Welcome to the Aesthetics of Design Website. This site displays student work in the Aesthetics of Design class at CU Boulder. This site serves as an archive for past student projects, and for current students to develop their portfolio and documenting skills.
This year’s eleventh post, the Final Report Part 1: What and Why? This post describes what was actually made for the main project, what its aesthetic is, and why, what inspired it. The next post will describe how it was made.
The What: Expanding Coffee Table
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For my final project, I have created a coffee table that has an extending second tabletop that not only increases counter space but adds a very cool visual aspect to the design. The artifact is designed in a modern minimalist aesthetic specifically the subsection of American Minimalism that takes strong roots from Japanese traditional minimalism.…
Final Report Part 1: What and Why
Hey everyone, for my final project, I designed a 3D printed shoe midsole using a futuristic and organic aesthetic. I have been a cross country runner for the last ten years, and I have developed a bit of a passion about what runners wear on their feet to perform so well. Believe in the Run…
Final Report 1; Modern Chateau Customizable Display
For my project I decided to make a fully customizable house display. I have seen several videos on YouTube where architects will make full 3D model displays of their home designs and incorporate lights and even movable landscapes. That being said, I thought this would’ve been the perfect idea to go overboard on a design…
Post 11: Final Report Part 1
Final Report Part 1 Image 1: Duane Flatmo, “The Delicatessen” For my final project I chose something related to the food industry .There are certain experiences that have led to my interest in food culture. From my sophomore to senior year I learned how to cook from different roommates. I find it interesting to…
Post 11 – 2024 Final Report Part 1 – What
For my final project I aimed to create a useful addition to my vehicle’s interior in the form of a gauge cluster cover. I wanted to follow the mid-century modern aesthetic, and I think I achieved that well through my choice of material and clean design. I took inspiration from the various mid-century modern furniture…
iSpy Pinhole Camera Final Report: What & Why
For my Aesthetics of Design final project, I made a large format pinhole camera in a toyshop aesthetic inspired by the iSpy books of the 1990s and 2000s. Introduction: What is a pinhole camera?: A pinhole camera is a very simple image making device that relies on the “camera obscura” effect. They were heavily utilized…
Final Report Part 1
For my main project I decided on making a camping table to attach to the back of my car. It took me some time to decide on doing this, and I went through a mind map of topics I’m interested in to plan something for my main project. One major topic I wanted to cover…
Post 11: Final Report Part 1 (Max Palish)
Abstract: My final project will be a simplistic, low profile wooden light fixture taking inspiration from the minimalist aesthetic. It will be constructed from a hallowed out 2×4 plank of wood, a 3/8th acrylic sheet and warm LED strip lights. The dynamic component of this project will be from the LED’s ability to change shades,…
Final Report Pt. 1 – Stop Motion Dinosaur
Hello everyone! This project has ended up being a lot of fun for me, and I’m excited to share what I’ve come up with. From the very start of class, when I learned that the parameters for the final project were basically gonna be ‘make whatever you want’, I knew I had an opportunity to…
Post 11: Final Report Part 1 – What
As I reach the conclusion of my Lil’ Storm Lamp project, it’s time to reflect on what exactly happened so far. This first part of the final report focuses on describing the completed project, detailing its features, functionalities, and the final aesthetic. An Overview Lil Storm Lamp (Aesthetic: Oriental-Contemporary Fusion) Design and Aesthetics: My…
Raspberry Jam: Final Report Part 1
A couple of years ago, I came across a DIY project on YouTube where someone repurposed an old iPod to run Spotify on it. This inspired me to create the Raspberry Jam, a Spotify music player integrated into a retro TV. The aesthetic that I aimed to capture was cassette futurism. This style implements boxy,…
Post 11: Final Report Part 1
A. INTRODUCTION: Abstract Structural Art: Blending Modernism with Minimalism The project undertaken delves into the realm of abstract structural art, marrying elements of modernism and minimalism. Two principal sources provided inspiration and direction for this endeavor. Inspiration 1: MIT Museum Art Exhibition The artifacts showcased at the MIT Museum Art Exhibition served as an initial…
Midnights Booklet: Documentation Part 1
Blog Post 11 Midnights Booklet: Documentation Part 1 Introduction Hi everyone! I’m excited to document my journey in creating the Midnights booklet. Inspiration As I began to brainstorm for this project, I felt very lost. Being a CTD major, I have a lot of background in terms of fabrication: in my arsenal of…
PCB Lamp – The What and Why?
