Student Work

This project is challenging because it has a couple of constraints balance- the baskets/shelves need to hang almost at the top so that they pivot in a way where they are inclined to stay face up. This originally caused difficulty in designing when I came to realize that the original Bramble and Hare design had…

My original intent for this project was to develop a DM screen for collaborative storytelling games. Unfortunately, my design was largely dependent on access to the ITLL’s laser cutter and wood shop. Fortunately, there is a secondary project that I have been working on throughout the semester that incorporates a significant dynamic element and that…

1: Stability Nothing irritates me more than a wobbly table, if the table I made was wobbly there is a good chance I would not use it. To combat this I will use 3 legs giving it a stable base. I plan on using pipe for the legs and because of this there are plenty…

I decided to make an acrylic sword that is inspired by this youtube video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNKuYWfOlzI&t=135s For the design of my sword I decided to go with the Elucidator from the Anime, “Sword Art online”. I managed to find a photo of the sword below which actually has a template. The sword is to be laser…

For my final project, I am going to create a desk toy with a trinket of some sort that moves up and down. My vision for the project is to make something simple, yet still interesting to look at. I want it to express my interests outside of engineering. There are a number of materials…

The largest constraint on this project is going to be time… Theres really not much of it. My project is very multi-faceted. Im going to need to construct the shell itself, figure out the placement of the containers, insulate the box as well as figure out a cooling system for the drinks, set up the…

I. INTRODUCTION For the final project of the course MCEN 5228: Aesthetics of Design, I will be making an electrical guitar, or more specifically, making the body (figure 1) and reusing components of an old electrical guitar. It is dynamic in that it can be operated onto and it produces a reflecting sound through electrical…

Part 1 Presentation insp music: https://soundcloud.com/bretamsterdam/sets/daycare-15-02-2020   Mesh sculpture 1961 Katsuhiro Yamaguchi born 1928 Purchased with funds provided by the Asia Pacific Acquisitions Committee 2015 http://www.tate.org.uk/art/work/T14164

For my final project, I intend to create an animation showcasing a video game story in a child. There are several constraints regarding this project. Time The most major constraint of this animation is going to be the large amounts of time required to create an animation. Animations are incredibly slow in nature to create,…

To get everyone up to speed: I’m hoping to develop music visualizations through fractals using python3. I’m hoping to generate various types of fractals. There exist a variety of constraints related to video editing: Music synchronization. This is probably my  largest concern related to this project. I am currently able to output images at a…

My main project is a desktop toy that will consist of three independently rotating concentric rings, with each of the rings holding different elements, again playing up the Kawaii aesthetic. The outer and middle rings will have holders for mylar buttons, the outer ring having buttons of ~1” diameter, and the middle having 1.25” diameters.…

Aesthetic Inspiration I have drawn aesthetic inspiration specifically from the artist, Rebecca Louise Law, and the movie, Midsommar.  For Rebecca Louise Law, I plan to incorporate her ideas of falling flowers. I specifically like it when she uses flowers that have not dried out too much and are still very vibrant. I also like the…

Inspirations For my main project this semester, I will be pursing wearable technology. For the functionality of the artifact I was first inspired by a collaboration with Levis and Google. Together, they designed a jacket for bicycle commuters that utilized conductive thread to recognize hand gestures. This meant you could control basic aspects of your…

From the beginning I wanted to make something useful and aesthetically appealing. I am taking this opportunity to make a coffee table for myself that will stand at different heights and can be compressed to be put away. Originally, I wanted the coffee table to have four individual legs that bent inward. The table would…

Water Clock Introduction The aesthetic I am going for For this project, I will be developing a clock/timer that is controlled by droplets of water. The idea here is to incorporate water and electronics and invoke that sense of uneasiness, yet also provide the calmness of falling water. The device will consist of a white or…

