Upcycle Project Aesthetic – Earthcore/Recycling/Granola
1 Comment
For my upcycle project I have decided to try and repurpose waste produced by many people every day including me, empty cans. I plan to take empty soda, tea and beer cans and repurpose them into planters for small plants such as succulents or cacti. The granola or earth core aesthetic will be the guiding…
Upcycle Project – Steampunk Introduction
To get this project going, I started with brainstorming and had three main parts I took into consideration: What Aesthetic I wanted to have my project embody What I wanted to make What resources I had at my disposal realized I have always loved the look of Steampunk. I loved the metallic, darkish colors, and…
What Is Cartooncore? Exploring the Colorful World of Animated Aesthetics
Cartooncore is a vibrant and nostalgic aesthetic that celebrates the exaggerated, colorful, and playful world of cartoons. Rooted in childhood nostalgia, this aesthetic draws from iconic animated shows and movies, particularly western animation from the 1990s and 2000s. It has become a beloved aesthetic, combining bold visuals, quirky designs, and a sense of…
The Dark Fantasy Aesthetic: Struggle Amidst Shadows
The dark fantasy aesthetic is a timeless medium which blends elements of high fantasy and ever-present existential horror. Amidst the setting of fantastical creatures and constructs, it envelops the medieval set pieces with themes of decay, despair, and moral ambiguity, leading to a world which is simultaneously captivating and unsettling. As an aesthetic which has…
Earthcore
Earthcore (also referred to as the Granola aesthetic) is a style that focuses on appreciation of nature, while continuing the advancement of technology. Earthcore emphasizes themes of sustainability and highlights the importance of a symbiotic relationship between humans and nature. It likely began to emerge after the 2nd industrial revolution during the environmentalist and hippie counterculture…
Utilitarian Design “Aesthetic”
The History and Application of Utilitarian Design Utilitarian design, rooted in the philosophy of “the greatest good for the greatest number,” has played a crucial role in shaping both functional and aesthetic aspects of our daily lives. This design approach emphasizes practicality, efficiency, and usability, often at the expense of purely decorative elements. The movement…
Cabin Core
The aesthetic that I’m choosing to explore for this post is one that makes me personally feel at home. A key theme found in cabin core is one of comfort, with the intent of creating anything under a cabin core aesthetic being to make that thing as cozy and welcoming as possible. While this warm,…
Scandinavian Minimalist Design
Image 1: Agnieszka Krzcuik on Pinterest – useful storage space in a risen bedroom nook. Origins Scandinavian minimalism originated in the Nordic countries of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland, where functionality and simplicity are prioritized in home and lifestyle designs. The style became popular in these regions partially due to the climate. Long, dark…
Maximalism is More
Maximalism is an unapologetic grandiose collection of colors, patterns, and art centered around the joys of its creator. Its attitude is ratified in the ‘more is more’ opposition to minimalism. Maximalism’s formal aesthetic emergence occurred in the late 20th century as a response to minimalism. Its aim and often success pull viewers into a rich,…
Post 1: Aesthetics Exploration – Gothic Architecture Aesthetic
In my exploration of different aesthetics, I chose to focus on the Gothic Architecture aesthetic. I have always been drawn to this aesthetic from a young age, particularly to the attention to detail and the collection of little features that all fit together as one to make up one masterpiece. Last spring, I was able…
Cyberpunk Aesthetic Exploration
Altered Carbon Bay Cityhttps://altered-carbon.fandom.com/wiki/Bay_City?file=Site-background-dark The Cyberpunk aesthetic is one of the most iconic and visually enduring in popular culture. Characterized by vibrant neon lights, urban decay, and the powerful interplay between advanced technology and societal downfall. This aesthetic presents a scenario that is both fascinating and concerningly plausible. It is a dystopian future where humans…
The Pop Up Headlight Aesthetic
The automotive popup headlight aesthetic characterized by sleek front ends and aerodynamic inspired stylings represents one of the most adored design stylings in the automotive community. They’re iconic and represent an era of automotive design that combined function with flair. Popular from the ’60s to the early ’90s, they give cars a sleek, clean look…