Project Overview For this project, I endeavored on designing a cube shape lamp made out of PCBs (printed circuit boards). The final outcome is shown below: Image of the fully assembled PCB Lamp while turned on. The goal of this was to create an ambient light lamp designed according to a PCB aesthetic, something quite…
McClintock Guillotine-What
Introduction: Initially was set to be a bigger piece, after a mirror shattered and an album release I decided to derail my plans. I shrunk my initial idea for a guillotine and edited my choice of “blade”. The piece is a vanity piece that can sit upon a dresser, able to move up and down…
The Bauhaus Desk – What?
My final design is a Bauhaus end table, made out an old school desk. For context I was looking to do an end table for my room as my final project, originally I was going to try a gothic style end table, but the designs I was coming up with weren’t very aesthetically pleasing, or…
Final Report Part 1: Custom Bicycle Frame
For my final project for Aesthetics in Design, I chose to document and discuss the design decisions that went into making my custom street trials bicycle frame. This is an independent study project that I have been working on with Professor Knutsen. After seeing the finished product start to take shape, I decided that I…
Post 11 (What): Airfoil Aesthetic Crusher
Background and Purpose My family is originally from Germany and, therefore, I love to drink sparkling water. I prefer sparkling water over regular water because I find it more refreshing. As a result, I go through many aluminum cans which all end up in the recycling bin. Each aluminum can takes up a substantial amount…
Final Report Part 1: Snuffle Mats
I want to begin by recapping my plan for the final design project. I planned to make at least one snuffle mat for my dogs. I was hoping to make three mats total, one for each of my two dogs and a smaller one for my cat. A snuffle mat is a flat mat that…
Final Report Part 1: Photography Equipment Cabinet
Inspiration Photography. What is it? If you asked your average person on the street they may say something like it’s all about taking pictures, most of the time to capture something that looks pretty or cool or even pretty cool. Photography can be much more than that though, and to many people it is. The…
Fountain Birdbath Report: Part 1
When thinking about what I wanted to create for my final project artifact, I was significantly inspired by both the cottagecore aesthetic and by making a gift for my grandparents to enjoy at their mountain-cabin home. Previous posts of mine describe the environment of this cabin in detail, as well as the cottagecore aesthetic itself.…
Retro Ski Bench Final Report Part 1
For my final project I fully designed and fabricated a ski bench in the aesthetic of Retro Skiing. The inspiration for this aesthetic and for the project in general started at a very young age when I started skiing. Ever since I have been enthralled with the sport and have loved the styles associated with…
Guinea Pig Castle – Final Report Pt. 1
Goal A big aspect of my life is that I love animals, and so does my family. In total, we have three dogs, three cats, and two guinea pigs. While my guinea pigs, Mochi and Boba, are the smallest of the bunch, they are the most expensive to take care of. My guinea pigs, Boba…
Minimalist Cooler Fan Final Report Part 1
What and Why For the final project, I’ve decided to clean up a prototype I made last summer and hopefully create a nice housing. The prototype is essentially a swamp cooler, but ideally my version will produce less humidity. The inspiration of it came from camping in New Mexico during the summer. When I went,…
Final Report Part 1: Planter Box
For my project, I decided to make an indoor planter box. I knew I wanted to make something that I would be able to use in the future and I wanted to make it out of wood to be able to touch up on my wood working skills. I was also excited to try to…
Final Report Part One
The Minimalist Cupholder While I have covered this in some of my other posts, I think it would be a good idea to talk about the motivation behind the project that I have been working on. As of now, the cupholder on my desk is a warranty booklet for a Seagate hard drive. It’s literally…
Final Report Part 1: Minimalist Catan Board
