Light Engines
11.11.20
The light that I currently have is from Ikea and it seems to be a good hue. The first one I tried out was very white and was a little unsettling. This one, however, is yellow light which I think is more pleasing. The thing I am worried about is the heat. I left it on for a bit of time when I was playing around with it and it did get a little hot. This makes me concerned for the rest of the project, so I might have to try out other bulbs.
The two things that stood out to me when I was playing with the paper and light were shadows and distribution of light. For shadows I tried was crumpling up the paper and putting it on the light. To my surprise, it didn’t do much other than create a texture on the outside. I expected it to create an uneven cast onto the wall, but it just muffled the light. I then realized that shadow is something that I am going to have to work around. I tried different folds close to the light and no strange shadows were cast. The only time there was a shadow was when I moved the paper back away from the lamp.
I then played with focusing the light (bottom left image). I wrapped a piece of paper and created a funnel for the light to travel out of. This seems like it would be good for the reading in bed group, but I think for my topic I should stick with trying to spread the light since I’m lighting a room rather than lighting one action. There was also a distribution within the paper itself. When the light was right on the sheet (just as a normal 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper) the whole page lit up. When I went to a summer program, we stayed in dorms and the lighting has always stuck with me. Because a lot of dorms don’t have downlights this school projected a light onto a white canvas on the ceiling. This lite up the entire space. Shadows and distribution of light seem like focuses for this project. Im a little nervous for you to distribute light far enough to light a living room while also having it covered by paper. I think these two properties of light are going to help the final outcome, but make the process a little more difficult.
11.12.20-Thoughts on Space
For the project, my space is lighting a living room while people are hanging out. I think the biggest thing that I have to keep in mind in that situation is that my lighting should work well enough to go unnoticed. When you’re hanging out with friends, I think the last thing you should worry about are the problems of the lighting, it should be focused on the conversations and connections. So, I should keep in mind the flexibility in the phrase “hanging out with friends.” There is no specification of “hanging out with friends and all of you being in a circle” or “hanging out in a smallish room.” Because of this, I don’t know how far or how wide I need the light to be able to extend. I don’t want some people to feel like they are being overwhelmed by darkness and others to feel blinded. I want to create a shared experience between the different people in the space.
I also wonder about a center light vs. a side light vs. a hanging light on the side. I think I’m going to have to do some investigating in my own home to see the benefits and trade offs that different placements have.
Class Reflection 11.12.20
After looking at everyone’s experiments and studies, I realized that when Stacie and Steve said “there are people who don’t play” I think I fit into that category. Going into the weekend, I want to experiment more with my sketch models, and also try a broader range of ideas to start with.
Experimentation — Weekend
Going into the experimentation, I tried to let the inner child curiosity lead a bit more. The first thing I did (which wasn’t really child curiosity based) was look at the different paper types.
Next, I had a little bit of fun with water and paper. I flicked a bit of water and then dried it with a hair dryer.I tried different patters with water and how it would channel light. The pattered splashes worked really well, but when I got the whole sheet wet and dried it with the hair dryer, it didn’t really change its shape. I crumpled it a bit so that when it dried it would have creases, but when I just dried it, it didn’t really change.
I then started to experiment with different shapes. I started with a basic cone, and then a cylindrical shape. I also started to experiment with suspending the shades. For the cylindrical engine, I used a hat like shape that stuck to the inside of the lamp to fasten the shade to the bulb. I really disliked the look of this and though it was way to dark and had too much contrast.
Sketch Models — 11.17.20
Going into sketch models, I felt like I had no idea where I should start. I decided to approach it with the same attempt of curiosity as the experimental phase. The first thing I did was make a rough sketch of things I wanted to include, and semantic differentials list. For the semantic differentials list, I discovered that I am making a more comfortable space for a small group of close friends. This space has moments that are very loud, but is also capable to have quieter moments. For the sketches I ket it very very vague. I didn’t want to commit to one or two light fixtures, so I committee two three different shapes to explore. The first was tall and skinny, the second was centered and shorter, and the third was off center and shorter. This process didn’t really tie me down to a specific idea, which allowed me to experiment and consistently keep workshopping.