Zenitism
[1] Composition 77 by Mihailo PetrovFollowing the end of World War I, the former country of Yugoslavia was founded by the joining of the Kingdom of Serbia and the State of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs. During the war, these former states saw devastation and the losses of millions. Seeing first hand the desolation of Europe,…
Aesthetics Exploration – The Vintage Aesthetic
Nostalgia is an intrinsic part of being a human. We are naturally sentimental of the past and long for what once was. Vintage and cultivating a vintage aesthetic is an effect of our yearning for a past period. It is a celebration of timeless design. Vintage has been gaining increasing popularity in the past decades,…
Aesthetics Exploration: Rustic
The aesthetic that I chose to dive deeper into was the rustic aesthetic. This aesthetic takes inspiration from 17th and 18th century rural architecture, and focuses heavily on natural woods and stones. Rustic architecture was popularized in the United States during the mid 1800’s my landscape architect Andrew Jackson Downing. There are many components that…
Post 1 – 2025: Aesthetics Exploration – Raygun Gothic
Rising to popularity during the early days of the Space Race. Raygun Gothic represents a popular art aesthetic from the 1940s – 1960s. It commonly contains bright, distinct colors similar to those found in comic books, depicting a science fiction-esq “Traditional American” future. Artistic works often include a bright and optimistic outlook on the future…
Aesthetics Exploration – Post 1 Dirt Theory
The paper Dirt Theory and Material Ecocriticism [1] by Heather I. Sullivan “speaks for dirty aesthetics. Although aesthetic landscapes readily inspire environmental thinking, a case can be made for grappling with the truly local dirty matter right at hand. Dirt, soil, earth, and dust surround us at all scales: we find them on our shoes,…
Non-Euclidean Geometry in Art: A Gateway to Otherworldly Visuals
Imagine stepping into a world where lines curve endlessly, patterns repeat in mesmerizing ways, and the very fabric of space seems to shift and bend before your eyes. This is the essence of the non-Euclidean geometry art aesthetic, a style that incorporates the principles of curved and distorted spaces to create visuals that challenge our…
Aesthetics Portfolio
Recap Throughout this semester I have managed to complete two successful projects! For the upcycle project, I designed and built a clock which utilizes a moving chain as opposed to clock hands to tell time. Second, for the final project, I designed a PCB lamp for my room. Upcycle Linked here: [https://www.aesdes.org/2024/02/24/chain-clock/] is the link…
Emilee Novak Project Portfolio
Aesthetics in Design Course Throughout my projects for this Aesthetics in Design course, I utilized my current skills and also learned new ones. I was able to reach out of my comfort zone and also learn a lot about aesthetics. I learned that engineering is not only about the functionality and efficiency of a product,…
Virtual Assistant: Final Report Part 1
My final project is a home/virtual assistant using a Raspberry Pi. With AI being very popular, there are many ways to create a virtual assistant. I followed an online tutorial to set up the main program. The aesthetic and design aspect of the project is in the enclosure of the Raspberry Pi and hardware. I…
Post 8 – 2024 Design Preview Report
My main project will be a home/virtual assistant using a Raspberry Pi. With AI being very popular, there are many ways to create a virtual assistant. I plan on following an online tutorial to set up the main program. The aesthetic and design aspect of the project will be in the enclosure of the Raspberry…
Post 13: Portfolio
Post 13: Portfolio This semester I worked on two main projects for MCEN 4279: Aesthetics of Design. Project 1 The first project was a paper mache head that was inspired by the art work of Duane Flatmo. Duane is an artist that is based out of Eureka, California. This project challenged my drawing abilities and…
Main Project
Overview My main project will be articulated wings integrated into a corset. I will be buying the corset due to the time constraints of this project. I intend to fashion the wings after large birds of prey or angel wings. This means that the wings should have a decent wingspan but not so large…
Final Part 2 – Western Jacket
The process of making this outfit was to make and solidify a template of the jacket, papercutting designs onto the jacket, sewing the jacket together, to then adding the fur, vinyl, and snap details onto the jacket. \ I started to laser-cut the floral design onto a pre-bought jacket and it was going great until…
