Upcycle Inspiration – Memory Box

Bella Colosimo
Student Work
2 Comments
For my project, I decided to just go to Goodwill and see what I thought was interesting. I spent a while looking through all the trinkets and realized that a lot of what I was seeing reminded me of my late grandmother. She loved going bargain diving at Goodwill and I felt that these items…

Upcycle Inspiration – Steampunk Fastener

George Faraco
Student Work
2 Comments
gpid Designs https://gpidesign.com/2015/03/boiling-sculpture-down-to-nuts-and-bolts/ For my upcycling project I am thinking about using leftover fasteners from engineering design projects in order to build what looks like a steam engine.  This will follow the Steampunk Aesthetic. I got this idea when I was looking around for fasteners for my design project.  As I went through all of…

Upcycle Inspiration // Vintage Romantic

Brooke Shade
Student Work
No Comments
My inspiration for my upcycle project was a vintage/romantic aesthetic. I love the way that old typewriters look and the entire aesthetic surrounding black and white films. I was particularly inspired by the following image: Photo by Tyler Golden/NBC   This is Leslie Knope from NBC’s Parks and Recreation. Her last-minute wedding dress came together…

06 Ideation Techniques

Jean Hertzberg
Student Work
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Talked about various techniques for generating ideas; what students already had experience with, plus linear techniques ‘False Faces’ and ‘SCAMPER’. Then we did a guided visualization as an example of an intuitive method. Lecture Notes  

Upcycle Inspiration 2020: Pocket-Sized Sketchpad

Justin Engbrecht
Student Work
5 Comments
While we were discussing the importance of doodling within lecture the past week, I realized that while I have a full-size notebook in my backpack dedicated to this course, I may want another smaller sketchpad that I can carry in my pocket for whenever inspiration strikes me. In the context of upcycling, creating pages for…

Upcycle Inspiration 2020

Daniel Straub
Student Work
5 Comments
For the past couple weeks, I have been struggling to find something to build for the Upcycle project. I have had tons of materials come to mind, but not a lot of applications. After scouring through the internet, I have found a couple ideas that have inspired me. My favorites as of now are the…

Upcycle Inspiration: Mycelium

Fiona Bell
Student Work
5 Comments
          For my upcycle project I decided to focus on mycelium. What is mycelium? Mycelium is the vegetative part of a fungus (aka mushroom roots). Mycelium is a key element of our ecosystem because it helps with decomposition and absorbs nutrients [1]. I learned about mycelium while working as a graduate…

Aesthetic: Boho

Brooke Shade
Student Work
2 Comments
Today, “boho” is a style often characterized by the eccentric, lacey, floral-patterned, earth-toned, flower-crowned style that is often spotted at Coachella. But moreso than wanna-be hippies, the bohemian style goes back almost 200 years. Photograph by Dani R Photography (http://theonedayhouse.com.au/boho-beach-picnic-styled-shoot/)   The bohemians began as a counter-cultural movement after the French Revolution when artists were…

Aesthetic Exploration // Psychedelic 60’s

Charles Keely
Student Work
4 Comments
The term “psychedelic” as an aesthetic has broad implications and has shifted significantly from its rock and roll origins in the counter-cultural 1960s to a more technologically influenced ideology with the invention of modern electronic music and glitch art.  Although my eye is drawn to both aesthetics, the original movement takes priority in my mind…

Aesthetic Exploration: Kitsch

Victoria Rios
Student Work
4 Comments
                      Kitsch is the German word for trash and is often used to describe cheap, meaningless forms of pop culture/commercial culture. Kitsch, also known as cheesiness or tackiness, and appeals to popular or uncultivated taste because the forms are often garish or overly sentimental, simply…

Four-Barreled Rifle-Shotgun

Abdulraman Nashawi
Student Work
2 Comments
Johann Fanzo is a famous Australian firearms manufacturer. One very unique and a state-of-art shotgun they have manufactured is a four-barreled rifle-shotgun. Personally, I have never seen a firearm that combines a rifle and a shotgun with four barrels, let alone the extremely fine design and fascinating engravings. The firearm is being called the vierling,…

Exploring Aircraft Influence Noah Verspohl

Noah Verspohl
Student Work
2 Comments
Since the Wright brothers first took flight aircraft have caught the public’s eye. In the beginning this was mainly because of the marvelous feet that these machines accomplished, but as time progressed the aircraft themselves began to get attention. In the era of World War II inventors like Howard Hughes revolutionized flight with the introduction…

