Post 7 – Main Project Aesthetic Alternatives and Plan

My main project involves aesthetically finalizing a custom gauge cluster that I have installed in my truck. The cluster has a front fascia that I laser cut out of stainless steel, which has an aesthetic that im happy with. However, the wiring for the gauges and switches, in addition to the backs of the switches and gauges, are still exposed and are visually very unappealing.

My solution to this is a cover that hides these wires, while still following the mid-century modern aesthetic that the gauge panel currently represents.  I could theoretically follow the minimalist or brutalist aesthetics, which can achieve a similarly simple effect in an art piece to mid century modern, depending on how the artist chooses to interpret these aesthetics. Both minimalism and brutalism are relatively simple in concept to midcentury modern, with heavy usage of basic geometry and simple designs. However, in my opinion, midcentury modern has a more interesting and appealing aesthetic, and is also appropriate for the age of my truck (see the drawings below for what the gauge cluster would look like following these various aesthetics), so I will be following through with the mid-century modern aesthetic. I believe that a simple piece of bent leather, stained with a mahogany color, would act as a durable cover for the gauge cluster that both follows the mid-century aesthetic, and the overall aesthetic of my vehicle’s interior.  Furthermore, as depicted in the drawing below, I also want to add an electric fan and a phone holder to the body of the gauge cluster in the most visually pleasing way possible. These features would be very useful to have, and I look forward to figuring out to best way to incorporate them in my design.