One alternative I thought of for my project of the Art Nouveau and Clockpunk wristwatch that I described in my last post was a Cyberpunk wristwatch. Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction that focuses on a futuristic, dystopian society where advanced technology and cybernetic implants are prevalent. A Cyberpunk wristwatch would be utilitarian in design, with a focus on displaying the bare electronics. The watch band would be made of metal, with an LCD screen that displays the time in a simple, digital font.…

My current plan for the aesthetic of my project is to create a sci-fi inspired robot, in which I was inclined to focus on aesthetic more rather than functionality given time and resources limitations for the course. My Main inspiration arrives from the book Tales from the Loop written by Simon Stålenhag which is a wildly successful crowd-funded project that takes viewers on a surprising sci-fi journey through various country and city landscapes―from small towns in Sweden and the deserts of Nevada to the bitter chill of…

Source: https://www.etsy.com/listing/861137024/floral-moss-wall-art-moss-wall-preserved For my first alternative aesthetic, I chose to add a floral centerpiece to the moss installation. I am really happy with the looks of this aesthetic and I believe it may become a central piece of my design. This drawing shows the LED “Rivers” in blue. For my second alternative aesthetic, I chose to go for a darker black and red vibe with my moss installation. Instead of the moss being green I drew it as black and instead of blue “water” for…

My current plan for the aesthetic of my project is to create a wooden puzzle box with celtic patterns and engravings covering the exterior faces, as well as potentially some wire inlays. However, I would like to explore alternative aesthetics to see how this project might look in other contexts and styles. One option is an industrial theme – I could use different types of metals as opposed to wood, and rather than glued dowels and hidden fasteners, I could intentionally feature bolts and screws…

The 2 aesthetics I chose are a mixture of Robotic/ Industrial and Nature. I kept the same leg shape that is distinctive of Theo Jansen design. Robotic/ Industrial: Change the material to metal tubes. Add riveted steel or other metal on exterior of leg segment. Make the leg powered by a motor.   Nature: Use twigs and twine as the leg segments. Wrap the Segments in plants or cover it in moss.

For this post, I decided to interchange the aesthetics that I had planned for my two initial concepts. The first idea was to have a clock with a vertical garden around it and the second idea was to make a jail architecture-inspired music box. When the aesthetics are interchanged the clock gets a jali-inspired aesthetic and the music box gets a nature-core aesthetic. Since my sketching skills aren’t the best I used an AI tool to visualize these ideas, the result of which can be…

Project Plans and Alternatives I finally reduced my main project ideas to two distinct possible designs. The first is a Japanese aesthetic wind chime, and the second is a minimalist/organic tabletop water fountain. I really enjoy Japanese aesthetics as a whole and am still unsure on which distinct aesthetic I will choose for the wind chime, however I know that I want to incorporate the Wabi-Sabi principle of natural simplicity and beauty in the imperfections. Although, I want the wind chime to be somewhat simple…

My project Aesthetic will be the organic/generative design for the body of the press. What I am currently figuring out is the mechanism of the press itself. As it can be seen in the two sketches I did (or at least I tried to represent), one option is using a “zip” mechanism which consists of a gear and a linear toothed rod; the other option consists in a cylindrical rod with a spring to keep the rod up while not in use and a lever…

Scroll through the pictures with your mouse to see the different ideas I have For my main project, I plan on making a creative coding art installation for the class; if any of y’all had taken Creative Code, then you might be familiar with this sort of thing. I plan on using a webcam to track a person’s movement so that they can interact with things on the screen. On screen, there’ll be a lot of different shapes and motifs floating around, and each thing…

[1] 3D modeling process for the first version of the chess pieces in Rhino3D   [2] First iteration of Pawn designs, using extruded text with a traditional Pawn icon   Whilst the technical aspects of my project shall remain unaffected by my chessboard’s aesthetic, the pieces are a definitive characteristic of the game. Inspired by this Blender artist, I decided to put my own spin on it by using the icons from chess.com and combining them with text saying the piece type (Pawn, Rook, etc.).…

