I played FPS shooters and RTS games (Call of Duty, Battlefield, Halo, Command & Conquer, etc.) solidified my interest in the aesthetic.

Take the Guardian APC as seen in Command & Conquer: Tiberium Wars, which has multiple characteristics as I described with the Buffalo MPCV.

While I haven’t played this iteration of Call of Duty, I sometimes peruse through its game assets and concept art like the Jackal, as it still retains practical functionality despite the future/sci-fi setting — all the while being visually appealing.

Halo was the game series that made me truly appreciate the utilitarian aesthetic with the option of customizing our in-game Spartans with a plethora of tactical gear.

Given my fascination, the utilitarian aesthetic will definitely be a part of my main project.

References

Utilitarian Background: https://blog.ajweb.eu/utilitarian-design-b0531605f1a9

 

Minimalism Background: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimalism

 

[1] https://www.army-technology.com/projects/buffalo/?cf-view

 

[2] https://fortcavazosmediacenter.com/ft-bliss-engineer-soldiers-dig-in-on-joint-assault-bridge-operational-test/

 

[3] https://www.twz.com/navy-f-35c-surfaces-wearing-new-mirror-like-skin

 

[4] https://cnc.fandom.com/wiki/APC_(Tiberium_Wars)

 

[5] https://callofduty.fandom.com/wiki/Jackal

 

[6] https://www.artstation.com/artwork/d0LAWW