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…
Final Project Part One: Alloy Aviator
I knew from the beginning of the class that I would want to make a large sculpture regardless of the prompt for the final project. The prompt for the final project was to make something ‘dynamic’ which made me take a step back to think about how I would combine my idea of a large…
Final Project Report 1- Driftwood Ceiling Light
For my final project, I endeavored to create a driftwood ceiling light that embodies a rustic charm. I crafted driftwood pieces from a log, embedding warm yellow light bulbs within them, and arranged them around a central ring for hanging. The choice to use driftwood was driven by its weathered texture and the captivating gaps…
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…
LED Matrix Aesthetics: Plans and Alternatives.
Blog Post #7: Main Project Aesthetics: Plans and Alternatives In this post, I look into possibilities, sketching my programmable LED display project in two distinctly different aesthetics from my initial rustic-modern design. Quick Overview My current idea is to create a led matrix of 64×32 and encase this in a wood frame. I would like…
Post 10: Project Progress report
As of the time that this post was due, I had completed the construction of the structure of my couch/bed. I had not yet installed it in my Van, nor upholstered or adding in the cushions. Some improvement consideration I have for the build: coat the wood with a polyurethane finish, use a router for…
Final report Part 1: Van Build Bed/Couch
For my final project in Aesthetics of design, I created a couch that faces both forwards, and backwards in my Van, and it also easily converts into a full size bed! Inspiration for this build came from watching essentially every small size van and mini van build video on YouTube, and selecting design elements from…
Final Report Part 1: Final Tick
Introduction My journey to craft my own artifact with a moving part to it is finally coming to the final stretch. Though this journey was filled with challenges and learning curves, it has been a very fun and interesting experience and I am satisfied with what I gained. My original roulette-inspired wristwatch initially inspired by…
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,…
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…
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…
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: 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…
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 Design Part 1
Inspiration A big sewing project was something I was excited for and was also outside my comfort zone so most of my initial ideas were sewing related. While the sewing process was something I was looking for, a piece of clothing or quilt were not very interesting to me. After trying to pay attention to…
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 10: Alexander Calder Inspired Kinetic Sculpture Progress
As stated in previous posts my project for this class is an Alexander Calder inspired mobile with roots in the abstract kinetic sculpture aesthetic. I want my design to have the appearance of weightlessness with a transition from a starting vertical ornament to a horizontal final beam. In the weeks since my design preview I’ve…
Post 11: Final Report Part 1: What
Final Report Part 1: What 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…
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: 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…
Post 10: Progress on Lil’ Storm Lamp
Here’s an update on the happenings around Lil’ Storm Lamp: What I’ve Done: Ordered LED lights: I’ve sourced LED lights from Amazon that will interact with sound from the bluetooth speaker to create dynamic lighting effects. Ordered a sound controller for LED and sound integration: This component is crucial as it will help synchronize…
Post 9: Top 5 Goals and Top 5 Constraints
Project: “Lil’ Storm Lamp” Aesthetic: “Oriental-Contemporary Fusion” Prompt: “What are the top 5 things you want your project to look like, to feel like, to do? What are the aspects that will tell you you’ve succeeded in your project? What are you prioritizing? Next, what are the top 5 constraints you face? Time, money, skills,…
Final Report Part 1: Abstract Structural Art
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…
Final Report Post 12: How? – Ari Matrajt
In this half of the report, I will go over the manufacturing of the final piece. I will also talk about the challenges I faced in building it and what I learned over the process. First, I created a timeline for the project, which looked like this: March 10-March 23: Finalize plans/design April 2-April 7:…
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…
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…
Post 10 – Game Board Progress
So far for this project, I have not made enough progress for it to be recognizable. I started by looking for spare wood that had a nice grain and thickness. At the wood shop that I work in, I have had ample opportunity to collect potential materials. I ended up taking a couple spare 6ish…
Post 10: Bikepacking Frame Bag Update
As mentioned in previous blog posts I have significantly changed my design since Blog Post 8. I initially intended to use some old black fabric I had on hand. I liked this choice initially because I didn’t need to go shopping for more. Also the black nicely blends in with my bike’s aesthetic (red frame,…
Post 10: Progress – Organic Modern Mirror
