Course – Aesthetics of Design

Hello, Instructions on your first log-in and making a post can be found in the PDF below. HowToMakeAPost If you find any mistakes/ have questions, please contact me via Slack. Best, Behruz

Zotero Library Access

January 14, 2021

Here’s how to get access to our Zotero online library. Zotero is a citation management tool like Endnote, Mendeley, Bibme, Citation Machine, etc. . Here I’ll describe how to get access to our group library “AesDes” where you can find references for the readings for our class as well as other texts, papers and websites…

Syllabus 2021 Spring

January 13, 2021

Here is the PDF of the syllabus

Schedule 2021 Spring

January 13, 2021

2021 This will get more filled in and adjusted as time goes on. It’s still hard to predict how fast we’ll be going. Week Monday Wednesday Friday 1 Jan 11, no class No class We’ll meet over Zoom from 11:30 to 12:20 MST. Link is in Canvas and Slack. Topics: Welcome, syllabus, first assignments (copyright,…

Initial Assignments 2021

January 13, 2021

Start a design notebook. Carry it with you always. Continually doodle in it, sketch details of design that catch your eye, practice shading and rendering etc. Read the syllabus. Really. Upload signed agreement (last page) in Canvas by midnight Wednesday January 20. Complete the AesDes Perception Survey by midnight Friday January 22! You will receive…

Blog and Comments Policies

January 13, 2021

A blog post will be due each week, TBD day at midnight. If Prof. H. has not set a specific topic, blog about your progress on the current project. In weeks with a major design report due (Upcycle, Main project CDR, or Final), the design review report will be the blog subject. These major posts…

Is Aesthetics in Design the right course for you?

January 12, 2021

I’m writing to give you a bit more information about the course, and get you thinking about your design projects for the course. You might have already gotten most of this in an email, but I’m always tweaking things, so please read again. This is an experimental course. We will be studying how to improve…

Welcome! Getting Ready for Spring 2021

January 11, 2021

Wow, it’s past time to update all this! Happy New Year! I want to welcome all students to the class this semester. This class can be as large as needed, and is open to all upper division students and grad students in the College of Engineering here at the University of Colorado Boulder, including Creative…

Rustic Ocean Resin Table – Final Report Pt. 2

May 1, 2020

Course, Final Project Part 2 2020, Student Work, zw 2020

Timeline The figure below shows the entire timeline for this project. Prototyping (Testing) The first things I had to do was prototype the shape of the table, cuts on the wood, and colors/techniques used with the epoxy. The pictures below show two of my favorite color combinations that I want to use for the table. …

26 Apple’s Aesthetic: Jobs and Ive. Friday 4/24/20

April 24, 2020

Last lecture of the semester, although we have two more days of presentations (M,W) next week, plus the Expo on Sunday May 3, 7:30-9:30 pm, as a Zoom event. See Slack for details. Lecture Notes Partial Zoom recording

Rustic Ocean River Table – Final Report Pt. 1

April 20, 2020

Course, Final Project Part 1 2020, Student Work, zw 2020

Abstract This main project was done for the Aesthetics of Design course taught in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Colorado Boulder. Initially the requirements for the project were that it could be anything we wanted, as long as it had some sort of dynamic component (or something that changes with time) and…

25 Chairs: Eames Lounge to Monobloc and Beyond. Friday April 17, 2020

April 17, 2020

Today we looked at the evolution of chairs from 1950’s to present, embodied by the Eames Lounge chair and the ubiquitous Monobloc resin chair. We also looked at rendering glossy vs matte surfaces in hand sketching. Lecture Notes Zoom recording

Rustic Ocean River Table – Construction Update

April 16, 2020

Course, Main Project Construction Update 2020, Student Work, zw 2020

Preparation For Main Pour The couple of things that I had to do in preparation for my main pour were to figure out the main color I wanted to do, seal the wood, and prep the wood and the mold together. The first picture you see below are two practice squares of resin used to…