Following up on my aspiration of creating a sculpture that is both Anamorphous as well as is able to generate a meaningful shadow, I have come up with the following project plan. The most difficult part till now was the figure out exactly what sculpture should I design that can fit both the briefs. After considering the time remaining in the semester, I decided to keep it extremely simple (unwillingly). The idea is to create a front view of the sculpture resembling of cramped up…

Alternative Aesthetic  1: Minimalism If I were to do my project in a minimalist aesthetic, it would feature neutral colors, simple frames, and no additional decorative elements. The main focus would be creating a low profile, functional item. Alternative Aesthetic 2: Futuristic If I were to do my project in a futuristic aesthetic, it would have uniform design features, have a reflective surface, and take up more space on the users face. This would create a mysterious and robotic feel to the design.

For my two alternative aesthetics I wanted to go to both ends of the spectrum, so I chose Minimalism and Maximalism. This was a nice exercise, I’ll probably end up doing something closer to minimalist than maximalist.

Sketch your project in two wildly different aesthetics than the one you are planning. Here are a couple quick sketches. One in a modernism style, and the other in a gothic revival aesthetic. The modernist version cuts down on unnecessary edges and features. Meanwhile, the Gothic Revival rendition has a bunch of quatrefoils because they were terrified of negative space and had to make everything look like a church.

When thinking about my project and how I could make it look drastically different given limitations I have, I thought of a minimalist vs maximalist aesthetic difference in the geometry, layout and color of my design. For a more minimalist and hidden aesthetic, I would have the suspension components be positioned parallel to the length of the car. They would be on each side of the car and as far out of the way as possible. The colors of the components would not stand out…

For my project, I think that my original aesthetic was some kind of LED light/night light vibes type aesthetic that added a lighting aspect to something that wasn’t really meant to have lights to enhance it. There’s a certain purpose and cohesiveness to this. For my alternate aesthetics, I went with 2 that diverge into very different aesthetics. The first one on the left, was inspired by most people’s first image of Lego. Very bright colors and a mismatch of different bricks to make something…

For my main project, I’m planning on sticking with my spacecore aesthetic since I’ve gotten to know it well, I like it, and it would be fun to have a consistent aesthetic between my upcycle project and my main project. My idea for my project is as seen below. There is a round disk as a base, then a thin shaft that goes up through the middle. At the top of the shaft, there are twelve wires hanging off: six at one length and six…

. What could be said for this? Moccasins fit the early American aesthetic, whether of the natives or early frontiersmen, even into the mid 1800’s. Today they fit more into comfort wear, with softer materials and linings with rubber soles, but this is not my goal. Functional, lightweight shoes that wouldn’t be out of place in the 1830’s western US are. To conceptualize in drastically different aesthetics: One artist’s interpretation of what might have been the style of the time in Germany in 1570 I…

My original project design took inspiration from mechanical swiss watches. These are very complex and have an emphasis on the finish of the metal on the gears and back plate of the watch as well as exposing the internal workings of the watch so the craftsman ship can be seen. This also includes high lighting the bolts that hold everything together because the size of the fasteners are incredible on their own. My first alternative design took an opposite approach to the watch aesthetic by…

Hummingbird Kinetic Sculpture – Derek Hugger Antique Escapement Mechanism – RF Cafe My current main project aesthetic is highly inspired by the design of kinetic sculptures and antique clocks. Potentially the most apt description of the aesthetic that I have in mind is steampunk with a heavy emphasis on wood and mechanisms, such as escapements, that can be used to turn potential energy into kinetic energy. These  mechanism, and their focus on gears, has always been something that I have been interested in. However, it…

When designing my arcade and researching existing versions online I’ve found that the style of the arcade I make will vary on two axis, one being its physical shape (standing, bartop, etc) and the other being its material or final finish. I ultimately want whatever device I make to be as slim and portable as possible, so that crosses off a standing arcade. When it finds its forever home I imagine it being slim and mounted against a wall around bar/stool height, but because I…

