Student Work

For my main project, I am thinking about doing a hidden blade; inspired by the videogame saga Assassin’s Creed. In the videogame series, the hidden blade is a concealable weapon that undergoes many aesthetic and functional variations. The first hidden blades showed in the game are owned by Altair and the other Assassins, they are…

Figure 1 Figure 2 My idea for my final project is to build a desk extension. I recently removed my desk riser to make room for a monitor, and I lost some easily reachable storage space. I don’t have a table that is the same height as my desk, so I figured I could build…

Masks are often a common element in the world of sci-fi. Whether it be for outer space, issues of pollution, or to protect against viruses, masks are often added into the genre. With issues such as COVID-19 arising and masks becoming more common, I can see the connection of why they are somewhat synonyms with…

I am constantly finding myself needing more light when I am working on projects in my room. I find myself trying to stand my phone up at weird angles in order to get light at a specific angle. I am thinking of making a desk lamp that can articulate to many different angles. I have…

My final project has been difficult for me to figure out. There are so many possibilities that I am struggling to make design constraints to brainstorm within. I want to take inspiration from well thought out engineering, simple yet elegant. I want to make something that I can use every day, not something that will…

My father has been asking for a digital picture frame for christmas or his birthday for years now. For some reason each year we neglect his request and get him something else. Why? I have no idea. But delay no more, for my final project in Aesthetics of Design I have decided to produced him…

For my main project, I am still unsure of what I want to do, but I have several inspirations that are guiding me. I plan to do some sort of art piece, with interactive or moving parts. I haven’t yet decided on what type of aesthetic to pursue, but I have a general genre or…

For my final project I am planning to try to incorporate a special extra black paint. I think that it will be an interesting combination with trying to incorporate something dynamic into my project. The reason that I am thinking about using this is that I think that if I have certain parts of my…

As a little kid I constantly found myself wanting to take apart objects or find a way to lock mechanisms that could be used for storage. For example, I had a special piggy bank for my allowance that had a key locking mechanism which must be inserted a certain way to unlock the piggy bank.…

Organics Inspired Desk Water Fountain For my final project I wanted to experiment with a process I have played around with the past. This process is the Topology Optimization tool in SOLIDWORKS which maximizes the stiffness to weight ratio of a given component. Basically, Topology Optimization strategically takes away material from the part while attempting…

With remote work not going anywhere anytime soon, people are making the most of their home spaces to create a space that allows for work to be done while also creating a relaxing space. I want to create two office spaces in a spare room that will still be able to function as a home…

What could be better than lying back in a hammock on a nice summer day with a cold drink in one hand and a good book in the other? Try and think of something – I’ll wait… With the cold weather that comes with the late winter months and the stresses of looming work and…

It’s always a good feeling to take something you’re ready to throw away and use it to make a useful product. My upcycle project involved taking an old bicycle wheel that was completely useless and transforming it into a functional clock. My goal for the aesthetic of the clock was to have a modern and…

From the beginning, I wanted a piece that could represent the human spirit in all its heroism and strength. Triumph and adventure was the aesthetic and mood that I wanted to evoke when looking at the statue. I wanted it to achieve the correct proportions and hold a pose that would convey the desired energy…

Presentation and Critiques When I first thought of what I should make for my upcycle project, I wanted to use whatever discarded material that I already have to save time and money. With this in mind, I looked around my place and found several cardboard boxes that are just sitting there waiting to be thrown…

For my project, I decided to upcycle a decorative vase I had by using leftover magazines, newspaper, and other paper material lying around my house to form an art piece that fits the Merz paper mache collage aesthetic. I have been interested in the Merz aesthetic ever since I found out about and researched it’s…

At this time for the upcycling project, I have managed to make the final product somewhat close to the initial idea. I started off with using solar panels from my calculators to charge Li-ion Rechargeable Button Cells(LIR-2032), 3.6 V that would power a Red LED inside a Crystal Ball Souvenir. My circuit consisted of a…