Aesthetic Design: 80’s and 90’s Retro Art Style

Justin Lim
Student Work
5 Comments
Perhaps the word, “vaporwave” or “synth-wave” is familiar. Currently, the art style is associated with these music genres. I will refer to this aesthetic as “Retro wave”. This style originates from the ’80s and ’90s and symbolizes hope, youth, and futurism. The color scheme for this “Retro wave” are usually very bright or neon colors…

Exploring an Aesthetic – Mountain Biking

Ryan Weatherbee
Student Work
3 Comments
Mountain biking is an activity that is well known to many people, especially those here in Colorado. The premise is simple: ride trails with natural terrain on two wheels using your own leg power or gravity to propel yourself forward. In practice, however, mountain biking has a lot of intricacies which make it a challenging,…

Modern Sculptures and Aesthetics Jamie Frankel

Jamie Frankel
Student Work
2 Comments
Modern art seems to reject conservative methods of expression such as realistic interpretation of a subject instead focusing on experimental techniques and innovative ways to present shapes colors and lines that often comes across a little bit abstract. Modernism is the aesthetic that I will dive into here as it has always perplexed me. I…

Aesthetic Explorations – Chronograph

Sarthak Bal
Student Work
2 Comments
[1] Louis Monet’s 1816 Chronograph Chronograph is derived from the Greek words “Chronos” – the personification of time and “graph” – to write. The term is used to define a type of watches that differentiate themselves from others in terms of their functionality which typically is a combination of a stopwatch and a regular timekeeping…
Newspaper Article of Hepburn's Inspirational Quotes

Aesthetics of Design: Audrey Hepburn

Hailee Pritchard
Student Work
1 Comment
Audrey Hepburn  The most important things is to enjoy your life – to be happy – it’s all that matters. “ Audrey Hepburn is an icon for numerous reasons, including her dance career, fashion legacy and acting roles, but furthermore for her encouragement of love and beauty. She is known for her personal aesthetic, and…

Aesthetics Explorations 2020: Vintage

Bryan Wong
Student Work
6 Comments
The “Vintage” aesthetic was formed from the modern recreation of the 70s-90s style. The vintage aesthetic can be illustrated through many different mediums such as fashion, photography and even furniture. It’s also an aesthetic with the purpose of showing individuality and uniqueness. [1] This image shows the style of fashion and photography that defines the…

Aesthetic Exploration 2020: High Fantasy

Kevin Yang
Student Work
3 Comments
High fantasy is an aesthetic that can define many facets of media culture – but typically used as an aesthetic in fictional narratives. This post will highlight the more visual portion of the high fantasy aesthetic. High fantasy is a subgenre of general fantasy (which is fiction set in a fictional universe, typically in antiquity)…

Aesthetic Explorations – The Maori Aesthetic

Austin Ross
Student Work
4 Comments
For my aesthetics exploration, I wanted to research and report on the Maori Aesthetic. Having visited New Zealand, this aesthetic is ever present wherever you are as the Maori are the indigenous natives to the island. Descendants of ancient Polynesian people who, through tales passed down through the generations, arrived to the island via canoes,…

Explore an Aesthetic – Phil Lewis

George Faraco
Student Work
2 Comments
Artist – Phil Lewis, https://phillewisart.com/collections/gallery/products/gallery-red-rocks Artist – Phil Lewis, https://phillewisart.com/collections/gallery/products/gallery-jellyfish-nimbus Artist – Phil Lewis, https://phillewisart.com/collections/gallery/products/gallery-the-electric-fox Artist – Phil lewis, https://phillewisart.com/collections/gallery/products/gallery-the-flatirons Artist – Phil Lewis, https://phillewisart.com/collections/gallery/products/gallery-frequency-3 Artist – Phil Lewis, https://phillewisart.com/collections/gallery/products/gallery-the-winter-carnival   All of the artwork shown above is created by Phil lewis.  He creates these pieces using pen and paper in combination with digital design. …

Aesthetic Explorations 2020: Fire Aesthetic

Nathaniel Wang
Student Work
4 Comments
The fire aesthetic is one which pertains or relates to the element of open flames or objects which are burning. Fire has always been revered for its many useful purposes as well as its raw power and destructive capabilities. Fire has been around since the beginning of time, and man has interacted with it ever…

Aesthetic Explorations: A Future of Neon and Chrome, Cyberpunk

Patrick Bodine-Ellison
Student Work
2 Comments
Title Image: “Tears in The Rain” by Daniel Liang   “Cyberpunk” is a genre of science fiction that appears in books, movies, and even tabletop games in popular culture. It usually depicts a not-so-distant future for humanity wrought with powerful soulless corporations, questionable morals, and futuristic technologies like advanced cybernetics and artificial intelligence. Cyberpunk media…

