Upcycle – Aesthetics of Design

2017, cross, final, holy, mount, Upcycle

Mount of the Holy Cross is one of the fourteen 14,000 foot mountains in the Sawatch Range of Colorado. The mountain looms above ‘The Bowl of Tears’ at 14,011 feet. I’ve had the opportunity to visit this mountain two times. On my first visit my partner and I got stuck in a storm near the…

Upcycle Final Report: Whiskey Bottle Chandelier and Glasses

February 13, 2017

Jeremy Parsons

Chandelier, Jeremy, Parsons, Upcycle, Whiskey

For my upcycle project, I created chandelier and matching tumbler glasses out of four, repurposed Jameson whiskey bottles.The aesthetic I wanted to capture was that of a traditional, quiet English/Irish pub. I wanted to embody the green/brown glass, deep red/walnut wooden textures, brass and copper fixtures, etc.. Everything that conveys the comfortable appeal of a…

Upcycle Final Report: ‘I love lamp’ [L1]

February 13, 2017

Levi Caffes

design, garbage, Lamp, Levi Caffes, milk, milk crate, Upcycle

Video of my presentation is HERE. Kept on the ground, the L1 produces a low-mood lighting experience. The bulb is covered in all directions which helps diffuse the light source and blocks the eye from catching direct light, which can be distracting. Providing two levels, the lamp can be used as a bedside table or…

Upcycle Final Report: How Baby Terrariums Are Made

February 13, 2017

Luke Woolley

garden, glass, green, jar, leaf, leaves, moss, plant, soil, stick, terrarium, Upcycle

Click here for a video of the presentation. Most of the slides can be found below. I originally considered a very different project… I am a fan of the Metal Earth series of miniature models laser-cut from thin sheets of steel, so I had planned to design and cut my own out of aluminum beverage cans.…

Upcycle Final Report: Theo Jansen Inspired Kinetic Sculpture

February 13, 2017

final report, kinetic sculpture, Theo Jansen, Upcycle

Inspired by Theo Jansen’s Strandbeest project, I set out to create my own functional desktop Strandbeest. I wanted the creature to be powered by a crank, made out of paper, and resemble the aesthetic created by Jansen but with my own more modern industrial twist. For those unfamiliar with his work here is a brief.…

Upcycle Final Report: Steampunk Jellyfish

February 12, 2017

Emma Hammerton

art, Innovation, Steampunk, Upcycle

Inspired by the giant, steampunk octopus of Burning Man, “El Pulpo Mechanico”, and a favorite video game character of mine, Fallout 4‘s “Codsworth”, I decided to use steampunk as the aesthetic of my Upcycle project and build a much smaller-scale jellyfish. My initial plans for materials included (but were not limited to) light bulbs, guitar strings, scrap…

Design Loop: Kinetic Walking Sculpture

February 8, 2017

2017, Blake, design, inspiration, iteration, progress, Theo Jansen, Upcycle

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I sat down, all my supplies purchased, everything planned out, and a prototype leg even made. But, as design goes, deviations from my planned path arose, and I was forced to rethink my route. I had my end goal, and my starting point. I believe that in design, you have at minimum a vague idea…

Design Loop: Mount of the Holy Cross

February 8, 2017

Alexander Lien

design, loop, Upcycle

Most design loops are linear or cyclical. Some follow a direct path and others allow for the designer to jump around the loop and follow or skip steps in the loop. The design loop I have drawn one that allows for various paths. In class I drew my design loop as the water cycle. I…

Design Loop: Steampunk Jellyfish

February 8, 2017

Emma Hammerton

design loop, Steampunk, Upcycle

I find that I like to plan things out in a very succinct, organized way, which I can probably attribute to the engineering background provided to me over the last few years. However, I also find that I become very nit-picky when something doesn’t go the way I imagine it to, which results in multiple, somewhat…

Design loop: Oyster box

February 8, 2017

Jon Nelson

design loop, oyster box, Upcycle

For my upcycle project, I am creating a bowl to hold my keys and wallet that will look like an oyster. I started with thinking about what materials I had available before I came up with an idea on how to use it. My roommates and I had a lot of leftover aluminum cans and…

Upcycle Progress: Jar Terrariums

February 2, 2017

Luke Woolley

garden, glass, jar, mason, moss, plant, plants, recycle, repurpose, terrarium, Upcycle