As a quick refresher: The goal of my project is to create a puzzle box with a focus on moving gears. This small puzzle should test spatial and logical problem solving skills while maintaining a satisfying mechanical aesthetic. 1.) Template Design Leading in from my last laser cutting project, I’m still learning Inkscape in order…

While a lot of my project seems do-able, there are constraints in every project. So lets get into what I’m thinking my constraints will be while making a magic mirror: Money – This project requires a computer monitor, two-way glass, a raspberry-pi, and wood for the frame. The cheapest monitor I could find was around $80…

  In my last post, I discussed that I would like to utilize epoxy resin for my project.  The context for the epoxy resin would be in the form of a sculpture or a table that would interact with concrete.    The first step for me is learning how to work with concrete, and epoxy…

My Top 5 constraints for the main project go as follows: Know How- I am limited by my knowledge and experience with Arduino and building circuits. For my project I plan on using an Arduino to control neopixel strips that are located all over the jacket in the shape of hearts. The neopixels will pulse…

For my coffee capsules holder design, I have some constraints that I need to take into consideration to achieve the idea in my head. The constraints are as follow: 1- Aesthetic For this project, I decided to have a modern and luxurious aesthetic. To achieve that, I am planning on buying some fine material that…

The top 5 constraints I will be holding my main project to are as follows: Aesthetic: Kawaii or Cute Dimensions: Roughly 6 cubic inches Movement must be satisfying – either very smooth or nice clunks Designs between the slots in the rings will take advantage of the rings’ rotation, possibly as far as a zoetrope…

The following post will describe the 5 main design constraints I intend to follow when making my wooden replica propeller. These constraints will serve to guide my project toward my desired outcome of creating a realistic retro replica propeller. The first constraint I plan to follow is the aesthetic of my project. I want to…

While there will be many challenges with this project here are my considered top 5 constraints for the sterling engine project. Mechanical Precision. For this project functionality is everything. This is a very dynamic product and if it does not work it will be a total failure. The hardest part in getting a sterling engine…

  Constraint 1: Cost of remaining materials Because I already have most of the materials from last year when I started thinking about doing this project, I don’t have a ton left to purchase. The three main things that I need are: power connectors ($14), bluetooth amplifier ($35) and wood (the cost is going to…

Moving forward with the chicken wire framing and construction, there are a few constraints, as there are with all projects, I need to consider: 1) Material and Structure The biggest constraint moving forward is developing the actual structure of the owl sculpture. There are a ton of different ways I can go about creating the…

Constraint 1: Design Aesthetic Building off of last week, the original intention was to have a streamline and matte black aesthetic combination or a Dia de Los Muertos type electrical guitar design. But the aesthetic, for the most part, will depend on the other constraints in this week’s post namely Materials, Budget/Time and Manufacturing. The…

To be honest, I was struggling to find ideas about aesthetics to focus on for my chosen main project: a packable cycling rain/wind jacket. I even considered pivoting to a whole new project. Thanks to Prof Hertzberg, who gave me some ideas and direction, I started exploring the aesthetic to include in this project and…

Featured Image: A custom DM screen from Wyrmwood After developing and prioritizing my main constraints I began to realize something: the process of producing a quality D&D table is extremely expensive. Price is one my my main constraints for this project and more so due to a recent car-related financial crisis. These tables can be…

Cost Possibly the greatest challenge I face with each and every one of these projects. My goal is to create the best version of the project possible that costs the least amount of dollars. The more money I spend on this project, the easier it will be to fabricate. Yet I am limiting myself to…

Wood Finding an attractive piece of wood that is appropriately sized concerns me greatly. I have a number of saw mills and lumber yards to visit that may have what I’m looking for but even if I were to find the right piece of wood I must be careful when working with it. My chances…

For my main project these are the top 5 constraints – Design – The design of my project is pretty straightforward, but when it comes to executing it, it’s comparatively difficult. The key challenge for the design is to implement all the design aspects i.e. the skull, the pipes and the bulb. The important things…