The first light I started with was the tall and skinny lamp. I feel like this would be a good size and shape for going in the corner of a living room or next to the couch. I chose to use the card-stock paper because it is warmer and creates a more comforting hue. The design mainly kept on building on itself. I started by taping two pieces of paper together, then just kept adding more. I like the shape and the size of this, however I think the lamp looks a lot better when it is on than off. This is something to keep in mind moving forward. I also used translucent “wire” to suspend the shade to the bulb which worked very well.
The next one I did was the shorter wider lamp that was on center. For this one I had tried so many different things by just cutting up paper or creating different shapes and trying to tape them together. I then thought about the process of cutting two different sheets and matching them together, and played around with that. I came up with this almost bursting star lamp. What I like about this lamp, that I might want to keep as “criteria” moving forward, is how there are many interactions and views that work with this. Because of this, the relationship to the lamp consistently evolves and transforms.
For the final size, short but off center, I took inspiration from my bed. The “headboard” of my bed is kind of like a sheet draping over the bed, however it is made out of plaster and stucco. Because of this, it plays with the light in a very intricate way. The light almost seamlessly drops down and creates a well lit headboard. This then brightens up the entire room since this white wall is evenly lit. I kep this in mind when doing the final sketch model. I wanted to create something that has this curve, and something that was very gestural. It looks like one paint stroke or a very minimalist hat, and I really like that look. However, it is still not a perfect curve and is a little wonky. The paper that I used was the thicker Bristol paper. This paper is extremely thick and is not very translucent. Because of this, It seemed like the best option to have a curved yet solid lamp that would solely reflect the light.
11.18.20-Sketch Models 2
The first thing I did after last class was come up with a list of the criteria that I wanted, and the questions I wanted to find answers to. After brainstorming I came up with:
Questions
- How can I increase scale?
- How can I create movement through simple gestures?
- What factors affect the projection of light? How can I bend light on curves, or stop the travel of light?
- How can I distill and simplify the composition?
Criteria:
- Has motion and gesture
- Has a presence, but is not too focal to detract from the conversations in the room
- Gives off warm light (makes the space cozy)
- Not a centerpiece, exists on the side of a couch (creates asymmetry in the room)
- Engaging and simple
- Hanging (most likely)
I was then a little stuck with where to start, so I decided to focus on the room itself for a bit. While I was taking in the living room space, I remebered that whenever I would have friends over and we would watch a movie, I would always love to put on only one light next to the couch. It was always more cozy this way. I then decided to set up the lights in that area.
Before starting in with the new sketch models, I wanted to see how the old sketch models looked in this space. I found that the scale was wrong for all of them except the single sheet light. The long light and the shorter one seemed very secondary and too small.
After this, I started with a few sketches, all very vague. On the left are
The first model I did was the one that deviated from the sketches, and was an experiment in a different style. This is just two pieces of paper that were both cut out from a circle tracing. It was extremely difficult to work with the cut out circle since the it from a large roll of paper and the paper kept curling. I then cut it into a few parts, took two and created the outer and inner parts. Out of the one’s I have made, I think this is my least favorite at the moment. I like the scale, size, and thin-ness, but the movement, for me at least, is too obvious.
I then did this apple slice cut out lamp that I thought I hated, but ended up really liking it. It is a bit to thick from one side to the other (about 11") but I think the overall shape and angle could work really well. It’s sort of a play on a desk lamp since it has a similar shape yet is a lot bigger.
The final one I did was the two sheet lamp. I used this water color paper, and I realized that this paper is not strong enough for the lamp. I think I should have a sheet thats a little bit stronger, not too thick but just a bit thicker. I think that this idea is very elegant and gestural which is one of my criteria.