Design Preview: PCB Lamp
Project Overview: For my final project, I will be designing a PCB Lamp. This lamp will be constructed using PCBs, generally a very unique building material. Some of you may recall from my previous posts, I was planning to work on a completely different project. Originally, I opted to design and manufacture a dual purpose…
LED Matrix Final Report Part 2
Made by me Starting on the twentieth of March I finished finalizing my CAD model and ordered all my materials, my materials being wood, LEDs, and cables. I also ordered a raspberry pi and soem things to make soldering eaiser. Simultaneously I learned how to code on a controller for the panel.I used a Raspberry…
LED Matrix Final Report P1
As discussed in the Design preview the initial vision of my project came from the lite brite which I often used as a toy as a kid to make art. I wanted my design to have a black background much like the lite brite with a nice wood to contrast it. lite brite by HasbroI…
Design Preview Report
The Aesthetic I’ve been going back and forth between many different aesthetics, mainly Industrial, Minimalistic and Neo-Tokyo. Another requirement I had was that it had to be something useful to me and wouldn’t end up in the corner of my closet at the end of the semester. In the end I came up with an…
Final Report Part 2: Minimalist Interchangable Photo Collage
Final Report Part 2: Minimalist Interchangable Photo Collage By: Michael Gray Above is the design and fabrication timeline for my final project. Fabrication There were many steps to the fabrication of my project. I will cover these steps chronologically. Mini Frames I began by fabricating the mini-frames, as this is the part of my project…
Post 13 – Portfolio
Throughout this course I have learned the physical and imaginative creativity I am capable of. This post serves as a story board of progress. Below are each of my blog post in order. First is the progression and exploration of my upcycle project, The second half of links consist of the creation of my main…
Chris Wachuta Project Portfolio
Hello my name is Chris Wachuta! You’ve reached my Project Portfolio. There were two main projects I worked on this semester. The first being a floating bookshelf made from thrifted books and the second being a lighted bottle display. These projects were fun to make but I still struggle to get beyond the functionality of…
Design Preview Report: Minimalist Desk
For my final project, I would like to build a desk that falls under the minimalist aesthetic. For this design, I want to make a simple desk from hardwoods, and integrate certain functional aspects, but make them not obvious upon first glance. I currently have an Ikea desk which is too small, and think I…
Post 7: Main Project Aesthetics Plans and Alternatives
For my main project aesthetic, I’ve decided to go with an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) aesthetic. This aesthetic essentially is trying to create something that looks as similar to an original Mazda part as possible. To do this, I will need to try and encapsulate the design features in the car as it stands using…
Design Preview Report: Miata Cup Holder
For my project I have decided to make an alternative cup holder for my Miata. The reason for this is due to the annoying reality of my illogical cup holders. I continually hit my elbow on any cup that’s in my cup holder when shifting gears but also, the cup holders are not large enough…
Final Report Part 2 – Game Board
After going through the process to pin down what I actually wanted to make, I was able to start stylizing my design to fit the ‘home-style’ aesthetic. As mentioned before, the decisions that led to this design were mainly due to my struggle with timelines. I had originally kept this more open ended for my…
The How: Expanding Coffee Table
This week I am going to go through the design and fabrication of my final project I crafted over the last 3 months. As a reminder, my project is an American modern minimalist coffee table that has a hidden bottom table that can swing in and out to extend the surface area of the table.…
Main Project Plans and Inspirations – Chess Board
For my main project, I am thinking about making a chess board with a drawer to hold set the game pieces. Throughout this course, I have been trying to expand my personal arts and crafts into functional woodworked crafts Because my mother collected antiques, most of the furniture in the home was reclaimed and restored…
PCB Lamp – The How and What Next?
