What was your aesthetic, and how well did you achieve it?
For my final aesthetics project, I applied a 1990’s theme to a smart mirror. I was going for a sporadic and random vibe from this piece. The outside and inside edges of the triangle both fall on ellipses, so while it appears random there is a sense of order in this piece. The paint job also does a great job of adding to the aesthetic. I was trying to emulate the aesthetic applied by multiple TV shows in the 1990’s, and the paint job falls right in line with this
What did you learn from your project, and from the class?
I learned a lot from this project specifically, and even more from this class. In this class, I have learned to look at designs not just for their functionality, but for their aesthetic appeal. I have come to the realization through this class that a good design is almost useless if it isn’t aesthetically pleasing to look at. Designs shouldn’t just serve a purpose in someones life, but should leave them feeling some type of way. From this project, I learned a lot about laser cutting with wood, painting wood with acrylic paint, and installing Alexa onto a Raspberry Pi. This project allowed me to learn a lot of the technical skills that I can use on projects moving into the future.
What will you do next with the project?
I still need to figure out how I am going to hand this piece on my wall. I plan on going to Home Depot and purchasing adhesive picture frame hooks, and hanging it on a adhesive hook on my wall. Eventually I would like to make some kind of enclosure to hold the Raspberry Pi and Speaker, as it would look much better than it just sitting on my desk. I would eventually like to make another mirror this summer with a less crazy aesthetic, as I found the process of laser cutting mirror frames to be seamless and easy
What do you wish you had done differently?
On this project, I wish I had put more effort into how I was presenting the Raspberry Pi and Alexa. It would have been really cool to 3D print a 90’s theme enclosure to hold the Pi and speaker, which would have significantly added to my aesthetic. I had my hands full with manufacturing and integrating the mirror, which meant I did not have a lot of time left to figure out how to present the Pi
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[…] The next project we worked on was our final project, where we took everything we learned over the semester and applied it to one product. For my project, I wanted to create a smart mirror that I could interact with using Amazon’s Alexa. I wanted to apply a 1990’s TV show aesthetic to it, similar to Zoom or Rugrats. My inspiration can be found here. In order to make sure this design was as good as possible, I went through the critical design review process with my peers so they could critique my design. This report can be found here. My idea was to laser cut the frame out of wood, after designing it in SolidWorks. I laser cut the back piece out of wood as well, which would hold the mirror in place. I painted the final piece with blue and orange paint in a zebra striped pattern, which really drove the main aesthetic home. I integrated Alexa into the Raspberry Pi using instructions from the internet, and connected it to a speaker. My overview of how this project came to fruition and how the manufacturing process worked can be found here. A report describing my inspiration, next steps and overall happiness with my final piece can be found here […]
Hi Andrew,
This was a really nice project! I like how your theme/ aesthetic was a throwback to the good ole 1990’s TV shows. It brought back a lot of memories and I thought the way you executed it was perfect. Overall, I love how it turned out and great job!
Hi Andrew! I really love how your project turned out and I think you nailed the aesthetic, so good job! It is also evident that you have thought a lot about your design and some future iterations you would like to do, which I think you can accomplish. Do you think you will end up making that enclosure for the Raspberry Pi? Can’t wait to see it at expo!
I think your final project turned out really well! I thought it was cool we both wanted to do smart mirrors for our final project, but we made them in different ways and each with unique aesthetics. Are you going to bring your mirror to Expo on Monday? It’d be cool to see it in person! I hope you do end up 3D printing a 90s theme enclosure for the Pi to add to the aesthetic in the future. Great job!