Lucas Barnes

Sustainable Product Designer

ME

Design EthosDesign Process (coming soon)ProfileResumeLinkedInInstagram

PROJECTS

Hand-Carved Beechwood SpatulaCactus-Skin WalletsClimate Action Museum InternshipManufacturable Outdoor DeskRavinia Festival Poster Competition"Treevas" Sustainable ClothingAwRoa Logo DesignBlacksmith Bonsai

TOOLKIT

Design SketchingRapid PrototypingWoodworkingAdobe Creative SuiteWebflowSolidWorksKeyShotPhotographyVideographyIllustration

This website is of original design using Webflow.
For license & copyright information, click here.

Blacksmith Bonsai

B

y interpreting natural forms through unnatural materials, these "wire trees," inspired by Japanese Bonsai, highlight serene beauty that can be found when and where it is often unexpected. I discovered videos online of people creating beautiful bonsai wire trees, and decided to take my own environmental take on the art form. Furthermore, as a website design exercise, I developed a prototype website to sell the wire trees. I experimented with typeface, layout, composition, and photography to develop a visually compelling yet concise branding and customer experience.

Contribution: All Original Work
Timeline: ~6 Months, On and Off
Material: 20 Gauge Aluminum Wire, Found Objects
Date Completed: Summer 2021
Association: Personal Project

Creation Process

My wire trees interpret natural forms through unnatural materials, and this composition represents that relationship.

My first wire tree was mostly completed for experience and practice. It is the smallest of the three and was made in a silver tone. The rock that holds this piece was found in a park near my hometown.

My second wire tree is intended to represent a spilled drink, as you might find on the street. It was fun to play around with the shaping of this piece to achieve the ironic effect of something so beautiful emerging from something typically seen as gross.

My third wire tree, composed of copper-toned aluminum wire and a few found sticks and thread. With this piece, I wanted to have some fun and create a mystical, fictitious environment. There are clear elements that indicate human presence in this miniature environment, and this is juxtaposed with the metallic trees to achieve its message.

Web Design

Enjoying the process of creating these wire trees so much, I decided to create a concept website that would sell my wire trees. My chosen typefaces were inspired by the antique aesthetic of the wire trees, and the layout encouraged a large-scale detailed view of the wire tree while giving detailed information and additional angles of the tree off to the side.

This graphic outlines the web design flow I designed on Webflow with both mobile and computer dimensions. Click this link here to view an archived version of this website!

Project Takeaways

T

his artistic project was never intended to be anything more than a fun way to spend my time, but it quickly became more significant to me. The message behind it all I believe is quite beautiful and well represents my goals within design.

There is something so attractive about these kinds of forms and any sort of miniature world I can create. It probably roots from my childhood obsession with Legos and going to see the model trains at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry with my dad as a kid.