Des100 Assignment 2/4 - Lighting Designer

Ideation

- Moodboard

- Research

- Sketches

Iterations

- Prototypes (get feedback)

Fabrication

- Laser cutting process

Photos

My mood board is geometric, which carried over from the previous 3D printing assignment

I have a few ideas and thoughts about the mood board, and how I can change it up from the last assignment to make my project better

- Incorporate geometric theme with plant inspiration?

- Play with the actual lighting more eg shaped holes to create patterns of light could be cool? I probably didn't give this enough thought in the prev assignment.

- Mathematical geometric shapes?

- Hanging light?

- Lighthouse inspiration

- Laser cutting creates 2D pieces how do these slot together/interact to be interesting?

Using these thoughts I created my own mood board for inspiration:

I really like the look of 2 ideas in particular:

- The organic objects that have been geometric-ified like the flower and heart. Its almost a juxtaposition of something very organic and natural turned into a very mathematical particular design. This could be a cool avenue to explore for my lamp

- The slotting together of surfaces that is a result of the laser cutting method like the images in the bottom left. This could be viewed as a necessity because of how the laser cutter only prints 2D shapes, but I could embrace this idea to create something that's more visually interesting and unique.

Timeline:

Initial sketches based on aspects from mood board research/ideation:

I explored some of the aspects I talked about from my research (organic geometric-ified/interlocking pieces/lighthouse) . I tried to play around with shapes/patterns and arrangements for lamps (hanging/standing). I have highlighted the sketches I liked the most from this page that I want to explore further.

For my first prototype iteration I wanted to explore further my top left idea where there are 'ribs' that come out from the centre axle and create a ball shape. I wanted to mix some inspiration from the sketch circled next to this as well, ie adding horizonal slats. Lastly, I wanted to incorporate more hexagonal shapes to relate better to my geometric mood board inspiration.

I decided to make this prototype out of paper, as this would simulate the final laser cut carboard pretty well but be far easier to create and construct. So I drew up the components on Illustrator and printed them out to cut out and assemble.

This is the final prototype design. I think it came out reasonably well, however I wasn't entirely convinced by the design. The main aspects I liked were the centre horizonal strip and how the 6 rib pieces were arranged in a hexagon. However the aspects I did not like was how the ribs went all the way from top to bottom and gave the overall design a ball shape (I think it would look cooler if it were cut off at some point) and how the centre strip was horizontal (It could look better vertical). Also I was originally thinking this light would be a pendant but it might look better with a stand instead?

I have sketched up a new concept for my final lamp design taking into consideration my thoughts on this prototype but I also wanted to incorporate aspects from the top right sketch in my original ideation sketches. And lastly I wanted to add inspiration from nature to help me hone my design thinking and explore more possibilities for my design. This inspiration was an NZ falcon which is a beautiful bird that has always fascinated me. I'm not super into birds or wildlife but I though incorporating this inspiration would help me explore and learn more about this bird and push me in this project.

My starting point was the top left side of the first photo and I explored how the lamp ideas I came up with meshed with the falcon inspiration I wanted to incorporate, specifically its claws. The final idea I landed on was the bottom centre idea in the second photo that contains talons that grab upwards from a leg or base in a hexagon shape.

Feedback from Clara (Tuesday):

- I am progressing well. Should aim to get final design printed today or tomorrow.

- The falcon incorporation is cool and I could look at ways to incorporate it in my final design further because based on these final sketches it may not be super clear of my ideation

- I could use the engraving function for this maybe to do some drawings and add more polished detail to my design

- I could look at how the light will project outwards and how I can play around with it to make it more interesting, e.g. directing the light, cut outs, etc...

Using this ideation concept and my valuable feedback I began fabricating my final lamp design. I started by visualizing the model in SketchUp so that I knew how the components would fit together when I went to make it on Illustrator. This was a very helpful intermediate step, and whilst I did not create a full design on SketchUp, I was able to identify and improve a number of aspects that I may not have otherwise found, for instance including legs at the bottom for stability.

Next I took the components I made on SketchUp and drew them up on Illustrator. This was quite a time consuming process because there were lots of different components. I also added more detail such as the cut outs on the wrap around piece that will create falcon shaped holes for the light to project out of that will tie my design more with my inspiration, and added little falcon emblems on the sides. I also adjusted my design to include feet pieces for stability.

I printed out this illustrator template and everything went smoothly in constructing the pieces together, so I had my final design! It turned out better than I had imagined it would have and I was really proud I didn't need to re print any pieces that didn't fit together properly. 

Here is the first set of photos of my final lamp design that shows the main features. The lamp is exactly to scale.

Below is my lamp in use. The light is fed through the centre tube and points upwards and outwards. The falcon inspired holes cut out of the ring don't just look cool with the lamp on, but once on, project the light in an interesting and unique way onto the surroundings.

The lamp here is sat on the ground, as a sutable desk was not available to me at the time. However the lamp is designed to be used on a desk to light up 1/3rd of a room for reading and studying.

Lastly, here's my lamp compared to my original inspiration from the given mood board, my mood board, and the falcon. I think I was able to still connect my design to all my inspiration whist developing the design into something unique.

Reflection:

I think this project, compared to the last, was far more stress free and enjoyable. I had no issues with getting my lamp fabricated in time and the laser cutting was generally more straight forward and familiar than the 3D printing. I felt like I was able to create a more refined and well created design product especially with the cut outs for the light to shine through which was a great touch. This also goes for my process which I thought was more clear and purposeful than in my last project and I was able to gather useful feedback from Clara and implement it into my project to enhance it to the next level. I think I encapsulated my inspiration pretty well. In future I would love to have more time to even further refine my design and add complexity as I think there is so much more to the world of laser cutting to explore.