Aesthetics Portfolio – Grayden Rauba

Throughout this semester in Aesthetics in Design I have accumulated a great deal of knowledge on how to create artifacts that match a certain aesthetic. Through the multiple projects I have undergone this semester, including Upcycle and the Final projects, I have gained a great deal of hands-on fabrication experience as well. Additionally, I explored the aesthetic movements that went along with my projects and learned a lot more about how things are designed. In this post I will be making my semester portfolio, outlining each of my projects and what I learned from each.

My first project of the semester was the Upcycle Project, during which I decided to use a scrap piece of wood I found in a dumpster to make a food-safe cutting board. The aesthetic I chose for this project was “rustic”, where I leaned into the wood grain texture, and embraced the imperfections of the scrap wood I found. I used wood working skills like sanding and staining to create a final product I was very happy with. I used a stain that really emphasized the grain in the wood, and I finished the surface of the board with mineral oil. This mineral oil makes the board food-safe and prevents any splinters from entering the food. I have actually used my project in my kitchen, and it functions very well. It is also a nice conversation piece to talk about, which is a nice bonus. Below are my images for this project.

For my second and final project, I decided to lean into the aesthetic of my bedroom, and by extension my personal aesthetic, and chose a NYC loft aesthetic. I also wanted my project to be highly functional, and because I have a lot of clothes and nowhere to store them, I chose a clothing rack for my final project. Through research and sourcing materials, I settled on raw steel galvanized pipe to make the frame of my clothing rack. I ran into a lot of issues while making this project, and had to make many changes and iterations to my design until I got to the final product. For example, I couldn’t find a 4-way fitting that was a part of my original plan. Because of this, I decided to remove a section of the rack that would’ve contained shelves. I’m hoping in the future I can source the part I was missing from McMaster Carr or some other retailer and can modify my project to better fit my original plans. Overall, I am happy with how the project turned out, and will likely bring this new piece  of furniture along with me when I move housing. Below are pictures of my final project.

To reiterate, I have learned a lot this semester about design and the attention to detail that goes into creating these artifacts. I have gained valuable knowledge and experience in the design and fabrication world, which I’m sure will help me a lot in the future. This has been a very fun and refreshing class this semester.