An industrial design study focused on reimagining a yacht cleat as a minimalist, high-precision object using Rhino and Blender.
This project explores the intersection of maritime utility and Apple-inspired minimalism.
By iterating through various textures and materials in Blender, I tested how subtle changes in finish and color affect the visual weight and perceived durability of a standard yacht component.
Cleats are everywhere on a boat—they're the most fundamental piece of hardware because you rely on them to secure the vessel to the pier. I wanted to challenge myself by taking this essential element and stripping it down to its simplest form.
What started as an exercise in refining one object ended up sparking a whole series of new concepts for cleats and hardware mechanisms.
It was about finding where symmetry and harmony live in a functional tool. I wanted to discover a 'plateau-like' universal shape—something simple with clean lines and rounded edges that still feels comfortable and usable.
While this specific study focused on a smaller cleat, the underlying form language can adapt, whether that means adjusting top curves for heavier lines or exploring retractable cleats that hide in the side of the hull when not in use.
Rhino was where the object was built with high technical precision. I used it to develop the exact NURBS geometry and draft full technical documentation, making sure the design was grounded in real production specs.
Once the geometry was set, I moved into Blender to focus on surface performance, lighting, and tactile qualities.
I wanted to test how subtle changes in color, finish, and texture affect the object's presence. Marine equipment needs to feel trustworthy, so I evaluated different combinations to see how surface treatments altered the cleat's visual weight and perceived durability—finding the balance between consumer-electronics refinement and rugged maritime hardware.
It proved that even the most basic functional component can be distilled into something pure without losing its structural integrity. Refining a single cleat down to its core geometry didn't just produce a clean final object—it opened up a much wider territory of mechanical ideas and integrated hardware concepts that I'm excited to develop next.
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