  Completing this upcycle project has definitely been a fun and interesting experience. It is always fulfilling to use low value materials to create something valuable and/or useful. I don’t mean to detract in any way from the value of creating pure art, but I personally find the upcycle process especially fulfilling when one produces…

  The conservation slogan that I remember most from my childhood is the 3 R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. These R’s are supposed to be applied, in order, to all consumable products that people use. So where exactly does Upcycling fit into the R’s? Is it reusing? Recycling? If you make something that you would’ve bought,…

Just a little recap for my original plan for this project… I bought some Nerf guns at the beginning of quarantine to curb my girlfriend and I’s boredom. It quickly devolved into being paranoid of walking into a room due to the fear of catching a Nerf dart in the eye. As the months progressed,…

  The intent of this upcycle project was to create a lighting element that was well-incorporated into the space (such that it is not obvious it is a light) and to give off the vibe that the light was from the future.   [  Starting Point  ] I had already repurposed this metal shelf as…

For my upcycle project I was really inspired to explore further the low poly aesthetic.  The low poly aesthetic while visually stunning in it’s simplicity has two different forms.  3D and 2D.  The 3D low poly art is a fully rendered computer model with triangular facets which is shaded in accordance to simulated light.  It…

For my Upcycle Project I used cardboard to create a model car. The aesthetic that I tried to achieve was a modern supercar style and based the car off of a Lamborghini Aventador. The modern supercars have a distinct look with their sleek lines and low profile to the ground giving them a very noticeable…

Inspirations and Visions for the Project The aesthetic I have decided for my upcycling project is the high-end ski après lifestyle. It only takes a quick google to realize that buying a hand crafted ski chair isn’t cheap, and yet all the ski resorts tend to have them littered around. As a kid I always thought…

For my upcycle project, I wanted to capture the aesthetic of the 20th century graphic artist M.C. Escher. I also wanted to try my best to constrain my artifact with actual recycled material I had in my apartment. I think this added to the overall Upcycle aesthetic of the project, but it ultimately cost me…

For the final artifact for the Upcycling Project I created a polaroid picture frame. The inspiration for this artifact came from a poster I have in my apartment that is shown below. From this poster, I wanted to combine the classic / retro aesthetic of old hockey sticks with a modern aesthetic.  How I envisioned…

Inspiration: Creativity is not one of my strong suits and thus my Upcycle project took quite a bit of searching. At the beginning of the semester when we discussed our comfort levels with design I rated myself at the very bottom of the list. Therefore, I needed to take a different avenue to come up…

As mentioned in previous progress posts, I constructed a mobile out of old climbing gear.  The aesthetic that I was striving for was that of the climbing gear itself.  I wanted to both show the beauty of it due to the inherit simplicity, and the fact that it hadn’t changed much over the years.  I…

Presentation Video How Frame Fits Together Video For my upcycle project, I repurposed a climbing crash pad to be used as a small couch. I built a frame out of plywood for the pad to sit on comfortably, which was the main fabrication portion of my project. My goal was to apply a sleek minimalist…

Inspiration Incense waterfalls are a product found typically in Chinese Feng Shui, and are often created with religious imagery like the Buddha shown in the Figure 2. The origins of incense go back to the Babylonians thousands of years ago; however the backflow incense are attributed to Chinese culture. The inspiration for my upcycle project…

https://vimeo.com/user134296562/review/515596643/2d35099ce2 https://vimeo.com/user134296562/review/515596643/2d35099ce2 Presentation Video: https://vimeo.com/user134296562/review/515596643/2d35099ce2 Did you know that recycling is bad for the environment? It takes a lot more time, energy, and resources to recycle a plastic bottle, aluminum can, or glass jar than it does to produce new ones out of raw materials. Even after the tedious sorting, transporting, and distributing of recyclable…

We have all been spending far too much time in our homes recently, and if you’re anything like me, you may have rearranged your entire apartment 3 times by now in hopes that you would feel like you were in a less stagnant environment. Well there’s only so much reorganizing one can realistically do before…

Patchwork Aesthetic: Japanese Gi Inspired Bomber Jacket This blog post will show my final product of the upcycle project. I made a Japanese Gi Inspired Bomber Jacket following the Patchwork Aesthetic. However, before detailing the outcome of my project it is important to recap a few things that some people might not know if they…