I fell my project is the aesthetic, if you search “3D lake map”, “3D wood lake map”, “3D bathymetric map” or any combination of those terms, you get the idea that I am trying to replicate. My plan is to continue on with this direction but explore other aesthetics was fun.   Old World Map Aesthetic Thinking of isolating the map aesthetic, I reflected on old world maps, where North America is crudely outlined, California is an island, and European nations carve their territories. This map…

For my final project, I plan on creating a mechanically programmed sculpture. I was first drawn to this idea from seeing a video on Youtube Shorts from JBV create where he created a mechanically programmed ball bearing sculpture, as seen below: https://youtube.com/shorts/JIV7mBg3Rls?feature=share Based on the video above, my initial idea was to create a CU logo where the logo moves in and out of view as the camshaft spins. The aesthetic I planned for this idea was a clean, minimalist look with a monotone color…

Currently for my project I am trying to decide what aesthetic I want to use for my frame. I am stuck between using a gaudy ornamental frame that has lots of details, or a simpler frame that would fit in anywhere. There are pros and cons to both options, as an ornamental frame would have more sentimental value and stand out. While a mid century modern frame would be simple and timeless, bringing more focus to the pieces that I choose to display over the…

The final aesthetic that I am going with for my final project is a high-quality DIY aesthetic. I want my project to look like it is homemade, while also having super clean lines and a well polished finish. I want the final project to land somewhere in-between the work by Tom Sachs, and the work of high end woodworking. This aesthetic is primarily being influenced by the project itself as the object that I am building is a drawer for my desk that I built…

For my project, I’m making an ornamented nightstand using traditional joinery. I find myself in an interesting position because I’m already a good way into my project. I’ve designed my nightstand, cut out most of the pieces, and am now midway through assembly. All of that is to say it’s a bit late to make design modifications. Assembly progress What I have not yet designed or made is the ornamentation. I did create a preliminary design a while back when I was researching ornamentation. I…

The idea for my jewelry box stems from two aesthetics. Minimalism or the Art Deco with a stained-glass addition. Minimalism from a personal standpoint is how I view my life and my spaces. I prefer simplicity, cleanliness, organization and natural earthy vibes. For that reason, the first idea would be a very plain and simple jewelry box. I have a few routes in mind to either keep the wood unfinished and as bare as possible, have a rustic wood look, or use a dark walnut…

For my final project, I have decided to make a large floor pillow (pouf) in the shape of a tomato pin cushion. I will be calling upon fairy and cottagecore aesthetics for this project. A “real world” reference I am using is the movie “Secret World of Arrietty” a ghilbli movie inspired by “The Borrowers” book. Below is an image of Arrietty’s room, that features a pin cushion chair. For alternatives of this project, I decided to use Pop Art and Goblincore for my alternative…

The top sketch is the aesthetic I plan on using for my project. In incorporates aspects and recognizable aesthetics from my favorite bands from the 70’s and 80’s. This includes Pink Floyd with the prism in the middle and the brick side, Van Halen with the design of Eddie Van Halen’s guitar on the left side, The Rolling Stones tongue logo, the painting on Led Zeppelin’s Zeppelin IV album, and ACDC’s lightning logo. The aesthetic below that is a gothic revival aesthetic with crosses, quatrefoils,…

For my final project I will be making a magnetic levitation flower pot, an innovative piece of technology that using magnetism to suspend a small flower pot in mid-air. My project will be inspired by the minimalist and cubist aesthetics, so the flower pot will be designed to be simple, functional, and aesthetically pleasing. The minimalist aesthetic emphasizes simplicity, clean lines, and the use of space. The magnetic levitation flower pot incorporates these principles by using a simple, streamlined design that allows the plant to…