24 Spheres, then Case Study: the Chair

April 15, 2020

We looked at sketching spheres. Shading is the key. Then we did breakout rooms so folks could discuss their projects. Then we looked at the evolution of the modern chair, from Thonet with his bentwood manufacturing innovations up to Charles and Ray Eames. Designers were inspired by both technology and previous designers. Lecture notes Zoom…

23 Anthropomorphic and Geometric Aesthetics

April 13, 2020

Today we finished up content from Universal Principles of Design. Anthropomorphic effects play in to our liking of human shapes, and geometric effects include our love of symmetry and the number 3. Lecture notes

22 Color and Magic Factor of 7. Friday April 10, 2020.

April 12, 2020

In research or design, any time you are doing something new, it will take you 7 times longer than you think it should. Why? The Unkown Unknown; a pandemic for example. We also talked about color; nomenclature (Pantone, color spaces), and ‘aesthetic’ combinations. A bit of physics and human visual perception. Lecture notes

Rustic Ocean River Table – Aesthetic Roots

April 9, 2020

Course, Student Work, Your Aesthetic Roots 2020, zw 2020

The aesthetic of a river table includes is rustic in nature with the natural/live edge aspect of wood/lumber, combined with a clean, glass like finish from the epoxy. It is a mix between what nature has to offer combined with what man has to offer. I have always been very attracted to this idea. Normally…

21 Black, White, Red effects and Horizontal Cylinder Sketching

April 8, 2020

We watched videos from Universal Principles of Design on Black, White and Red effects. More on color on Friday. We also sketched horizontal cylinders. Lecture Notes Zoom recording

20 Aesthetics Game Critique

April 6, 2020

Today we critiqued the sketches from Friday’s Aesthetics Game, played with the major 20th century design movements. We also went over the schedule for the rest of the semester, and looked at which current designers to talk about, plus some other resources. Lecture Notes Zoom recording

19 Aesthetics Game Redux Friday 4/3/20

April 3, 2020

Today we played the Aesthetics games using the major 20th Century design movements over Zoom. Students went into breakout rooms in groups of 3, and collaborated on object/aesthetic combinations on a whiteboard. Monday we’ll look at what everybody did. Lecture notes contain the rules and combos. Lecture Notes

18 Pop Art to Present, plus cylinder sketching

April 1, 2020

Today we finished describing the major 20th century design movements, covering the 1960’s to present day post modernism. Then we sketched cylinders in perspective view, including shade and shadow. Lecture notes Unfortunately, I forgot to record the Zoom lecture. I’ve made it automatic, so this won’t happen again.

How to Make a Resin River Table – Favorite Design/Build Video

March 31, 2020

Course, Favorite Youtube design/build videos 2020, Student Work, zw 2020

Out of all of the videos on how to make item recently, this video shown above is the best video I have been able to find. There are a couple different things about this video that make it stand out over others. Those things include no background distractions, clear video, clear instructions that go along…

17 Modern Movements. Monday 3/30/20

March 30, 2020

Today was the second lecture on Zoom. It was better since I could broadcast from my office. We talked about revised due dates (finish your Design Review 1 and 2 ASAP, critiques due Friday) . Behruz will post a spreadsheet showing who still needs to have their DR reports critiqued. Don’t forget to upload the…

16 Bauhaus and Beyond, Zoom lecture 3/20/20

March 23, 2020

Had our first Zoom lecture today. A bit rough; upload speeds from my home are restricted, so in the future I’ll do them from my office. Next week is Spring Break; do enjoy. I’ll be checking in via Slack if anybody needs a consult. Lecture Notes PDF Lecture Video and Transcript

Transition to Online Course

March 15, 2020

Course, Design Review 2020 Part 1: Detailed Plans

Hi Folks. Starting tomorrow Monday 3/16, we will be online. See the Slack #general channel for detailed instructions. Basically, those who still have to do their Design Review Presentations will do them in Zoom this Monday and Wednesday at our usual class meeting time. Your pod facilitator will issue the Zoom meeting invitation in your…

Design Review 1

March 11, 2020

Benjamin Chang

I am making a wooden icosahedron with an infinite LED illusion encapsulated within. I got this inspiration from Deep Light Labs version of a dodecahedron paired with lighting and music. The light show and object together offer a beautiful display of lighting and depth. Check it out if you have a second to spare, it…