Aesthetic Exploration: Steampunk

Davis Robertson
Student Work
4 Comments
Steampunk is an aesthetic that stems from a sub-genre of science fiction that is based on the concept of what 19th century technology would look like if we had chosen steam power over electricity. The Victorian visual style features exposed gears and dials, and utilizes wood, glass, and metal (especially brass and bronze). Steampunk, as…

Polka dots and Yayoi Kusama

Xian Luo
Student Work
2 Comments
Polka dots, is the “a pattern consisting of an array of large filled circles of the same size.” according to Wikipedia. The polka dots pattern, despite being popular and widely recognized in today’s fashion. It hasn’t always been this way. In the old times “In Medieval Europe, the pattern was initially seen as very unpleasant,…

Aesthetic Explorations – Ultra Thin Geometry

Bella Colosimo
Student Work
4 Comments
The ultra thin geometry aesthetic is (in my opinion) one of the biggest aesthetics of 2020. The goal is to meld straight geometric lines with natural curvy lines to create amazing shapes. They are meant to mix an ethereal feeling with a feeling of stability. It’s like observing what happens when you make metal into…

Aesthetic Explorations: Exploring Apple Wallpapers

Austin Maes
Student Work
2 Comments
Apple introduced changeable wallpaper beginning with system 7 for Mac OS, which was released in 1991, almost 30 years ago. Although the early versions of these wallpapers were very choppy and not aesthetically pleasing, they were unique and changeable, and they laid the framework for where the default wallpapers are now. Mac OS System 7…

Aesthetic Exploration: Crust Punk

Miles Radakovitz
Student Work
7 Comments
Crust punk is a sub-genre of punk music made with acoustic instruments including but not limited to guitar, banjo, mandolin, washboard, washtub bass, or whatever else you could realistically transport easily while being homeless. Crust punk generally relies on the idea of complete rejection and disillusion with modern opulence and rebellion against traditional values. The…

04 Aesthetics Tour

Jean Hertzberg
Student Work
No Comments
Today we practiced drawing circles, then started the Aesthetics Tour, discussing the aesthetics of Tim Burton’s work, Industrial Chic, Harleys vs Japanese motorcycles, Yakuza vs feminine speech patterns, manga, steampunk, religion and angels, red, white and blue, colonial furniture, and corporate logos. Lecture Notes

The Peter Mckinnon Aesthetic

Christopher Lehr
Student Work
1 Comment
          I introduce to you the Peter Mckinnon Aesthetic…is it real? Maybe not actively recognized but it is to those who know him. The big player is of course Peter, and he has developed this second persona over the course of his ~15 year photography career. The overall aspect is that…

Aesthetic Explorations 2020 – Biomimicry

Hannah Walsh
Student Work
2 Comments
Biomimicry, or biomimetics, is the study and imitation of nature for the purpose of solving human problems.   The idea of biomimetics reaches all the way back to Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), who drew flying machines based off of the study of bats. The concept of biomimetics was developed in America in the 1950s, by Otto…

Aesthetic Explorations: Indoor Plants

Max Armstrong
Student Work
4 Comments
  Image courtesy of [1] The indoor plant aesthetic is one that is closely related to a few different interior design aesthetics. It can be found complimenting aesthetics such as modern, bohemian rustic and even industrial designs. Indoor plants and the aesthetic that they usually create can also even mix with minimalism, just not all…

Aesthetic Exploration: Steampunk

Nicole Leon-Molina
Student Work
4 Comments
Steampunk is a branch of science fiction of a futuristic reality that embodies heavy machinery and steam engines rather than advanced technology. The Steampunk aesthetic is rustic and calls to the tinkering individual who plays with gears and gadgets. It alludes to historical elements from the 19th century Victorian Era with retro-futuristic inventions. If our…

Aesthetic Exploration: Studio Ghibli Movies

Mary Rahjes
Student Work
4 Comments
Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio that was created by Hayao Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki, Isao Takahata, and Yasuyoshi Tokuma in 1985. Some of their more notable films include My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Ponyo. Although each movie is different in terms of storyline, they all have themes within…

Road biker “roadie” aesthetic

Benjamin Robles
Student Work
2 Comments
We live in Boulder, Colorado, so I am sure we have all seen (or are) a road biker, or “roadie.” Before you begin reading about the aesthetic I chose, I would like to challenge you to sketch a bicycle without looking at a picture or anything for reference. Very few people can draw an accurate…

