Aesthetics of Design Portfolio – Bryan Moreno

During this past semester in Aesthetics of Design, I have been able to bring to life ideas I had little time to work on otherwise. From two of my hobbies, I created projects that allowed me to learn a few more skills throughout the process.

Upcycle Project: Opulent Pokémon TCG Box:

The first project for this course was to follow an aesthetic to create a project using recycled materials. I decided to create a box to hold all the extra Pokémon cards I had been collecting from booster packs. For the aesthetic, my vision was to follow a more elegant solution, similar to more premium card. This deeply contrasted the recycled materials, and it was a fun challenge working around this.

Pokémon TCG Box in action.

Using scrap pieces of 1/8″ black acrylic, I designed the box and pattern in SolidWorks. The materials were laser cut, and assembled. The pattern on the side was hand painted. The lid on the box is magnetic, ensuring every card can stay inside the box.

Finished box

The Pokémon box realized the opulent aesthetic very well, far past my expectations. The glossy black along with the metallic painted pattern allows the box to shine. I learned a lot about carefully planning a project to ensure everything goes smoothly, and how to maneuver outside the constraints to achieve something to the high quality I strive for.

Links to detailed progress posts:

Opulent Pokémon TCG Box

Pokémon TCG Deck Box Progress Update

Rustic Pokémon TCG Box

Opulent Pokémon TCG Deck Box

 

Main Project: Light AMG GT RC Car

The main project for this course was to create a dynamic project that followed an aesthetic. Because of my hobby in RC airplanes and being unable to fly them, I decided to create an RC car to learn how to operate such vehicles in less degrees of freedom. However, I also wanted to explore a different aesthetic, and I discovered a vision of this car through the lenses of Cyberpunk. I called it light for two main reasons. For one, I did not want to go fully into the main cyberpunk aesthetic, but only touch on smaller elements, such as the lights and colors. Additionally, I really wanted to have dynamic lighting for the car. Thus, after choosing the AMG GT Coupe as my base model, I envisioned a car that lightly touches the cyberpunk aesthetic and yet still emits the luxury tone of the base car.

AMG GT car in darker setting, showing lighting effects.

Thanks to my personal 3D printer, I fully 3D printed the car. The chassis and body were modified and printed as separate assemblies, which connect using magnets. I used Adafruit’s Neo Pixel RGB LED system to add the lighting, and an Arduino to control the lighting. Additionally, the car is fully drivable using an off the shelf 1/10 scale RC motor.

LEDs off version of the car.

The project came with countless issues and design problems. I had to learn the sculpting side of Blender for the body modifications I designed. Additionally, I refined my skills in soldering and electronic packaging with the 32 different LEDs I wired together. The final product blew past my expectations, with the perfect blend of cyberpunk and AMG’s luxury becoming reality. Now I just have to learn how to drive this car.

Links to detailed progress posts:

Personal Aesthetic & Main Project Plans

Light Cyberpunk RC Car

Light Cyberpunk AMG GT RC Car

Specs & Constraints

Light AMG GT RC Car – Progress

Light AMG GT RC Car – Final Report Part 1

Light AMG GT RC Car – Final Report Part 2