Pod Facilitator/Leader Expectations

March 10, 2020

UPDATED for ONLINE 3/15/20 Pod Facilitators/Leaders are very much like session chairs at a scientific or professional conference, with a couple of additional responsibilities. Work with your pod members to decide who will present in which order. You can just ask for volunteers, or set a schedule in advance, or some variant. Log in to…

Design Review Pt. 1 – Ocean River Table

March 9, 2020

Course, Design Review 2020 Part 1: Detailed Plans, Main Project Design Review 2016, Student Work, zw 2020

The above picture is where I am at today. This is my piece of wood sitting in the mold where the epoxy will be poured in. I will get to this more later in this post, but I wanted you all to see it right away. So first I want to show you guys my…

15 Friday 3/6/20 Aesthetics Movement and Art Nouveau

March 6, 2020

Talked a little about Design Review expectations, starting next week. Looked at Aesthetics Movement, then Art Nouveau. Sketch practice of part of a Mucha print. Lecture Notes

14 Weds 3/4/20 Arts and Crafts 2

March 4, 2020

Today we did a quick review of Gothic styling (Mackey Auditorium), then finished sharing Arts and Crafts product examples. Lecture Notes

Lecture 13, 3/2/2020: Arts and Crafts

March 2, 2020

Today we looked at the Arts and Crafts movement in a bit of detail. We did a knowledge construction exercise, where students presented examples of products in the Arts and Crafts style, and analyzed for common elements. Lecture Notes

Lecture 12, Friday Feb 28, 2020 Gothic to Postmodern, plus shadow

February 28, 2020

Today we looked at Gothic styles, mid 1800s, and then briefly at post modern, bookending our review. Next we’ll do them in more detail. Lecture notes

Ways Of Learning: Guest Lecture by Prof. Kate Goodman

February 26, 2020

Guest Lecture Monday Feb 24, 2020 Notes

11 Sketch Viewpoints, and start 20th Century Design Movements

February 26, 2020

Today we went over the schedule, and decided that it’s polite to respond to posted critiques by the following Wednesday. We considered the importance of viewpoint in sketching an object, to show the most important aspects. We started 20th Century Design Movements, looking at a timeline showing the movements compared to other influences such as…

10 Supernormal Stimuli and Shade/Shadow sketching

February 25, 2020

We looked at a video from Universal Principles of Design on supernormal stimuli: how you can get a big response by tapping into subconscious instincts. Then we did a bit of shade and shadow sketching. Lecture Notes

Guest Lecture: ‘Inspired by Objects’ by Hope Saska

February 14, 2020

February 5, 2020 Slides

09 Cubes and Contour Bias

February 14, 2020

Admin Sketching cubes Universal Principles of Design: Contour Bias Admin: Final (Exam) Expo will be Sunday May 3, 7:30-10 pm in the Idea Forge. Snacks, open to the public. Invite your friends and family. Great projects, and informative reports. However NO CREDIT WITHOUT FEATURED IMAGE. Use Worktrade to get help, or see me or Behruz…

Pods for Presentations

January 31, 2020

Here are the pods for presentations. You’ll be in the same pod all semester, meeting in the same location on presentation days. I’m expecting the graduate students to volunteer as facilitators for two or three of the presentation days (we have a total of 10 presentation days this semester, and 4 grad students per pod).…

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

January 31, 2020

Today we went over the specifications and due dates for the Upcycle Project. We talked about the critique method we’ll be using for the presentations: Lerman, Liz. Critical Response Process: A Method for Getting Useful Feedback on Anything You Make, from Dance to Dessert. EBook., 2002. Then we looked briefly at the difference between traditional…

Four representations of design processes, such as a flowchart

07 Process and sketching

January 29, 2020

Today we reflected on real vs ideal design processes, then looked at the plethora of types of sketches used in industrial design. Lecture notes