Aesthetic Exploration: Psychedelia

Emily Jordan
Student Work
3 Comments
Psychedelia is defined as the music, culture, or art based on the experiences produced by psychedelic drugs. The first origin of psychedelics is unknown, although the use of plants such as peyote cacti and “magic mushrooms” have been a part of traditional religion and medicine for centuries due to their ability to promote physical and…

Aesthetic Exploration: Rolex Watches

Jason Fontillas
Student Work
2 Comments
The Rolex watch aesthetic originates in 1905 when Hans Wilsdorf designed a practical and accurate wrist watch. These watches are so sought after because of their durability in material, accuracy to keep time within the piece, and the classy look and feel of the dial and band. The Rolex brand can be found “on the…

Explore an Aesthetic: Modernist Architecture

Will Tse
Student Work
4 Comments
Many architecture styles have their defining characteristics and represent their respective historical time periods. For example, and most notably, the Victorian Era (in UK, US, Australia) occurred during mid to late 19th Century and saw the likes of “Dollhouse” buildings, or Romanesque Era (in Europe) which occurred in late 10th Century. Today’s architecture is mainly…

Aesthetic Exploration: Brutalism

Fiona Bell
Student Work
4 Comments
          Brutalism is an architectural style, characterized by its imposing, geometric appearance. The functionality of the concrete and steel gave brutalist buildings a distinctly utilitarian feel that lent themselves well to institutional uses such as libraries, schools, and public housing [1]. Originating from a post-WWII world, in the 1950s, the brutalist…

Aesthetic Exploration: Voxels

Ethan Elshyeb
Student Work
1 Comment
Voxels are 3-dimensional ‘cubes’ of space, analogous to a 2D pixel. As a concept, voxels have existed since the 1990s and even earlier for medical and other applications where their use was important for efficiently mapping regions of 3D space. It’s only recently, however, that they’ve become used for aesthetic purposes. Voxel art uses simple…

Exploring the Aesthetic of Realism

Davis Butte
Student Work
4 Comments
The aesthetic of Realism began in the mid 19th century following the era of romanticizing the way real-life appeared. Realism attempts to depict life as it is, not inflating it to unrealistic levels or making it more beautiful than nature is naturally. This idea began with the artistic depiction of laborers working in the fields…

Aesthetic Exploration 2020: Oceanic

Zach Aldrich
Student Work
6 Comments
For my Aesthetic Exploration, I am focusing mainly on the “Oceanic Aesthetic”. This aesthetic conveys natural power and the contrast between the many shades of blues against the whites of the crashing crests of the waves. The visuals and themes can be centered around the calmness of the ocean surface, the power and rage of…

Aesthetic Exploration: Art Nouveau

Kaiya Wahl
Student Work
2 Comments
The Art Nouveau movement was popular throughout Europe between 1890 and 1910 the name came from an art gallery called “La Maison de l’Art Nouveau which showed works in the Art Nouveau style. It is most often seen in architecture, interior design, posters, and illustrations. It was created to be free from aesthetics that dominated…

Aesthetic Explorations: Tessellations

Jackson Hootman
Student Work
4 Comments
A tessellation refers to the repeated use of geometric tiles to fill a larger space without any gaps. In this way, tessellations combine both artistic ideals and mathematical problem solving. Initially though, tessellations served a more decorative purpose, dating back all the way to 4000 BCE where Sumerians utilized them in patterned clay walls [1].…

Aesthetic Exploration 2020: Painting by the Numbers, an Aesthetic Exploration of Algorithmic Art

Kyle Neubarth
Student Work
2 Comments
“A monument to Infinity” source: https://www.reddit.com/r/generative/comments/efyzuz/a_monument_to_infinity/ Algorithmic art, also known as Procedural art, describes art which is made with the help of an Algorithm. For our usage an algorithm is a finite series of well designed instructions. Algorithmic art is still a fuzzy concept, as the usage of “algorithms” in art can be very widely…

Aesthetic Exploration: ‘Kawaii’/’Cute’

Thomas Buckholtz
Student Work
9 Comments
“Kawaii” or “cute” is an aesthetic that has become widespread throughout Japan, and it started gaining traction as early as the 1950s. Rune Naito is credited with being one of the earliest pioneers of this aesthetic, with the creation of his “Rune Girl” characters, defined by their large heads and baby-faced features. By 1971, he…

