Portfolio Blog

This course has been one of the most creatively fulfilling experiences of my college career. From the moment we started, the emphasis on aesthetics in engineering design challenged me to think beyond function and into the emotional and visual impact of my work. This final blog post serves as a portfolio landing page for the projects I developed during the semester, reflecting on both my growth and the creative process that shaped it.

Upcycle Project

The semester kicked off with the upcycle project, where we were tasked with creating something meaningful from found or reused materials. I chose to upcycle scrap laser-cutting material and small plastic water bottles to create a light. My aesthetic was nightclub, which uses a lot of different colored lights. It wasn’t perfect, but I was proud of how well I achieved the aesthetic, and it forced me to think about materials not just as functional elements, but as storytelling tools.

Link to upcycle blog post:

Nightclub Decorative Light

This project taught me a lot about constraints and how to design around them. With limited access to tools and a tight timeline, I had to iterate quickly and make decisions based on what I had on hand. The final piece may not have been polished, but it sparked my interest in blending light with unique design elements, which became a recurring theme in my main project.

Final Project: Vintage Sports Framed Picture with LED Lighting

The core of the semester was spent developing our main aesthetic project, and I poured everything into mine. I created a vintage sports-themed framed picture with subtle LED backlighting. The project combined image editing, soft materials (felt), LED integration, and woodworking. Inspired by retro sports memorabilia and the ambiance of historic stadiums, I aimed to capture that nostalgic feeling while adding a modern, interactive twist through lighting.

I edited a black-and-white sports photo in Canva to add a quote in retro typography, printed it on satin paper to reduce glare, and created a backing out of styrofoam and felt to diffuse the LED lights. While I originally planned to distress the frame, I ultimately kept the clean wood look, which complemented the piece more than I expected. The lighting, powered by batteries and controlled via remote, offered customization without distraction, which was an intentional contrast to more flashy modern light art.

Links to Final Project Posts:

Vintage Sports Framed Picture Report (Pt. 1)

Vintage Sports Framed Picture Report Pt. 2: How

This project pushed me technically and artistically. It required managing details like wire routing, surface finishing, and ensuring everything looked intentional. I’m proud of how well it turned out. It’s simple, functional, and emotionally resonant, exactly what I set out to achieve.

Challenges and Takeaways

One of my proudest accomplishments in this course was seeing my design aesthetic evolve. Early on, I focused mostly on visual appearance, but by the end, I was thinking about how materials, texture, lighting, and interactivity all influence the experience of a product. I started incorporating user experience and emotional impact into my decision-making process.

Challenges included navigating unexpected technical problems, like fitting LEDs into a narrow groove or dealing with low battery power during tests. I also had to scale back ideas, like adding a scoreboard clock, in favor of maintaining the project’s visual focus. But these challenges made the project better, helping me sharpen my priorities.

This class helped me refine my aesthetic voice as a designer. I plan to showcase this project—and possibly the upcycle piece—on my engineering design portfolio site. I’m also adding a link to this blog post in my CV as an example of my hands-on design thinking, storytelling, and craft.

This class helped me rediscover how much I enjoy working with my hands, solving physical design problems, and creating something that people connect with emotionally, not just functionally. I’m walking away with a deeper appreciation for design and a body of work I’m truly proud of!