I originally considered a very different project… I am a fan of the Metal Earth series of miniature models laser-cut from thin sheets of steel, so I had planned to design and cut my own out of aluminum beverage cans. That turned out to be rather pricey and difficult to manage. So another idea came…

Upcycle Update: A Tribute to “El Pulpo Mechanico”

February 1, 2017

Emma Hammerton

El Pulpo Mechanico, Robots, Steampunk, Upcycle

El Pulpo Mechanico: Duane Flatmo Inspired by the giant, steampunk octopus of Burning Man “El Pulpo Mechanico”, I have decided to use steampunk as the aesthetic of my project and build a much smaller scale jellyfish. My current plans for materials include (but are not limited to) light bulbs, guitar strings, scrap metal, a wheel…

Upcycle Progress: Oyster Box

February 1, 2017

Jon Nelson

Aluminium cans, bowl, cardboard, Oyster, progress, Upcycle

I wanted to create something that had a function, but still looked good. For someone living in a small apartment, having something that serves a purpose is important. I decided that I wanted to create a bowl as a place to store items like my keys and wallet, but I was stuck on a design. …

Upcycle Update: Ukulele in Progress

February 1, 2017

Oksana Schuppan

in-progress, Music, trash, ukulele, Upcycle, upcycling, wood

For my Upcycle Project, I have decided to design a ukulele. Given my love for music, this object was a natural fit. My original intent was to make a violin, but in evaluating the feasibility of designing a functional instrument, I found the ukulele to be slightly less complicated, which will allow me greater freedom…

Upcycle Progress: Mount of the Holy Cross

January 31, 2017

Alexander Lien

14er, model, mountain, Upcycle

Upcycle Thoughts: Kinetic Walking Sculpture

January 31, 2017

Outsider art, progress, Strandbeest, Theo Jansen, Upcycle

Theo Jansen has selflessly given his “11 holy numbers” away for the public to use however they see fit (See my previous post “Aesthetic Explorations: Theo Jansen and His Strandbeest” for more information on his creations). Shown below, the 11 numbers for a linkage system for a leg to be powered by a crank. I…

Aesthetic Explorations: Theo Jansen and His Strandbeest

January 25, 2017

Aesthetic Explorations 2017, Student Work, zy 2017

Aesthetics Exploration, engineering, kinetic art, machine, Outsider art, Sand, Strandbeest, surreal, surrealism, Theo Jansen, Upcycle, walking machine

Theo Jansen, a dropout physicist become artist, has created his very own aesthetic. In 1980, Jansen began with 1500 combinations of 11 linkage sizes. Using a new technology at the time, a computer was utilized to dwindle the different configurations down to just one golden combination, the “eleven holy numbers”. These numbers allowed for the…

Television Liquor Cabinet

February 5, 2016

Peter Brunsgaard

Student Work, Upcycle Project Report 2016

brunsgaard, cabinet, Liquor, peter, report, Retro, television, TV, Upcycle

Vision: For my up cycle project, I wanted to create something not only visually appealing, but also useful. I have had my eye on an old television set, faux wood and all, collecting dust in my girlfriend’s parent’s basement for a little while. With a little searching through the internet, I was inspired to make…

Origami Nightstand

February 3, 2016

Nicholas Flood

cardboard, nightstand, origami, paper, Upcycle

I wanted to design and create something useful for my upcycle project. I have wanted a nightstand for a while, so I decided to make my own. The desk in my bedroom is covered with stacks of homework assignments and exams from last semester, and I wondered if there was some way to incorporate old…

Bicycle Component Clock

February 3, 2016

Daniel Moody

aesthetics, bike, bikes, industrial, Upcycle, upcycling

Original Inspiration Intro Almost a year ago I visited a friend and saw a bicycle disc rotor hung on the wall. I had seen a few pieces of bicycle art before but this caught my eye and I walked over for a closer look. It was a functional and clean looking wall clock. The…

Decorative Aspen Branch Light

February 2, 2016

Ashley Zimmerer

aspen, aspen branch, branch, centerpiece, decorative, decorative light, design loop, iteration, LEDs, light, rustic, rustic modern, Upcycle

Initial Design Process My original idea for this project was to create a thing. I knew that I wanted to make something cool, so I looked up pictures of upcycled projects on Google. I saw a lot of cool things, and I thought that I wanted to make something out of doilies. I had in…

The Bird’s Nest

February 2, 2016

Elyse Skinner