I considered two alternative aesthetics to my retro futuristic alarm clock project. The two other aesthetics I considered were minimalism and space age. Below are sketches and ideas I had related to those aesthetics. Minimalism Minimalism is a concept of only having what is absolutely required. In a way, it is similar to utilitarianism, where only what is needed is provided and nothing more. This aesthetic would work with the conceptual alarm clock I desire because it is not distracting and blends well in to…

In my previous post I talked about making some risers for my motorcycle. These are still on the table, but over the past few days I’ve gotten more excited about the panels that cover my battery and fuses. They’re bulbous and ugly and are some of the last stock pieces on the bike. I’ve been thinking of some fun/useful ways to cover up that area, make it look clean without sacrificing access to the electronics. I pulled a coors box from the recycling bin and…

Last post I gave a rough idea of what my design is going to be. I showed a closed version of my night activated flower, however I didn’t show what it’s open, and beautiful, version is going to be, that is what is shown in my featured image. The featured image will help guide what my current aesthetic drawing is, as well as the alternatives I provide, so let’s get right to it. So here is what my current aesthetic is roughly supposed to look…

I’m considering two different aesthetics for my drawing machine. The first is all metal parts mostly aluminum and brass with a rotary mechanism and pulleys that allow for rotation of adjustable drawing arms. The second approach is mostly wood with small parts of metal. This is likely less expensive, but may have less repeatability and less tuneability. I like the simplicity of the wood, but the metal is compelling as I love machined parts and machine part design!

For my course project, I plan on making a desk lamp with contemporary styling and mid-centruy modern material choices. There are multitudes of different ways one can design a desk lamp, but a few styles I found interesting were art deco and Victorian. I think these are particularly good to study for my project since they’re quite separated from contemporary and minimalist styling, and so examining them would provide a fresh perspective on my design. Below is a rough sketch of the aesthetic and general…

For my main project, I have decided to progress with a modern lighting fixture that resembles an aesthetic from LukelampCo. They do a really beautiful job at designing light fixtures that appear sleek and clean to the eye. Although when you approach and see the detail you can notice the texture and the way the light leaks through the weaved rope. The company LukelampCo has an abundance of luminaire designs from ranging in size to rope placements as well as finishing colors. Though I would…

If I did my project in a different aesthetic than the one I am planning.  Currently, I am planning on doing my project in a tranquil and whimsical way. I want to create a mirror in this aesthetic. [1] Mirror in from Kendall Jenners Bathroom The first what if, is if I did my project in a gothic aesthetic that would give the romantic aesthetic. It would have a mysterious and gloom that brings the romanesque art from the mid 12th century to 16th century.…

The structure I’m creating for my final design isn’t necessarily greatly affected by a shift in aesthetic. For reference, I’m creating a hanging screen installation for visuals I create.  The aesthetic I’ve chosen is minimalism and I plan to continue with that design choice despite this week’s exploration exercise.  That being said, I’ve really enjoyed re-designing my project in two new styles. The aesthetics I settled on exploring were art deco and industrialism. I felt that both these choices could create a unique design and…

My automated coffee maker will likely utilize the coffee house aesthetic, and have wooden doors, a glass backing, and dark metallic beams on the side. The top will have a rack for cups and small plants as well, bringing greenery into the space. I have discussed this piece in more detail in my previous post. In the image below, I sketched this primary design as a reference to what I am envisioning for my piece, and then continued on with my exploration of aesthetics. The…

In designing the aesthetic for my main dynamic project, I considered a wide range of potential aesthetics. These included minimalism and the arts and crafts aesthetic. Although I have opted not to make use of these aesthetics in my final product, considering the form of my project under different aesthetics has improved my understanding of how I can integrate aesthetic form into my object while maintaining functionality. When considering the minimalist aesthetic, I tried to reduce all components that were unnecessary to the design. Since…

For my final project, I will be  making an ebike battery enclosure. My current plan is to match the battery to the bike as best I can. This doesn’t necessarily mean matching the current aesthetic of the bike but rather finding a similar style that pairs nicely with it. The bike style is minimalist and streamline. It has a brushed aluminum finish that is semi satin. The graphics on the bike are minimal and so the whole look is very clean and sleek. I would…