Hello everyone, Since the last post I have completed the epoxy and sanding. Since this is one of the final posts I’ll go through and summarize the entire process up to this point, covering the What and Why of the project. The main idea of the project was to revamp the classic Catan board with…
Final Report Part 1: Alexander Calder Inspired Kinetic Mobile
For my final project, I drew significant inspiration from the work of Alexander Calder, one of the most prolific mobile makers of all time. His creations fall into the category of impressionist modern art, with his sculptures embodying quintessential modernism. Throughout his lifetime, he crafted thousands of kinetic sculptures and received astounding critical acclaim, with…
Post 11
Figure 1: Original Design CAD Drawing For my final project I am creating a dynamic wind sculpture. The idea is to string a number of reflective, mirror like, mylar disks in columns between a wooden frame. A CAD drawing is shown above. Originally I was going to built the frame as a square with 16…
Post 11: What and Why? – Ari Matrajt
For this project, I wanted to create something that would be challenging to manufacture and would expand my current skills. I have been cooking a lot recently, so I thought I could improve my current spatulas. My goal was to make a spatula with interchangeable “heads” to reduce the space needed to keep these utensils…
Mid-Century Modern Memento Mori Spinner
Joshua Beijer Mid-Century Modern Momento Mori Spinner The idea for this project was birthed out of a realization. A morbid realization at first glance, but maybe not under further inspection, summed up by the Latin phrase, “Memento Mori”. A phrase meaning, “Remember that you will die”. I first discovered this phrase in the context…
Final-Report-Part 1
For my final project I have decided to take the dramatic landscape of the flat iron mountain range as inspiration to create a piece of wall art that dynamically changes to match the outside light that a photoresistor is detecting through communicating with the control board. I have chosen this minimalist nature aesthetic as my…
Final Project Report Part 1: What?
I began working on this project by taking a look into my own personal qualities in an attempt to find an aesthetic which matches my personality. I noticed that I have a rather utilitarian work ethic that coincides nicely with my orderly cleanliness. I like to have everything around me organized in such a fashion…
Post 11: Utilitarian Modular Container Part 1
My vision for the project encapsulates a utilitarian aesthetic in the form of a modular hexagonal cargo container that could be feasibly seen in the foreseeable future or in a video game. Given the aesthetic, I drew inspiration from actual cargo containers — ubiquitous in logistics and variants that fulfill roles ranging from prefabricated housing…
Post 11: Final Report Part 1
Introduction My vision for this project was to combine elements of the whimsical and steampunk aesthetics to create a mechanical wooden puzzle. The whimsical elements would be displayed through the design and embellishments of the carousel and the steampunk aesthetic would be carried through in the exposed mechanical pieces. In the end, I was not…
Final Project Report: Brutalist Lamp Part 1
When designing my Brutalist Lamp I had many inspirations both from previous design and external factors. The concept of making a concrete lamp is rather new, however, I found lots of inspiration from brutalist interior designers, buildings, and other lamp designers. One of the major inspirations with respect to previous lamp designs is the one…
Final Report Part 1, Inspiration & Initial Design: Scale Model Spaceship (NASA Pragmatism)
Inspiration To say my life revolves around space exploration is probably a bit dramatic, but I will say that a huge portion of my favorite things to discuss, think about, and even my career path involve space exploration. To me, it just seems like the natural progression of humanity’s journey: we have catalogued…
Infinity Mirror- Abstract Tech Aesthetic
Abstract Tech My main project is in the Abstract Tech aesthetic. Abstract Tech includes digital holograms, lights, geometric patterns, and conceptual “technology” to paint a futuristic picture. This aesthetic draws on the technology movement of the 20th century. There is often digital circuitry involved in this aesthetic, and an overall futuristic feel. Below is an…
