The rise of Industry 4.0 has transformed engineering education, highlighting the need for digital collaboration, automation, and innovative design skills. This study explores integrating online collaborative design and laser cutting to engage engineering students in a creative and productive learning environment. We developed a workshop for first-year students in the “Introduction to Industrial Engineering” course, focusing on the cloud-based design of art-inspired tessellations using Onshape CAD software and laser cutting technology. We evaluated the workshop's impact and the effectiveness of using an art context for learning. Assignment reports were carefully analyzed for design quality, creativity, and CAD skills. Onshape's tracking tools provided valuable insights into students’ design collaboration, geometric complexity, and self-directed learning. A post-workshop questionnaire assessed students’ perceptions of the learning experience. Twenty-eight student teams, comprising 59 students, completed two tessellation design tasks and submitted DXF files for laser cutting. The evaluation results indicated that the students acquired geometric construction, collaborative learning, and teamwork skills. Most of them highly evaluated the workshop's contributions to understanding Industry 4.0 concepts and fostering cloud design skills and appreciated the STEAM education approach. Our workshop effectively introduced first-year industrial engineering students to modern cloud CAD and digital manufacturing technologies through laboratory tasks that embodied the values of STEAM education. Based on this experience, we recommend broader implementation of such laboratory workshops in engineering education.