Exploring Gears and Bolts/Steampunk Aesthetics

Joseph Knapp
Student Work
4 Comments
For my upcycling project, I am exploring the steampunk/mechanical aesthetic. I have seen a couple examples of this online where sculptures are made out of scrape gears and parts. I am looking to do the same thing from bicycle scrapes I attained from old bikes that I have owned as well as scrape parts found…

Aesthetic Exploration: Retrofuturism

Rhys Rueffert
Student Work
2 Comments
Retrofuturism is a contemporary art movement combing visual aspects of the past with imagined technology of the future. The style is quite broad, and is explored in various art mediums and media franchises. Retrofuturistic pieces are generally characterized by smooth, clean lines, bright primary colors and shiny metals such as chrome. The pieces are generally…

Aesthetic Exploration 2020: Retrofuturism

Justin Engbrecht
Student Work
1 Comment
For my first aesthetic exploration, I have chosen to explore the Retrofuturism aesthetic. Building upon the concept of futurism, retrofuturism has the distinction of showing retro styling and perspective at odds with a futuristic depiction, especially regarding technology and machinery. Visually, retrofuturism eschews the blocky form in favor of curves and contours, often featuring vibrant…

Aesthetic Exploration 2020: Steve Jobs and Apple

Daniel Straub
Student Work
6 Comments
It is possible that this post will be divisive in some way. The majority of my peers in engineering shun Apple computers either because of the price, the “weak” computer specs, or the inability to run certain softwares. Regardless, the aesthetic of Apple and the careful consideration put into its products is a big reason…

01 First class meeting

Jean Hertzberg
Student Work
No Comments
In our first class meeting (Monday 1/13/20) we started with the Strandbeest bicycle video and did a little critique of it. The walking mechanism was derived from Theo Jansen’s work. Then we went over the syllabus and the initial assignments.  Here’s an example of upcycling that I didn’t get to show. t’s a giant ball…

Initial Assignments

Jean Hertzberg
Student Work
1 Comment
Table tent: create a table tent (8.5 X 11 inches, folded lengthwise) that displays your name to be read from across the room. Apply an aesthetic. BRING THIS TO EVERY CLASS SESSION ALL SEMESTER. Start a design notebook. Carry it with you always. Continually doodle in it, sketch details of design that catch your eye,…

Schedule 2020

Jean Hertzberg
Student Work
No Comments
2020 Week Monday Wednesday Friday 1 Jan 13 Syllabus, First assignments: Catme, blog, survey, then aesthetic, upcycle artifact Definitions of art Definitions of Aesthetics 2 Jan 20 No class, MLK day Aesthetics tour (lecture 04) Syllabus agreement due in class. Slack signup and AesDes Perception Survey due at midnight. Blog post 1 due: Aesthetic Explorations…

2019 in a nutshell, so far

Tyler Deperrot
Student Work
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This class afforded me the venue and justification to culminate the work I have created over the last fifteen years. The projects and posts I created are listed below. I was also able to run a film series, which proved to be underattended but incredibly fun nonetheless. Those posts are listed below the class posts…

Summing Up 2019

Joseph Coulombe
Student Work
No Comments
To sum up my time in this class, I was able to really hone in on my wood working skills, sketching ability, and ideation from start to finish on both of my projects. I created something very practical out of a random stump and something that looks awesome and is useful to me. My previous…

Why and what next

Tyler Deperrot
Student Work
No Comments
To get you up to speed, I managed to put together and otherwise ruin two perfectly good combo bass amps. The electronics were fried after I attempted to wire them up with the switches and pots relocated to the front of the new cabinets. I designed these amps to fit a Star Wars aesthetic. I…

Summing up 2019 – Jae Lee

Jaehyung Lee
Student Work
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Interesting and exciting, but it was during engineering senior year. I had fun doing this class within the extreme schedule so I think I couldn’t show off my full potential during the final project, but I am satisfied with other projects. It was a great experience to think about aesthetics itself because we usually don’t…

Summing Up 2019

Yazen Sus
Student Work
No Comments
This semester has taught me a lot in terms of the different aesthetics that have arisen over the years and the different design methods to reach the perfect aesthetic for a project. I enjoyed, most of all, the projects we worked on that allowed us to take what we were learning and put it into…

Summing Up

Samuel Sawyer
Student Work
No Comments
UPCYCLE PROJECT – Design an object with recycled materials. I built a lampshade using mostly newspaper. Upcycle Inspiration/Progress Upcycle Final Post   MISC.  Skillset and Goals   FINAL PROJECT – Design an object with a clear aesthetic that is dynamic in one way or another. I built a puzzle lock box that has the aesthetic…