1) Cost I would like to spend as little amount of money as possible on some of the more basic aspects of the statue that way I can spend more money on things such as lights or joints. To help get through this I will try to reuse as many materials as possible 2) Aesthetics …

As I focus on the minimalist aesthetic for my project, I am finding these specific aspects of the project to be my top 5 constraints. Material Choice: Choosing what material I use will ultimately decide the quality and appearance of the final product, so choosing this product, color, and making sure I buy enough of…

For my final project, I have been really struggling with what to define as my aesthetic. I decided to go with minimalism- an art form that came from modernism. The modernism movement is typically known as a period of exploration, rationality, clarity, and purpose. This aesthetic began around the 1900’s, and was driven by passion…

My project utilizes many electronic components that I have not had a lot of working experience with. My first constraint is in the LED lights that I am using. They require a 12 volt supply and this will require more circuitry than just an Arduino. This also means that I will need to some form…

For my project I will be creating interactive LED apparel. The project will require capacitive touch sensors and LED strips. As the development progress continues, it is important to determine the most significant constraints on the artifact. Aesthetic https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Instagram_Logo.jpg   Aesthetic constitutes a large constraint for this project. I will be utilizing flat design for…

1) Cost I’d like to get nice hard wood like oak or cherry to cut my lamp heads out of, but getting high quality chunks of wood in the size I need presents a challenge. I will need to shop discounts and comparisons to get the size of wood I need within my budget. I…

  Epoxy resin is a class of reactive prepolymers that when combined with a hardener, molds into a solid plastic.  This resin can react with various other materials, including other epoxy resins to create beautiful works of art.  I have been exposed to epoxy resin during my earlier years at CU Boulder, in my freshman…

As with any project, there are always constraints that need to be considered in order to create a completed product and achieve the desired vision. Listed below, in no particular order, are the top five constraints that came to mind when considering the next phases of my desk toy project. 1) Shape/Size I aim to…

Engineering + Time I want to create an automata-mobile hybrid sculpture. This is going to have a number of engineering challenges. The first will be to create a successful automaton that uses a hand crank to create an up and down motion. The second challenge will be to create that mobiles that hang from the…

1.Rustic, Yet Modern Aesthetic: One major constraint for my final project is trying to maintain the rustic, yet modern “look”/aesthetic to my final product. I want the wooden cutout of the flatiron mountain range to look realistic, yet minimal. This is hard to describe, but the image below is an excellent example of what I…

The top 5 constraints of my project would be: Time: The time for the project by itself is not a lot, not even to mention that fact that we as students may have 4-5 of other projects/assignments for other classes. So there is limited time to devote to the project. Having to deal with it…

  Engineering Ability] When it comes to building things I have always enjoyed tinkering. However, when it comes to applying a tinker’s mentality to an engineers point of view, the ability in understanding changes. I don’t work well with numbers, and models, and generally anything that a logical engineer would do. I have always been…

1.) Budget Budget is a main concern as the price of acrylic is rather expensive and as an unemployed college student I’m really in no position to spend too much. Although it’s a rather cool project the size of it will make it expensive, not only that but I would also have to find a…

1 – Ability to woodwork My first constraint is my ability to woodwork; or rather, my lack of ability. For this project, I am not just learning a new skill but attempting to master it – all in a couple months.  I took the woodworking workshop at the Idea Forge, and using the tools seems…

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

Figure 1: The design aesthetic I am going for Constraint 1: Design Aesthetic I have decided that I will be targeting Apple’s minimalist design aesthetic using white colors with sleek transitions and curvy lines. Everything in their products are customized for the specific applications and Apple even designs innovative manufacturing processes to facilitate the fabrication…

For my main project, my first chosen aesthetic was Pop Art, as written about in this post. However, I spent more time carousing the internet, looking for other aesthetics, and I stumbled upon old children books and other softer colors. I’m familiar with the Kawaii aesthetic, as described to be both “cute and soft” and…