Nature-core Door Art – Final Post Part 1
Intro For my project I created a dynamic art piece for my parent’s new house. In their bedroom there used to be a hole in the wall that is an entrance to an unfinished loft. My mom has requested that I create a door to cover the opening that includes an art piece. This will…
Final Project Documentation Part 1 – Sophie Berry
The only requirement for the project was that it needed to be “a dynamic artifact; i.e. not static. It could be interactive with the environment or with people, but it could also just be changing on its own. It could serve a purpose, or just make an artistic or aesthetic statement.” I knew that I…
Post 11 – Nautilus Gears
I first came across this general design when I was researching alternatives for my project. My initial idea was to create a large series of gears but it was hard to do any aesthetic with this other than steampunk (which I do not care for personally). I wanted to branch out and give it some…
Final Part 1 – What
Hey! How’s it going. Im pretty stressed out just to be honest but I am super jazzed on this project. So to start off I’ll give you my vision. Recently I have been inspired by the idea of color theory (partly because of this class) and have always had a fascination for flowers. To combine…
Brutalist Desk Lamp – What and Why
My Vision: I chose to design and build a brutalist desk lamp for my final project. For the aesthetic of the project, I was inspired by brutalist architecture, specifically the WillVille towers. Most people think these are ugly, but I actually really like how these buildings look (even if they have no air conditioning). In…
Post 11: Final Report Part 1
INTRODUCTION My vision for this project was to combine modern and natural aspects with organic abstract aesthetics to create a wavy mirror. The modern elements would be displayed through neutral color pallets and materials and the organic aesthetic would be carried through with textured and layered designs within the frame. Overall, I was not able…
Post 11: Bikepacking Bag Final Report Part 1
For the final project I was interested in creating the second revision of my bikepacking bag. My inspiration was preparing for the Colorado Trail plans that I made this summer. I hope to ride my bike my Denver to Durango. To do this adventure I will need to carry all my gear on my bike.…
Final Report Part 1 – Organic Modern Furniture Piece
Final Report Part 1 Organic Modern Furniture Piece ATLS 4279 – Aesthetics in Design AJ Terio 4/24/2024 Main Project Artifact An organic modern vanity furniture piece, functioning as a shoe rack, shelf, cork board, array of mirrors, coat rack, and plant hanger. Features ornate floral carvings, painted white, and contrasted and lit up by…
Final Report Part 1: The Bottle Display
My project stems from an empty Hornitos bottle from my birthday weekend that I couldn’t bring myself to throw it away. This left me wanting to display my bottles. I figured what better of a way than to base my final project around it. Then I needed to find some inspiration. I came across this…
Abigail Angwin
Adlai White
Alexis Cisneros
Alex Fitzgerald
Alex Gebben
Alex Reynolds
Aj Terio
Andres Serrano
Aryan
Ari Matrajt Frid
Arjun Mody
Barrett Lister
Ben Clairday
Benjamin Hyde
Blake Wilson
Lavender Giebner
Brandon Phillips
Cannon Leitz
Chris Wachuta
Colton Huff
Collin Kendall
Cole Metcalf
Collin Ruprecht
David Li
Duncan Laird
Dylan Breglio
Efrosini Krokos
Emilee Novak
Ethan Polacsek
Ethan Sanchez
Ethan Silverman
Fin McKemey
Garrett Miller
Grreshan Ramesh
Hailey Usher
Helen Do
Ian Farrar
Ian O'neill
Jason Allshouse
Jace Aschbrenner
Jarod Ocampo
Jadin Zaccagnino
Jess Corbitt
Josh Beijer
John Bileschi
Jon Ezell
Jonathon Gruener
Josh Gregory
Josh Sweeney
Juliette Goubeaud
Katie Schutt
Kevin Kim
Kelso Norden
Kyra Anderson
Kyle Hashiro
Kyle Pohle
Luke Nicol
Luke Prins
Max Lantz
Maddox Mitchell
Matthew Osborn
Max Palish
Michael Becerra
Michael Gray
Nicholas Gotlib
Nick Olguin
Noah Howell
Oliver White
Peter Arnold
Riley Menke
Sam Biehle
Sammie Duran
Sam Gluskoter
Sarah Pepper
Sean Riddle
Sierra Greeley
Sophie Berry
Sophia Montie
Tim Hellweg
Tiana Vitry
Trent Bjorkman
Travis Mulford
Tyler Brown
Venkata Sanyasi Krishna Vidhan Rallapalli
Vincent Tang
Yuting Wang
Aryan Gandhi
Jean Hertzberg
Shrey Naresh Solanki