Introduction I have been working on creating a mirror with lights and a wavy styled frame that is in the organic modern aesthetic. Since the design report, I first re-drew my sketches in more detail and with exact measurements and listed out the materials and size of each component. I need to laser cut the…
Post 9: Minimalist Catan Board
Wooden Catan Board | Crafted Settlers Of Catan Wood Boards The main point of my project is to simplify and revamp the Catan board design. The plan is to make it in a minimalist aesthetic and get rid of most of the detail and color. I would say that the top 5 specifications I want…
Post 10
2″x4″ Wood Frame I purchased three 2″x4″x8′ pieces of wood from Home Depot. I have cut most of the pieces to length and have begun attaching the columns of mylar disks. I will wait to assemble the frame until all the mylar disk columns have been attached in case my sizing estimate is slightly off.…
Pop Art Stunt Kite Design Preview
For my main project I will be making a stunt kite. I would love if my kite both looks great and also flies well but will start with trying to make a flashy looking kite. Inspiration I started thinking about what I could design almost as soon as I signed up for this class. I…
Gameboy Progress
I am honestly quite behind in what I said I was going to do…so far I have got a working circuit that plays the tetris code from the tutorial I was working on! But getting there is a story… I utilized my spring break quite well. I learnt that I really do suck with circuits.…
Post 10
Hexagon lights The goal of my project is to create an LED light fixture to go on my wall. Right now, I am testing a version with 3 hexagons but I am also looking into other designs. Here is a picture of the LED segments with diffusers on. Here, I am experimenting with different formations.…
Progress
As a quick recap, my project is creating an end table out of an old school desk, I am designing it in the Bauhaus aesthetic because of the metal pipes the desk legs are made of. Currently I have painted the desktop and I have cut down all of the metal. I attached the pipe…
Wristwatch Project: Progress
This Past Week My past week working on this project was spent with half of my time researching watchmakers and practices while the other half was spent perusing online retailers to find sellers that had parts of watches I liked. My research showed that if you wanted to make your own wristwatch there were 3…
Progress Update: Scandinavian Lamp
Here is a recap of my project idea so far. For my project, I am planning on making a lamp either for my desk or bedside table. I want it to be something that I can turn on late at night to provide me with light without keeping me awake. This would be done through…
Progress: Snuffle Mats
I want to begin by recapping my plan and updating my progress for my final design project. I plan to make three snuffle mats, one for each of my two dogs and one for my cat. A snuffle mat is a flat mat that has bits of fabric attached to it that create pockets and…
Progress – Cargo Kite
Work is proceeding. I have partially redone the CAD to fix the bugginess of the original assembly, redesign the cross-spar joints, and update the design to the smaller size of main spars I was able to source (the kite was originally 180 cm long; now, 150). Further, I have received parts! The fiberglass spars and…
Progress Update: Airfoil Can 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 – 10 – Progress
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 will dynamically change to match the outside light that a photoresistor will be detecting. I have chosen this as my final project due to the fact that…
Progress
Joshua Beijer Progress The past week I have been focusing on the spinner part of my design. For my first revision, I cut a single layer of 1/8 in a plywood sheet. I cut a few extra rings in case any would break. My next step was lining up the holes and drilling them. This…
Post 6: Project Plans and Inspiration
Blog Post #6: My Main Project: The Sound-Reactive Vase For my main project, I’ve combined old-style beauty with new tech in a sound-reactive vase. It’s about 12-13 inches tall, with a classic white and blue design, and it lights up in response to sounds, especially thunder. This vase isn’t just for holding flowers; it’s a…
Post 4: Japanese-Oriental Futuristic to Brutalist Industrial
The opposite of a Japanese-Oriental fusion aesthetic, which typically combines the natural, serene, and minimalistic elements of Japanese and Oriental designs, would be a “Brutalist Industrial” aesthetic. Here’s how it contrasts: Name: Brutalist Industrial Style Characteristics: Materials: Heavy use of raw, unfinished materials like concrete, steel, and glass, often in their most basic, unadorned…
Camping Table – Specifications, Constraints
For my final project I am building a camping table to put in the back of my car. I am a fan of camping out of my car, and I would love to have something that I can put things to cook on when I want to. I would also love it if it’s something…
Specifications and Constraints
Top 5 Specifications: Music control functionality/Spotify interface The most important part of the project is that it has the ability to actually control my Spotify music library Connection to speakers To be a worthwhile desktop piece, it is crucial that the device is able to connect to external speakers so that music can be played…
Post 9: top 5 specifications, top 5 contstaints
For my couch/bed in my van conversion, I want to include the following specifications: Specifications: 1) Ease of Conversion: The bed must be able to transition into the couch with ease, and vice versa. This is important to me in creating an environment inside of my small van that is stress-free and allows me to…