Post 4: Opposite Upcycle Aesthetic – Steampunk/Cyberpunk

What is the opposite of your Upcycle project aesthetic?

For my upcycle aesthetic, I chose an old western aesthetic. Thinking of an opposite to my project’s aesthetic, my mind immediately drifted towards futuristic-like or alternate-reality-like aesthetics such as the steampunk aesthetic. This is a direct opposite to the old western aesthetic mainly because of the industrialist nature of the aesthetic. The wild west gives a rustic and simple vibe, while Steampunk is much more intricate, shiny, and cluttered.

Examining the steampunk aesthetic, it’s an aesthetic based around a reality in which our world never progressed from the steam-age of the 19th century. Designs feature industrial based machinery like gears, screws, dials, propellers, and other steam powered equipment. The primary materials used in designs are metals such as steel, brass, copper. Some designs feature wood and glass, but never plastics or other modern materials.

Imagining what this might look like for my current project, I would probably still use a wooden cabinet, as many designs integrate metal into a larger wooden feature. An example of this are flying wooden ships, where the ship’s body is wooden, but nearly every other feature is some type of metal. For the dartboard, I would use a magnetic type of metal (steel, copper, or nickel) and cut it into a shape of a gear. The dartboard would feature numbers and dividers that are brass or gold colored metal for contrast from the board. The board would also be complemented with magnetic darts. For the door handles, I would try to find something industrial like gears with a screw attached. All this together would really fit the description of the Steampunk aesthetic, I think this would’ve been an equally fun project. Writing this blog post made me realize how many different aesthetics could fit into any given design project!