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    • 2025
      • Post 01 2025: Aesthetic Explorations
      • Post 2- 2025 : What is your Upcycling project? What is the aesthetic and why?
      • Post 3 – 2025 : Upcycle Progress
      • Post 4- 2025 : Opposite Upcycle Aesthetic
      • Post 5 – 2025: Upcycle Design Report
      • Post 6 – 2025 : Main Project Plans and Inspirations
      • Post 7 – 2025 : Main Project Aesthetics: Plans and Alternatives.
      • Post 8 – 2025 : Design Preview Report
      • Post 9 – 2025 : Top 5 specifications, top 5 constraints
      • Post 10 – 2025 : Progress
      • Post 11 – 2025 : Final Report Part 1
      • Post 12 – 2025 : Main Project Final Report Part 2
      • Post 13 – 2025 : Portfolio
    • 2024
      • Post 1: Aesthetics Exploration
      • Post 2: What is your upcycling aesthetic and why?
      • Post 3: Upcycle progress
      • Post 4: Opposite Upcycle Aesthetic
      • Post 5: Upcycle Design Report
      • Post 6: Main project plans and inspiration
      • Post 7 2024: Main Project Aesthetics – Plans and Alternatives
      • Post 8 2024: Design Preview Report
      • Post 9 2024: : Top 5 specifications, top 5 constraints
      • Post 10 2024: Progress Since Design Preview
      • Post 11 2024 Final Report Part 1: What and Why
      • Post 12 2024: How and What Next?
      • Post 13 2024: Portfolio
    • 2023
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Aesthetics of Design starting soon!

Enter the annual DWR Champagne Chair Contest

Student posting guidelines

Syllabus 2016

Initial Assignments

Rolling through the bay

01 First class

02 History of Aesthetics

03 Upcycling and Aesthetics Tour Continued

Beer can costume

Giant pinecones from shovels

03 Upcycle examples and Aesthetics Tour Continued

Idea Forge Resources

04 Logistics and more tour

05 Aesthetics tour concluded

Yarn from plastic bags

Kinetic sculptures by Anthony Howe

Dynamic tables

Upcycle Reports

Military Surreal

11 Aesthetics of Design Game

Steampunk lamp

12 Design Review Requirements and UPDes – Color

Build in Progress

13 Stuff and Color

14 Color

Kinetic Art

16 Anthropomorphic Aesthetics

17 Geometric Aesthetics

18th lecture: 20th Century Timeline

19 Bauhaus and Beyond

20 Pictionary

A dress with parking sensors…

Design Videos from DeZeen

21 Timeline Engagement

22 Chairs: Eames Lounge Chair

23 Chairs: Eames Lounge, Monobloc, and Beyond

Bathtub to couch

Steampunk vision of New York

Dynamic Chandeliers

24 Current Designers of Note

Pattern Workshop by Kara Priest

Product Design: 365 Knitting Clock makes time more tactile by making a scarf

24 Wrapping Up

A Few Videos

Drones play James Bond theme

I Love Junk

Spring 2017 Enrollment is Open!

Solidsmack

Is the Aesthetics of Design course right for you?

Silver Swan Automaton 200 years old!

Laser cut automaton

01 First Class 2017: Fresh again

02 Definition of Aesthetics

03 Aesthetics Tour 1, and Upcycling

04 Critique and Aesthetics Tour 2

05 Sketching and Aesthetics Tour 3

06 Process and Sketching

07 Sketching a block, and team behavior

08 Team Upcycle Discussion

09 Aesthetics Game

11 More sketching plus…

Upcycle Presentation and Report Requirements

12 Taking Stock and Sketching

13 Arts and Crafts Movement

15 Ideation and Brainstorming

16 Art Nouveau

17 Bauhaus and Beyond

18 Art Deco and Organic Movements

14 Adam Agee guest lecture

19 Streamlining to Post Modern

Wood is Not an Aesthetic

20 Guest Lecture: Sketching Instructions for Travellers

21 Aesthetics Game Redux: Timeline Engagement

Artist and Mechanical Engineer: Arthur Ganson

22 Stuff and Color

Sorcerer of Antiques

23 Color and Anthropomorphic Effects

24 Anthropomorphic and Geometric Aesthetics

25 Golden Ratio

26 Timeline to Chairs

27 Chairs: Eames Lounge, Monobloc, and Beyond

28 Glass sketching and Phillipe Starck

29 Current Designers: Stewart, Rashid, Lovegrove, Behar

30 Current Designers: Hadid, Pagani, Jobs

31 Design Awards

32 Wrapping Up

Golden ratio sculptures

Crappy Robot Queen

Love that whiplash curve

Bad Design is Inspiring Too

Technomadics?

From art project to a new industry: racing mechs

Vertical Garden Walls

Great use of Vantablack, light absorbing paint

Schedule 2017

Material source for upcycling

Schedule 2019

Syllabus for Jan 2019

Initial Assignments

01 Intro

02 Definitions of Aesthetics

test post

03 Aesthetics Tour 1

04 Aesthetics Tour 2

05 Aesthetics Tour 3

06 Ideation and Process

07 Process and Sketching

08 Teams

09 Upcycle Specs and Perspective Sketching

10 Aesthetics Game

11 Contour Bias vs Cubes

Upcycle Presentation Logistics

13 Supernormal Stimuli

14 Rhino demo and Sketching

15: 20th Century Timeline

16 Arts and Crafts Movement

17 Aesthetic Movement and Art Nouveau

18 Guest Lecture: Adam Agee

19 Bauhaus and Beyond, plus Critical Design Review criteria and logistics

20: Modern Design Movements

22 Color

23 Magic Factor of 7, Color and Anthropomorphic Effects

24 Anthropomorphic and Geometric Aesthetics

25 Golden Ratio, then Chairs

26 Chairs: Eames Lounge vs Monobloc

27 Current Designers: Starck, Precht, Burtt

28 Current Designers

29: Current designers – Hadid, Pagani, Jobs and Ive

End of Semester Show

30 Design Awards

Final Presentation logistics

Final Assignments

Phone Sheep

Schedule 2020

Strandbeest Bicycle

Initial Assignments

01 First class meeting

Mercedes Benz applies the ‘Avatar’ aesthetic

02 Resources and Art definition

Four images illustrating major art theories

03 Definitions of Aesthetics 2

04 Aesthetics Tour

05 Upcycle examples and Aesthetics Tour

06 Ideation Techniques

Four representations of design processes, such as a flowchart

07 Process and sketching

08 Upcycle Specs, 1,2, and 3 Point Perspectives

Pods for Presentations

09 Cubes and Contour Bias

Guest Lecture: ‘Inspired by Objects’ by Hope Saska

10 Supernormal Stimuli and Shade/Shadow sketching

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Aesthetics of Design by Jean Hertzberg and students is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0