06 Ideation Techniques

January 27, 2020

Talked about various techniques for generating ideas; what students already had experience with, plus linear techniques ‘False Faces’ and ‘SCAMPER’. Then we did a guided visualization as an example of an intuitive method. Lecture Notes

05 Upcycle examples and Aesthetics Tour

January 27, 2020

We looked at a few examples of upcycling, including Simon Rodia’s Watts Towers, and didn’t have much time for the Aesthetics Tour, so please see the rest of the tour in the Lecture Notes

04 Aesthetics Tour

January 22, 2020

Today we practiced drawing circles, then started the Aesthetics Tour, discussing the aesthetics of Tim Burton’s work, Industrial Chic, Harleys vs Japanese motorcycles, Yakuza vs feminine speech patterns, manga, steampunk, religion and angels, red, white and blue, colonial furniture, and corporate logos. Lecture Notes

Four images illustrating major art theories

03 Definitions of Aesthetics 2

January 21, 2020

We reviewed theories of art, and then went over various definitions of aesthetics. At the end we listed hallmarks of current aesthetics that most folks could identify: Minimalism and Hipster. Lecture Notes

02 Resources and Art definition

January 15, 2020

Today we went over ITLL and Idea Forge resources, heard from Mo Woods in the Project Depo, and talked about major art theories. Andy Goldsworthy as an example of Formalism. Lecture notes.

If You Just Enrolled

January 13, 2020

Please send an email to Behruz, our TA, and ask him to set you up with Slack workspace access and a login to AesDes.org. Send an email to me (Hertzberg@colorado.edu) for the entry survey link. Then read the syllabus and the initial assignments. See you in class!

01 First class meeting

January 13, 2020

In our first class meeting (Monday 1/13/20) we started with the Strandbeest bicycle video and did a little critique of it. The walking mechanism was derived from Theo Jansen’s work. Then we went over the syllabus and the initial assignments. Here’s an example of upcycling that I didn’t get to show. t’s a giant ball…

Initial Assignments

January 10, 2020

Table tent: create a table tent (8.5 X 11 inches, folded lengthwise) that displays your name to be read from across the room. Apply an aesthetic. BRING THIS TO EVERY CLASS SESSION ALL SEMESTER. Start a design notebook. Carry it with you always. Continually doodle in it, sketch details of design that catch your eye,…

Spring 2020

January 10, 2020

As of 1/10/2020 there are still a few seats in each section.

Schedule 2020

November 8, 2019

2020 Week Monday Wednesday Friday 1 Jan 13 Syllabus, First assignments: Catme, blog, survey, then aesthetic, upcycle artifact Definitions of art Definitions of Aesthetics 2 Jan 20 No class, MLK day Aesthetics tour (lecture 04) Syllabus agreement due in class. Slack signup and AesDes Perception Survey due at midnight. Blog post 1 due: Aesthetic Explorations…

Final Assignments

April 22, 2019

Hi. I’ll try to collect all of the end-of-semester details here, in rough chronological order. Make a post for Monday 4/22 with your project name and your name as the title. This will be a placeholder so your pod can comment on your presentation regardless of the state of your final blog posts or…

Final Presentation logistics

April 19, 2019

You will have a 15 minute slot for your final presentation. Your content should cover the two written final report blog posts: What and How, Why and What Next? Introduce your project, then present design drawings, budget, and details of the assembly process. Talk about what your original goals were, and what you achieved. YOU…

30 Design Awards

April 19, 2019

Today we looked at a few of the many international design awards. Students selected some interesting winners to look at. Lecture notes: 30 Design Awards

End of Semester Show

April 17, 2019

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

April 17, 2019

29 Current Designers Hadid, Pagani, Jobs and Ive

28 Current Designers

April 15, 2019

We did sketching of metal, talked about schedule and final assignments, and looked at current designers: Virgil Abloh, Renzo Piano, Martha Stewart, Karim Rashid, Ross Lovegrove and Yves Béhar. 28 Current Designers