Recap: PCB Lamp PCB lamp panel backlit to show final effect Over the course of this semester and some of my previous post, I have been documenting the work done in order to design, manufacture, and assemble a lamp which utilizes PCBs as the main building material. More details can be seen in my previous…
Post 13- Ari Matrajt
Throughout this course, I was able to learn new skills and improve my artistic abilities. I learned how to build things using wood, got to meet new cool people, and was able to use recycled materials and turn them into something new. I also got to learn many different aesthetics and explore ways of incorporating…
Final Report Part 1: Foam Exciter Speaker
For my final project, I had originally wanted to build a new desk with a minimalist aesthetic, with a small hidden drawer, wireless phone charger, and outlet strip mount. Unfortunately, when I did more research into this project, and the materials required, I determined that this project would be well over $300 to make, and…
Aesthetics Exploration – American Traditional Tattoos
The aesthetic I have decided to explore is the aesthetic of american-traditional tattoos. American traditional tattoos are characterized by the limited color palette these tattoos utilize, the bold black outlines on these tattoos, and their minimal shading. They all typically follow very similar motifs, many of which come from their history of influence from American…
Abigail Angwin’s Aesthetic in Design Portfolio
This semester I worked on two projects, a trumpet lamp and a stunt kite. Trumpet Lamp The only requirement for this project was that it use mostly upcycled materials. I used a trumpet that was donated to me by Rocky Mountain Music Repair because it was deemed beyond repair. The lighting portion I did buy…
Final Product, Transparent CD Player
The process for developing the was broken down in several steps. First step was tearing the CD player down to see where I needed to design mounts for existing features. I then took measurements of the length/width/height of the device and designed a enclosure for it based on 1/8″ acrylic. Then became the tricky part,…
Why a transparent CD Player?
For my final project, I am going to be converting my standard CD player to a fully transparent enclosure. My existing model is the Sony DVP-NS325 shown below. [1] This design is very utilitarian but also quite boring. Based on the 90’s craze of adding translucent enclosure to technology, I felt like it would compliment…
Design Preview Report: Minimalist Interchangable Photo Collage
Design Preview Report: Minimalist Interchangable Photo Collage By: Michael Gray Project Vision For my project, I will be designing and manufacturing an art piece: The Minimalist Interchangable Photo Collage. This project is inspired by various iterations of the photo collage frames seen below. The Minimalist Interchangable Photo Collage will include eleven ‘mini-frame’ assemblies and one…
Post 12 – 2024 Final Report Part 2
To create my electric guitar body with a Viking aesthetic, I had to do a lot of wood working techniques I was not aware of. Here’s a detailed description of my actual fabrication process: I spent the first week trying to figure out what type of wood I was going to buy because I needed…
Final Report Part 2: Minimalist Catan Board
Hello everyone, this is the final post of the semester and will cover the “how” of how I made my Minimalist Catan Board. First off I made a timeline to explain the general order in which the Board was created. You can see that it all started with an initial CAD sketch and ended with…
2024 Portfolio
The Knife block This was a project I think came out really well. Taking some old wood that wasn’t going to be used, I created a knife block to hold knives that had been loose in my kitchen: Stained and completed knife block! There were quite a bit of issues I encountered with this project,…
Post 13: Portfolio
Alex Fitzgerald Project Portfolio In the Aesthetics of Design course I created two artifacts. The first was an upcycling project using recycled materials in order to create a minimalist metallic wall sculpture. In the second project I created a dynamic wind sculpture following a similar aesthetic to my first project. Upcycling Project: Alternating Waves For…
Five Specifications and Five Constraints to Build a Bird House
For my project, I will be building a bird house in a suburban style. The bird house will have a moving front door, and a back panel that can be opened as well, so that the user can reach in and remove any nests at the end of the season. Additionally, I have decided to…
Max Palish Portfolio Project
During my time in MCEN 4379 Aesthetic of Design, I took part in many projects and learned many new aesthetic based and fabrication skills throughout. Below is an outline of the two main projects I did throughout this semester and the work I put in to get to their final products: Up-cycle Project: Miyadaiku Puzzle-like…
Brutalist Desk Lamp – How and What next
Summary of Project Steps My last post describes the inspiration, conceptual design, and final outcome of my Brutalist Desk Lamp project. This post will describe in detail the manufacturing process and steps that I took in order to execute my vision. This is my timeline graphic, and it shows the actual order in which I…
Final Report Pt. 2 – Stop Motion Dinosaur
Before starting on the final puppet, I wanted to conduct some tests to make sure the materials I was using would be suitable for the project. First, I ran a test to see which brand of clay would be best for the head sculpt. It would need to be durable enough to have an articulated…
Opposite Upcycle Aesthetic – Utilitarian Minimalism
Deciding the opposite aesthetic for this project was slightly difficult as the ‘fairy tale’ aesthetic could be perceived in multiple ways. In the traditional sense of fairy tale stories, sensibility and reality would be the opposite. I understood this sensibility as utilitarian minimalism. In contrast to a fairy tale, utilitarianism does nothing in excess and…
Bauhaus Table – How, and what Next?
