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Design Beyond Aesthetics
A journal exploring electronic music, sound, and visual culture through a design perspective—connecting technology, rhythm, and contemporary creative practice. This platform focuses on the structures behind electronic music: from techno and house to sound design, production, and cultural movements. It examines how music is shaped by machines, systems, and environments—bridging design thinking with sonic experimentation.
While rooted in design, the focus shifts toward electronic music as a cultural and technological language, analyzing genres, artists, tools, and the spaces where sound becomes experience. Published on otaviosantiago.com, this is an independent perspective on how music, design, and technology intersect—moving beyond aesthetics into structure, systems, and culture.
Graphic, Web & Motion Designer
Rediscovering the Mazda Suitcase Car: The Portable Vehicle That Fit Inside a Samsonite
A Forgotten Experiment in Portable Mobility In the early 1990s, long before micro-mobility became a global obsession, Mazda quietly engineered one of the most unusual vehicles in automotive history: the Mazda suitcase car. Designed as a compact, three-wheeled vehicle that could be stored inside a hard-shell Samsonite suitcase, the project explored the boundaries between transportation, portability, and industrial design. Created between 1989 and 1991, the concept emerged from
2 days ago
Maison Louis Vuitton Sanlitun: Jun Aoki Designs a Colour-Shifting Architectural Dress in Beijing
Maison Louis Vuitton Sanlitun rises in the heart of Beijing as a fluid, translucent structure that blurs the line between architecture, fashion, and landscape. Designed by Japanese studio Jun Aoki & Associates, the four-storey flagship features a shimmering facade of dichroic glass that shifts colour with light, movement, and season—an architectural interpretation of a Louis Vuitton dress. Fashion and Architecture Merge at Maison Louis Vuitton Sanlitun The facade of Maison Lo
4 days ago
Bianca Censori’s Bio Pop: Performance Furniture, Power, and the Architecture of Bodily Constraint
Bianca Censori Bio Pop Performance Furniture as Social Architecture Bianca Censori’s Bio Pop performance furniture marks a provocative intersection between design, architecture, and performance art. Presented in Seoul, the work transforms tables, chairs, and chandeliers into apparatuses that physically restrain women’s bodies, reframing furniture not as passive objects, but as active agents of power. Rather than functioning as utilitarian supports, the furniture operates as a
May 10
Recycled Food Waste Robotics: EPFL’s ‘Claw’ Machines Made from Crustacean Shells
When Food Waste Becomes Functional Technology At EPFL’s CREATE Lab, scientists are redefining the boundaries between waste, biology, and robotics. In a recent study, researchers developed robotic claw machines made from recycled food waste , using crustacean shells—specifically langoustine tails—as structural components for functional robotic systems. The project challenges the dominance of metal, plastic, and synthetic composites by asking a radical question: can biological
Mar 11
A Metallic Paper Piggy Bank That Teaches Children to Save and Give
PLANBUREAU Studio has created a metallic paper piggy bank for the Hungarian branch of Red Noses International , an organization that supports hospital clown doctors. The brief was simple yet challenging: design an object for the charity shop that teaches children how to save and how to donate, all while keeping the retail price under 10 EUR and production costs low. The result is a playful, build-it-yourself piggy bank made entirely of paper. This design turns a familiar ob
Feb 22
Bee-Sized Robot Design: How MIT Is Rethinking Flight, Intelligence, and Scale
The development of a flying robot small enough to rival a bumblebee marks a significant moment in bee-sized robot design , where engineering, artificial intelligence, and biomimicry converge. Created by researchers at MIT, the four-centimetre robot weighs less than one gram yet demonstrates agility, speed, and control comparable to its biological counterpart. Designed to operate in environments inaccessible or dangerous to humans, the robot is envisioned as a future tool f
Feb 17
Design and 3D: From Visual Experimentation to Cultural Language
Design and 3D are no longer separate territories. What began as technical experimentation has evolved into a new visual language — one that reshapes how we experience identity, space, and digital culture. 3D is not just a tool. It is a shift in perception. How Design and 3D Started to Converge The relationship between design and 3D began quietly, inside software labs and motion studios. Early 3D tools were complex, slow, and reserved for specialists in animation or industria
Feb 15
Design and Sustainability: Responsible Design for a Sustainable Future
The connection between design and sustainability is no longer optional — it is essential. Design shapes products, systems, behaviors, and values. Every decision, from material choice to digital interface, carries environmental, social, and cultural consequences. Design determines not only what we create, but how it is produced, distributed, consumed, and discarded. In a world facing climate urgency, resource scarcity, and social imbalance, design has moved from decoration
Feb 9
Design and Technology: How Innovation Shapes Contemporary Culture
Design and technology have always evolved together, shaping how societies build, move, communicate, and imagine the future. From the invention of printing to digital interfaces, every technological shift has transformed how design functions as a cultural and practical tool. Today, design and technology are inseparable forces defining contemporary and future visual language. Technology introduces new tools, systems, and possibilities, while design gives those systems form,
Feb 5
Design in Conflict: Lebanese Students Reimagine Design for Life Under War