What I did previously: Prior to this post, I made an initial post about the aesthetic and a progress post. In both of these I discussed my aesthetic inspiration and my plans for its functionality (more on this later), but also shared my initial work. I first started with sketches to get a sense for…

For my upcycling project, I planned to make a wire sculpture from upcycled copper wire. I explored several different ideas, including wire-wrap jewelry, or other wire-wrap decorations. For example, the two photos below represent the exploration phase of the project for me. I had no clear ideas in mind, and instead was just using the…

For my upcycle project, I created a cardboard model of the Toyota AE86 from the show Initial D. I wanted this project to capture the realism aesthetic, as well as the Japanese drift aesthetic. My vision for this project was to create a realistic model of the car that looked as similar to the original…

Intro to Viking Aesthetics Viking art is estimated to have started at the end of the 8th century. It was first developed by the Viking tribes of Scandinavia in territories that we now know as Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. Vikings decorated almost everything with elaborate carvings and contrasting super-positioned materials. Currently, Viking art is mostly…

For my upcycle project I wanted to bring plants inside in a minimal clean style that can be multifunctional. I decided to make small air plant holders that also act as refrigerator magnets because I never seem to have enough magnets on the fridge. Since I am still working on decorating my house, I did…

For this project I decided to focus on the aesthetic of sailing. Sailing is a part of my family and has been passed down through generations. Every year my family travels to Michigan to sail and partake in our favorite hobby! For those of you who do not know what a Hobie cat is, it…

For my project, I decided to upcycle cardboard boxes that I already owned and the racing bibs I have received over the last three and a half years into a work of art embodying the old school athletics aesthetic. The inspiration behind this came from running my last indoor track meet at the University of…

The aesthetic I chose to incorporate into my upcycle project is the tropical aesthetic. I chose this because the topical aesthetics is one of my favorites. I think the tropical aesthetic captures a fun lifestyle that is missing during quarantine. Along with this I think the tropical aesthetic is one that can be well captured…

  Following the comments from the previous post, I decided to incorporate gaming as a theme for the mainstage similar to how festivals have nature or a themed festival. For this, I took apart an old controller and added it as a DJ controller which is basically where the producers and DJs mix their music…

In the wake of a Netflix original TV series and rising popularity on platforms like Twitch and YouTube, chess has been making a recent resurgence. The story starts with an all in one platform called Chess.com. The Site is an free internet chess server, with aspects of forums, and a social media site. Games are…

Since my previous post, I’ve finalized my design to be a bicycle wheel clock. The materials I will need for the design will compose of a bicycle wheel rim, cardboard(for numbers or clock hands), an old clock(for the mechanism), some spray paint, old RGB lights with a battery, and velcro. Initially, I started by taking…

Hi All, In this blog post, I’ll be going over some of the progress I’ve made thus far on designing my Lichtenberg vinyl frame. Although I have not physically started constructing my vinyl frame, I’ve made some preliminary designs for the dimensions. The vinyl album itself is 12 and 7/16″ squared. To size the frame,…

The upcycling aesthetic that I chose was one of triumph and adventure. I decided to create a statue with a heroic pose made primarily out of a plastic bag, at least from the outside. The materials I gathered for the piece were pipe-cleaners, tinfoil, a small paper cup, and a plastic bag. Following the basic…

Example waterfall As an update I am close to my final assembly and I am so satisfied with the way the waterfall came out. I will outline the crafting process in the final post, but the changes I would like to make are the spout in which the incense is held. Without really thinking I…

The Lamp is coming along very well! Following the initial sketches I made, I went ahead and took measurements of the board and my lamp frame to get a better sense of how the slats would be made. From here I made a template of one of the slats with a slight curve. I feel…

Progress for my upcycle project has been moving along at a good pace. I spent the majority of the previous week planning the finalized design for my build as well as acquiring all the materials that will be necessary.  My plan is to cut out multiple faces of the Saturn V rocket out of cardboard,…