After deliberating a bit, I have chosen to follow Option 3: Futuristic Laser Cut Sections of my last “Main Project Aesthetics” post when creating my desk lamp. I hope to create something similar to the featured image design [1] by laser cutting wood into a sleek, decorative arrangement of geometric shapes. Again, I hope to…

For my main project aesthetic I wanted to go with an Illumination Aesthetic as shown below in the gas station. This is an aesthetic where light illuminates any object in order to bring more color and depth to the object as a whole. By michael sroka neon lighting, rainbow aesthetic, neon aesthetic, vaporwave, pink peacock…

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

My plan for this main project is to go along with a theme and aesthetic of Industrialism. I believe this choice will lend itself to a very interesting look and set of challenges that will encapsulate what this class is looking for. I also want to put an outdoor-associated twist on it to capture a…

After coming up with the project idea, I had several ideas and ways to execute it. So far, I have 3 different ideas that I sketched and still debating between them. Idea #1: A small cabinet/box For this idea, I thought about making a small cabinet with two drawers. The cabinet will probably be made…

Project Inspirations/Formation This main project has caught me a bit off guard, so a lot of this post is going to be a description of my process in brainstorming my project, as well as design problems I’m currently facing. Anyone heard of the Perplexus? In my middle school years, I spent countless hours slowly guiding…

For this post, I was stuck for some time. I wasn’t sure what particular aesthetic(s) to tie into my project: packable wind/rain jacket for biking. I have been only thinking of how to make the patterns and how to sew them together. I hadn’t thought about what aesthetic to put on it, other than the…

The primary aesthetic I want to shoot for with this project is something that is generally contemporary as well as surreal – the sculpture made out of chicken wire fence is meant to both model something realistic, but also be constructed in a way that the form is ‘otherworldly’. Moreover, I want the piece to…

The project I intend to make will take on desk toys that are mesmerizing and satisfying. The most common desk toy are usually physic demonstrations like the Newton’s cradle [1]. Another memorable desk toy would be from the Marvel Movie Iron Man  strawberries scene. In the scene the swinging stick kinetic sculpture is highlighted by…

My main projects “aesthetic” is most commonly associated with functional wall art I would image, since that is exactly what I am trying to have my final piece become and act as. Functional wall art, and or wall art in general, isn’t anything drastically new in today’s society and or in the past century as…

My goal for the final project is to make a phone case that’s so uncomfortable to hold, that it makes your whole experience of using phone horrible, and forces you to put down your phone. The guest lecturer on Monday briefly mentioned about addictive phone use, and I feel like creating something that disrupts the…

As stated in my last post, I hope to make my project, two lighting fixtures and a clock, in the modernist aesthetic. The simple geometric forms and appealing earth tones make for great home décor in my opinion. Below are some examples of modernist décor that I appreciate, as well as sketches detailing how I…

This post will cover the aesthetic design process illustrating the following: Describes the planned aesthetic: history and application. Describe two very different/opposite aesthetics: how would it look if applied. I. PLANNED AESTHETIC Looking at the aesthetics we explored in class, the two that stood out in its application to my project were streamlining and matt…

For my project I am planning on making a mixed-drink maker. The idea is that there are containers that contain alcohol and mixers, and you would be able to select the drink you want, and it would pump it out of a spout into your cup. The aesthetic I am planning on is modern &…

For my project I decided to move forward with the light up snowboard in which I will attempt to add LED lights around the snowboard that change with motion. After brainstorming some aesthetics that can be applied to LED lights and on snowboards I decided to go with that of glow in the dark –…

For a tabletop gaming room aesthetics are everything. I plan on combining this table with a lighting and sound system in the room around it that will be key to setting the scene during games of collaborative storytelling. The main issues lies in the fact that not every game my friends and I play calls…

After thinking about my main project inspirations I wanted to come up with an aesthetic that fits with me personally and something that I can appreciate after a long time of usage. One of the big things in my life is that I am in ROTC and will have a job in the air force…