Hello everyone, as a quick recap for my final project I up-cycled an old elementary school desk into an end table in the Bauhaus aesthetic. I chose Bauhaus because I felt I could use the bright color schemes to cover the imperfections in the desk, and because the legs would be made of steel round…
Final 2: Thermochromic Shirts
Im going to go through the how and why i made my shirts. So I will start off with a timeline and give you the rundown on how it all came together. I fist started with my idea for the gradient color. I wanted a cool way to dye my shirts and create a color…
Post 12 (How?): Airfoil Crusher
Background and Purpose Growing up in a family with German roots, I developed a fondness for sparkling water, finding its refreshing taste irresistible. However, this preference led to accumulating numerous aluminum cans, all destined for the recycling bin. The sheer volume of cans occupied significant space, necessitating frequent emptying of the recycling bin. In contrast…
Post 12: Final Project Part 2 – Organic Modern Mirror
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…
Final Report: Industrial Style Lamp
The goal of my project was to create a visually interesting conversation piece that will illuminate a space. An industrial aesthetic would convey my personal interests in engineering. Since industrial styles can be very linear, with straight lines and uniformity. I also wanted this piece to be organic in the way that it incorporated curves…
Cooler Fan: How
The fabrication process of my cooler fan went better than expected. I was able to get a good first 3D print, my measurements were nearly perfect, and I was able to complete all my tasks on time. Overall, the project went very well from the design process to fabricating. A few issues did come up,…
Post 12: Kinetic Wind Sculpture
Kinetic Wind Sculpture by Alex Fitzgerald Kinetic Wind Sculpture in Vertical Configuration Project Timeline Project Timeline for Final Project This project spanned 9 academic weeks. The first few days after being assigned the project I spent a few days brainstorming ideas for what I wanted to see as my end product. This included spending time…
Final Report part 2: Guitar Pedal
When I was going to make the semester project I first had to brainstorm what I wanted to make. I eventually settled with a overdrive guitar pedal because it is a product I have always wanted to do and I knew the circuitry would be in my level of circuit knowledge I had accumulated from…
Thin Ice Final Project Part 2
The first issue that I was facing the was the four buttons. When I connected all four buttons the same way I tested to see if they would work, I believe my circuit was short-circuiting. The OLED would display what it was supposed to, but as soon as I pressed a button, the entire thing…
Street Racing Steering Wheel Final Report: Part 2
For my main project I decided to build an xbox controller steering wheel adapter. I got the idea last semester when I was playing a modded version of GTA that allowed you to adjust settings and drift cars. The game was fun, but I thought I could make it feel more like a drifting simulator…
Final Report Part 1: Scandinavian Lamp
I would like to begin by recapping my plan for this project. I planned to make a desk lamp with a sunrise/sunset feature. This would help me quite a bit both waking up and falling asleep. I want my lamp to slowly darken over time at night to help signal that I need to be…
Final Project — Thin Ice Replica Part 1
I wanted to do something with circuits and coding for a project. Originally I wanted to build a nightstand in the mid-century style, but realize I lack with projects on my resume…I also just want to get better with circuitry and coding. Therefore I will tried to great some sort of arcade game. A small…
Sierra Greeley Project Portfolio
Throughout my projects in Aesthetics in Design, I utilized my current skills and learned new ones. I also learned a lot about aesthetics. In the past I would tend to stick to the one aesthetic that I enjoy most, surrealism. This class taught me that there are other aesthetics that I like and can incorporate…
Post 12: Main Project Final Report Part 2
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…