27 Current Designers: Starck, Precht, Burtt

April 12, 2019

Today we did sketching of glass (look for distortions, shadows, reflections) and talked about the final blog post requirements: Blog posts: April 24 Final Project Report I: What and How. Overall description and photos, then details of what you have made: CAD drawings, fabrication description, costs vs budget, etc. May 1 Final Project Report II:…

26 Chairs: Eames Lounge vs Monobloc

April 11, 2019

We did sketching of spheres, and material surfaces; glossy vs matte. We looked at the Eames Lounge chair, how integrated the design was with the manufacturing process, hence the ‘organic’ aspect of the aesthetic. This was compared to the ubiquitous Monobloc white plastic chair. 26 Chairs Eames Lounge, Monobloc, and Beyond

25 Golden Ratio, then Chairs

April 8, 2019

Today we went over shade and shadows during sketching practice. We finished discussion of Geometric Aesthetics looking at the Golden Ratio, including a video about John Edmark. Then we started looking at chairs as a case study. Chairs have evolved along with other furnishings, and their history is well documented (Chippendale anyone?). We saw some…

24 Anthropomorphic and Geometric Aesthetics

April 5, 2019

Registration for the ATLAS or Engineering Expo is encouraged but optional. Be sure to post images of your main project (design sketches or work-in-progress photos) that I can use for our final show flyer. We did sketching of horizontal cylinders. Shading helps. Then we talked about Baby Face Bias and gender stereotypes in product design.…

23 Magic Factor of 7, Color and Anthropomorphic Effects

April 4, 2019

When planning you have knowns, known unknowns, unknown knowns and unknown unknowns. The last one bites, and makes tasks take 7 times longer than they should. Then we did sketching of upright cylinders using ellipses. We also talked about color spaces (RGB vs CMYK and HSB) and Pantone Color of the Year. Then we started…

22 Color

April 1, 2019

Today we discussed upcoming topics, and looked at Universal Principles of Design topics on color: Black Effects, Red Effects and some color nomenclature. 22 Stuff and ColorDownload

20: Modern Design Movements

March 20, 2019

Today we looked over the schedule for the rest of the semester, had a little team time, and then went through Modern design movements with lightning speed: Art Deco, Organic Design, Streamlining, Post-War/Mid Century Modern, Pop, Radical Design, High Tech/Matt Black, and back to Post Modernism. Whew! Now everybody is ready to play the Aesthetics…

Movie Night Week 10

March 18, 2019

Tyler Deperrot

Movies

Star Wars. This film is the reason I wanted to break into the industry. I had amassed a large collection of arthouse and independent films by the time I graduated high school, but Star Wars was one of only two films that I had in nearly every format (VHS, DVD, Laserdisc, but not BetaMax). At…

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

March 8, 2019

Yesterday’s post on constraints MUST HAVE sketches showing your current plans. ESPECIALLY to illustrate your aesthetic. Critical Design Presentations starting Monday. Same pods. Prototypes please! Must show aesthetic design. Does not need to function. Small scale is fine. The goal of this milestone is to force everybody to decide on what they are making and…

18 Guest Lecture: Adam Agee

March 6, 2019

Adam Agee trained at the Rhode Island School of Design. He got us drawing freely with sketching exercises. 18 Adam Agee guest lectureDownload

17 Aesthetic Movement and Art Nouveau

March 4, 2019

Today we finished listing the elements of Arts and Crafts, and moved on through the Aesthetic Movement and Art Nouveau, ending with a whiplash curve sketching exercise. 17 Aesthetic movement and Art NouveauDownload

Movie Night Week 8

March 4, 2019

Tyler Deperrot

Movies

The movie tonight is Wes Anderson’s 2004 Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. The engineering in this film is a little bit of a punch line, but the film is chock full o’aesthetic. As is the standard for a Wes Anderson feature. I would suggest that this film has the most clearly defined and executed design…

16 Arts and Crafts Movement

March 1, 2019

Groups of students analyzed images of Arts and Crafts styled products to determine what design elements form this aesthetic. When critiquing this week’s blog post about Main Project Inspirations, look for enough information to do this type of analysis on the proposed aesthetic. In other words, did the author describe what are the important style…

15: 20th Century Timeline

February 27, 2019