Modern Industrial Aesthetic

For my project I’ve chosen to channel a very rustic aesthetic using earth tones and wooden framing surrounding license plates that I’m trying to display on my wall. Below is my basic design layout using a piece of plywood and wooden scrap that I plan to paint/stain brown.

With this project I’m hoping to evoke natural and warm feelings with the warm wooden design, I’m a big fan of wooden decorations because they make me feel like I’m at home cozied up by a fire. With that established, I would like to explore what my project might look like with an opposite aesthetic, but still with the same premise of displaying eight license plates. I decided that the opposite of the original rustic aesthetic would be something more contemporary and modern, but more industrial than more modern aesthetics can be. Below is an example of some industrial modern wall art exhibiting some characteristics of the aesthetic, such as minimalist design and dark colors.

The industrial aesthetic was born out of the Industrial Revolution during a time when functionality was becoming the focus in designing everything. Decorative flourishes were seen as unnecessary and wasteful, and a primary driving focus of the aesthetic was to allow the structure and geometric shape of the design be the defining element. Another focus was allowing the materials being used to be truly themselves, with common materials being metal, concrete, and glass which are all seen as sleek or ‘clean’. Industrial aesthetics can be seen everywhere in our modern world, especially in architecture as most urban buildings employ some sort of industrial focus on function over form. In the example below, the exposed brick and I-beams as well as the metal railings around the lofted work space all emphasize functionality and maximization of space by keeping things open and minimalist, key aspects of the industrial aesthetic.

If I were to start over and recreate my project through the lens of an industrial aesthetic I would likely keep the general idea of the project the same but swap out the materials for the frame aspect. By mounting the license plates to a metal sheet instead of the plywood board it would immediately change the feelings evoked by the project. A minimalist metal approach would compliment the metal plates very well while maintaining a clean and sleek look. Mounting the plates to a metal plate could be more difficult than wood since screws wouldn’t sink in as well, but a metal adhesive could work to bond the two surfaces. Another idea I had to emphasize the minimalist aspect of the aesthetic would be to mount each license plate individually and arrange them on the wall in a geometric pattern. This idea would incorporate sleeker lines with a more unique shape than a single plate, and the geometric nature works well with more modern and contemporary aesthetics. Overall this was a unique look into what a different version of my project could be, and helped me think about how to improve the design I’ve already chosen.

References:

Adlai White – Industrial Aesthetic – https://www.aesdes.org/2024/01/25/industrial-aesthetic-2/

Images:

(FI) – https://vauntdesign.com/blogs/our-blog/is-the-industrial-look-still-in-what-s-hot-and-what-s-not-in-this-interior-design-trend

(1) – My own sketch

(2) – https://www.etsy.com/listing/1153350845/industrial-wall-art-plaster-wall-art

(3) – https://www.thespruce.com/what-is-industrial-architecture-4796580