Design in Conflict is an exhibition that brings together architecture and design students from Lebanon to confront the realities of living under continuous instability. Hosted inside Beirut’s abandoned Burj El Murr skyscraper, the show presents speculative yet deeply practical projects addressing life shaped by war, interruption, and resilience. Organised by Archifeed alongside product designer Youssef Bassil and design engineer Tark Mahmoud, the exhibition positions design
Jan 28
LEO Flight Unveils the Electric Solo JetBike — A Propeller-Free Personal Air Vehicle for Unlicensed Pilots
An Electric Solo JetBike With Enclosed Jet Propulsion Instead of Propellers LEO Flight has introduced the electric Solo JetBike , a compact one-person aircraft concept that hovers using electric jets instead of propellers . This innovative design serves as a low-altitude personal air vehicle that requires no pilot’s license . The electric Solo JetBike proposes a radically different approach to ultralight aviation. Following the still-concept LEO Coupe , the JetBike utilizes
Jan 22
A Moss-Covered Earthen Roof Shapes the Sekiyuan Teahouse Waiting Area in Japan
A Moss-Covered Earthen Roof Blends Architecture and Landscape The Sekiyuan Waiting Area in Ichihara City, Chiba, is a small architectural gesture with unusually rich cultural depth. Designed and built by Kurosawa Kawara-ten together with an architect and an artist—none of them professional builders in the traditional sense—the structure is a quiet but significant exploration of how informal building practices can contribute to contemporary architecture. The project was car
Jan 13
Zayed National Museum by Foster + Partners: Steel Wings Transform Abu Dhabi’s Cultural Skyline
The Zayed National Museum by Foster + Partners officially opens to the public in Abu Dhabi, marking a defining moment for the Saadiyat Cultural District. This long-awaited institution merges architecture, environmental engineering, and cultural storytelling, forming a landmark whose five aerodynamic steel wings rise dramatically above the desert landscape. More than a museum, it stands as a reflection of Sheikh Zayed’s legacy and a new pinnacle of sustainable design in the U
Jan 12
3D Printed Carbon Fiber Instruments: Forte3D’s Lightweight Cello and Violin
Why 3D Printed Carbon Fiber Instruments Matter for Modern Musicians Forte3D is rethinking the future of string performance with 3D printed carbon fiber instruments built to survive real-world conditions that often damage traditional wood. Where wooden cellos and violins can crack, warp, or slowly deform with changes in humidity and temperature, carbon fiber stays stable—helping musicians travel, rehearse, and perform with less anxiety about the environment. The idea began w
Jan 10
Plant-Based Plastic That Dissolves in Water Could Redefine Sustainable Packaging
A new plant-based plastic developed by researchers at Japan’s RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science dissolves completely in water within just a few hours — leaving no microplastics or residue behind. Built from cellulose, one of the most abundant natural materials on Earth, the innovation points toward a future where packaging no longer becomes permanent pollution. How This Plant-Based Plastic Works The newly developed plant-based plastic is built using carboxymethyl cel
Jan 7
Trovador: The Tree-Planting Robot Designed to Fight Deforestation and Restore Burned Landscapes
How the Tree-Planting Robot Works on Burned and Steep Terrain Trovador is an autonomous tree-planting robot designed to combat deforestation by restoring burned and degraded land. Developed by engineering students Marta Bernardino and Sebastião Mendonça , the project proposes an automated method capable of planting seedlings in steep, fire-affected areas where human access is difficult or dangerous. The first prototype, introduced in 2023 by Bernardino, takes the form of
Jan 6
World’s First Flying Car Begins Hand Assembly in California
The world’s first flying car has officially entered production. Alef Aeronautics has started hand-assembling its Alef Model A in California, marking a major milestone in personal mobility. Built in Silicon Valley, the vehicle represents the first consumer-ready version of a flying car designed for real-world use, testing, and future scalability. Alef Aeronautics Starts Production of Its Flying Car Alef Aeronautics confirmed that production of its flying car , the Model A Ult
Jan 4
Plastic Box Store Turns Brutalism Into a Sculptural Supermarket Experience - Brutalist Supermarket Design
Minimal Studio has unveiled Plastic Box , a fully functioning supermarket in Mallorca that doubles as an immersive architectural installation. Defined by exposed concrete, industrial materials and a ceiling made from 1,200 recycled crates, the project reframes everyday shopping through the lens of brutalist supermarket design . Located in Port of Pollensa, Plastic Box was conceived as a “raw concrete envelope.” Minimal Studio stripped the existing structure back to its bones,
Jan 3
Smart Socks for Diabetes That Restore Sensation and Reduce Chronic Pain
Smart Socks for Diabetes That Help Users Feel the Ground Again People living with diabetes often struggle with neuropathy , a nerve-damage condition that reduces sensation in the feet and increases the risk of falls, ulcers, chronic pain, and infections. ETH Zurich spin-off MYNERVA has created a breakthrough solution : Leia , a pair of smart socks for diabetes designed to restore sensation in the foot sole and relieve neuropathic pain without medication. Leia integrates elec
Dec 30, 2025
RMIT Researchers Reimagine Rammed Earth Using Cardboard Tubes as Permanent Formwork
Researchers at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) in Australia have developed a groundbreaking construction material that encases rammed earth inside permanent cardboard tubes , eliminating the need for cement and significantly reducing embodied carbon. The system, known as CCRE ( cardboard-confined rammed earth ) , offers a low-carbon, lightweight, and thermally efficient alternative for low-rise and modular architecture. A low-carbon redesign of rammed earth
Dec 29, 2025
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