For my final project, I am intending on making a puzzle box in the shape of a tall ship (large sailing ship like the ones in Pirates of the Caribbean). This would fit a maritime aesthetic, since it is an aquatic vehicle. To consider different aesthetics my project could take, I considered the minimalism and industrial aesthetics. The minimalism aesthetic is characterized by smooth and clean lines, white or shades of gray for color, and having not a lot of “stuff” going on. Here is…

I’ve been experimenting with a few different aesthetics for my chair design in the range of wabi-sabi Japanese wood to a metal welded look. Most of my designs maintain a sharpness and balance while there is sometimes a change in materiality. The design that I think is the most feasible a layered plywood structure with a potential metal sheet attached to the face in which the user sits on.  Let me know which design you all find the most appealing both aesthetically and functionally! I…

If you haven’t seen the first part of this post, I am planning on making a Ferris wheel complete with old photos from my hometown! The original aesthetic I am choosing is nostalgia, since I find myself to be a very sentimental person. The two aspects to this aesthetic that I wanted to highlight was the photos and the style of the Ferris wheel. Since I always had fond memories of the fair my town would hold, I wanted to model my Ferris wheel in…

The aesthetic that I chose for my final project is the “Kawaii” aesthetic. And the two types of aesthetics I picked up as the opposite are “Horror” and the “Minimalism”. Since I first pick up the two genres for the theme, I started to browse inspiration on Pinterest. However, I didn’t copy any design from what I was looking for inspiration. Instead of copying the shapes and sketching them out, I analyze something in common via my observation. That is, horror aesthetics can be colorful…

My current idea is sketched above. Right now I have a bevel gear set up and plan on 3D printing other gears and pipes to fit around my watch holder to accomplish a steampunk aesthetic. I am not very familiar with 3D printing and fear that there may be some issues printing gears as complex as these so I am also considering going for a minimalist aesthetic. If I limit the gears to only the ones necessary to make my device functional I can focus…

For this blogpost I will be talking about the plans to create this double pendulum violin design. I have searched ways in order to create a double pendulum and a good video source is shown below. There are a lot of manufacturing videos similar to this so I think I will have pretty good guidance into making good joints and being sure that the pendulum will be able to move. In terms of having a pendulum that will move in the random motion like I…

As I mentioned in my last post, my final project will be to design and build a pair of ice axes. On this front there has been some progress, I have my cad model finished and refined, and I’ve allocated some material with a classmate’s (Elvin’s) help. I’ve also reverse-engineered the pick I’ll be using: Petzl’s Pure Dry competition-style dry tool. However, today’s post is about aesthetics. The fundamental shape of an ice tool is defined by its function, and so there will always be…

As an avid climber, I have always been fascinated by the tools we use, ice climbing is completely different type of climbing which relies almost entirely on tools and equipment. Ice tools, are held like hammers and swung into the ice for purchase; they are cost restrictive and so, as an engineering student, I have opted to instead create my own. I started with some concept sketches to create and overall form/shape the tool will conform to. I realized that creating custom pick heads is…

For my final project, I am planning to build a skateboard mold, press, and deck. I had originally planned to create a deck with a 70s vert-inspired aesthetic. Here I explored what the deck would look like if I went for a surf aesthetic and a minimalist aesthetic. The surf aesthetic deck would be on the wider side with 9.5″ from rail to rail. A short wheelbase would make this board agile and quick to turn similar to slashing a surfboard. This board would feature…

  I originally was deciding between a watch winder and an hourglass for my Main Project. I have decided to pursue the hourglass. I intended to make the hourglass with a modern aesthetic to it. After sketching a minimalistic and vintage hour glass, I’m really liking these as well. The minimalistic hour glass would be primarily 3D printed using ONYX material. I have worked in a 3D printing lab in the past and I love the finish to this material. I think it would be…