I have been seeing some good progress in my upcycle project to repurpose my rock climbing crash pad into a couch. So far, I have fully fleshed out the design, planned on my materials, and now just need to fabricate the frame. In order to minimize cost and materials, I spent some time working out…

Since the last post, I have come up with a set design for my upcycle spatula. I have also finalized my plan for actually building and finishing the spatula. I have not gotten to the building process yet, but I plan to get started in the coming week. For now, I will just describe my…

The first step of creating a cardboard rocket ship is to obtain flat cardboard pieces. So I have disassembled one of my cardboard boxes into several moderately sized pieces. The first part I decided to make is the body of the ship. The body will be a hexagon prism, so I would need 6 identical…

  I feel like I am doing this project a little backwards. In my last post I mostly discussed materials and current status. I have spent most of the last week working on design refinement. I took a detour to explore another style because of a piece of wood that I really liked, but ultimately…

Throughout the process of constructing my upcycling project, I have overcome many challenges that I didn’t expect. I have found that even though you have a good idea of what you want to do, it usually won’t be as easy as you imagine. As you may or may not know from my blog post last…

I have gathered all of the supplies for my project and have created the layout that I want my racing bibs to be in. The two images below show my racing bibs in the layout of the CU logo and the other materials I have to fill in the blanks. One is a newspaper article…

  For my upcycling project, I decided to upgrade a nerf gun and give it an Outrun aesthetic. If you do not know what Outrun is and would like a better idea, take a look at my previous 2 posts but it’s basically the Miami Vice and Synthwave look. I bought this nerf gun at…

At this point in the upcycling project, I was have disassembled my Casio calculators and taken out the solar panels. In order to test if the panels are in a working condition, I hooked them up on a Breadboard and connected them with standard red LED (1.7 to 2V) and blue LED(3 to 3.3V). Under…

Utilizing the feedback I received from the original Upcycling Aesthetics post I have decided to alter my original thoughts for my final artifact. I will still be making a polaroid picture frame utilizing old wooden hockey sticks and chicken wire. However, it was made evident to me that I should add more of a modern…

This project has been pretty challenging in getting the body of the car to a place where I am happy with it and the main materials I have used so far is cardboard and glue. The way I have been making the car is to use regular cardboard to get the general shape and then…

Alright, Ill be honest I finished this product very quickly and did not take many photos in the process, so what I will be doing is showing my setup and the steps that I took to make this final product, going based off materials and dimensions as well as the one video I used to…

The progress for my artifact with the M. C. Escher aesthetic is that I am almost out of the planning phase. I have all of my materials that I am planning to use and I have a very general idea of what I want this project to look like. I made a rough CAD model…

Upcycle Progress: Modern with Magnets The first step of this project was actually looking through all the material I currently have and to decide from there which ones and how I would like to use them in the project. I grabbed all the air plants I currently have and looked at how I would like…

I began the construction of my upcycled materials to make something that forms to the Aesthetic of sailing. A couple weeks ago I ran into this real old bottle of Seagrams Canadian Whisky and the name Seagrams made me think of the Sea and I decided to make the bottle the base of my aesthetic…

For my upscaling project, I am going to be making a mobile out of climbing gear.  When I say mobile, I mean like the ones hanging above a babies crib.  In my aesthetic post, I mostly talked about the design of climbing gear and how its changed (or not) over the years.  This gave me…

For my upcycle project I am repurposing three wine bottles into sustainable modern indoor planters. Two of the planters are self watering herb planters and one is a succulent boat planter. For the past few weeks I have been hard at work learning to cut and finish glass bottles to use them for my planters…

Upcycle Progress: Japanese Gi Inspired Patchwork Jacket The first step in this project was planning. I had all the scrap material laying around but needed to know exactly how I was going to cut and sew it together. To figure this out I took a crew neck long sleeved shirt that I liked the fit…

One minute I have a nice, clean, clutter-free dining area. The next I have a makeshift woodshop, complete with wood shavings and saw dust. Over the past week I have made some major strides in gathering the necessary equipment and kicking off the creation of my modern style accent table. In my last post, A…