Art, fashion, and design

Many of the visualizations of steampunk have their origins with, among others, Walt Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, including the design of the story's submarine the Nautilus, its interiors, and the crew's underwater gear; and George Pal's 1960 film The Time Machine, with the design of the time machine itself. This theme is also carried over to Disney's theme parks in the design of The Mysterious Island section of Tokyo DisneySea theme park.
Steampunk design emphasizes a balance between the form and function. Like the Arts and Crafts Movement, this blurs the line between tool and decoration. Various modern utilitarian objects have been modified by enthusiasts into a pseudo-Victorian mechanical "steampunk" style. Example objects include computer keyboards and electric guitars. The goal of such redesigns is to employ appropriate materials (such as polished brass, iron, wood, and leather) with design elements and craftsmanship consistent with the Victorian era, rejecting the aesthetic of industrial design.
The artist group Kinetic Steam Works brought a working steam engine to the Burning Man festival in 2006 and 2007. The group's founding member, Sean Orlando, created a Steampunk Tree House (in association with a group of people who would later form the Five Ton Crane Arts Group) that has been displayed at a number of festivals. The Steampunk Tree House is now permanently installed at the Dogfish Head Brewery in Milton, Delaware.
In May–June 2008, multimedia artist and sculptor Paul St George exhibited outdoor interactive video installations linking London and Brooklyn, New York, in a Victorian era-styled telectroscope. Utilizing this device, New York promoter Evelyn Kriete organized a transatlantic wave between steampunk enthusiasts from both cities, briefly prior to White Mischief's Around the World in 80 Days steampunk-themed event.

In 2009 artist Tim Wetherell created a large wall piece for Questacon representing the concept of the clockwork universe. This steel artwork contains moving gears, a working clock, and a movie of the moon's terminator in action. The 3D moon movie was created by Antony Williams.
From October 2009 through February 2010, the Museum of the History of Science, Oxford hosted the first major exhibition of steampunk art objects, curated and developed by New York artist and designer, Art Donovan who also exhibited his own "electro-futuristic" lighting sculptures and presented by Dr. Jim Bennett, museum director. From redesigned practical items to fantastical contraptions, this exhibition showcased the work of eighteen steampunk artists from across the globe. The exhibition proved to be the most successful and highly attended in the museum's history and attracted more than eighty thousand visitors. The event was detailed in the official artist's journal, "The Art of Steampunk" by curator Donovan.

2012 saw the debut of the Mobilis in Mobili: An Exhibition of Steampunk Art and Appliance art exhibit. Originally located at New York City's Wooster Street Social Club (itself the subject of Television series NY Ink), the exhibit featured working steampunk tattoo systems designed respectively by Bruce Rosenbaum of ModVic and owner of the Steampunk House, Joey "Dr. Grymm" Marsocci., and Christopher Conte showing very different approaches. "bicycles, cell phones, guitars, timepieces and entertainment systems" rounded out the display.