Now that the project is over, I can relax and reflect on the semester and the two projects from this class. After seeing many great projects from other students, I have been enthusiastic about creating something similar myself. I think I am happy with how my project turned out, and I will put that to rest and move on to something else. The heart rate LED monitor turned out pretty close to how I first envisioned it. The only difference that I wish I made was to use larger LED bulbs that protrude out of the valve holes, and also to include an LED screen to display the heart beats per minute.

I learned from my project that everything seems to take longer than you expect, and a lot of planning ahead of time can save you a lot of effort in the end. From this class, I learned many aspects about aesthetics that I had never even considered before. Some of my favorite topics were:

• The history of the modernist movement that led to the design of most modern commercial buildings. I’ve never stopped and thought about how most commercial buildings in cities look the same. Sure, there are functional reasons for the aesthetic, but there is definitely a stylized aspect that copies each other, and it all stems from modernism.
• The brief history about Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usonia concept. In many ways, the modern era of “cookie-cutter” housing was influenced by the visions of Frank Lloyd Wright. He wanted to make a design that can be cheaply reproduced, making nice housing affordable for everyone and bringing people together to build a community.
• The Herman Miller eames lounge chair. I had no idea this chair had such significance….and price tag.

I’ll probably set my project down in my cube at work and have it there as a decoration. As an added bonus, I can have stressed out colleagues come to my cube and have them take their heart beat.