11.24.20 — Peer Reviews
For the peer reviews, I decided to put three different explorations on the miro board. One of the biggest things that I am having trouble with at the moment is narrowing down options. I feel like there are so many routes I could focus on, and I want to explore them all. However this is not productive because I tend to do three ideas not developed instead of one developed. So, I included my main design which is the waves (depicted below), and also two other options along side those.
For the waves light, I mainly tried to make the motion a lot smoother than I first had it. This entailed shifting the center of the bulb and experimenting with different paper, so that I could have structure and fluidity at the same time. I put
The other two were lights that I had to try before moving on. There was the lily pad and also the stacked squares (both shown below). I really liked the lily pad one, which was just a circle folded into a wedge shape, but it is too simple. The stacked squares was a little awkward in the space.
11.24.20 — Peer Review Responses
“I have been having a hard time narrowing down lamp to focus on, so I’m glad they said the top row worked the best. I agree with everything they said. They especially made some great points about exaggerating the form a bit more which I think work work really well. It is more of a subtle curve right now which is not as impactful as it could be. I agree with the fact that it looks more 2d rather than being 3d, I think this ties in with trying to exaggerate the curve more and make it more dynamic. Also coming up with a better way of covering the bulb would help to give it more dimension.”
11.1.20 — Refinement
This part of the process was mainly responding to the comments made in the peer reviews. I first started with this idea of making the curves more exaggerated by giving it more structure. I find that when something is very straight and structured, one curve can make that exaggerated. This ended up not working. I lost a lot of what I liked about my light: the fluidity and movement. Also, the way I chose to cover the light was so different to the overall form that it made it feel out of place.
I then became pretty stuck on how I should exaggerate the form and create a more gestural light, so I turned to some graphic inspiration from Rene Gruau. He was a fashion illustrator who commanded the use of gesture in his work. he would use two lines or one brush stroke and it would make a simple, impactful image. These were things that I wanted in my own light. I then noticed how all of his pieces have a lager gesture, surrounded by one or two more. This helped me realize that the wave light I had done before had two gestures that were competing with each other for superiority. This created a level of uneasy-ness in the viewer which is the exact opposite of what I want in the space.
I took this inspiration and I changed the light so that the top wave spanned out more and curved across the couch. This made the proportions more exaggerated but also more comfortable. I then put a smaller piece for the secondary gesture. To cover up the bulb, I draped a third thin piece of paper over the light. I created curved folds in the paper which helped it to be flushed to the top of the light. I definitely want to refine this a bit further to make it more seamless.
In terms of the context, I like how the light hangs over the couch in a very comforting way. Its almost watching over the conversations happening and creating a cozy-er space. In the peer review, they made a note about moving the light out of the corner. I might move it to the other side of the couch, because there isn’t the opening to the rest of the house on that side. However, I don’t want to put it in the center of the room. It works with the couch really nicely and I feel like having a central light in a “chill” family room space makes it less cozy. I associate those lights with dining rooms, sometimes kitchens, but not as much for lounging areas.
12.3.20 — Final Review
For the final review, I mainly changed the things that were brought up in class and in the office hours session. These were: covering the lightbulb better, incorporating the end of the light before the light bulb(I’m blanking on what that’s called) into the light itself, and exploring what could be.
For the covering of the bulb, I went through a few ideas where I was folding paper or trying to connect a “shield” to the smaller curve covering the bulb. But, all of these weren’t really working out. I then decided to take tracing paper, make a cylinder shape and put that between the cover and the lightbulb. This lessened the light coming from the bulb so it was no where near as blinding, but it still maintained the open and simplistic look I wanted.
When incorporating the lightbulb holder, I tried out a few opening placements that would allow me to maintain a similar tilt and balance, but could fit the entire. This was a more tedious process, and I ended up going through about five top parts of the light. This, however, allowed me to slowly refine more and more as I worked, to get the right angle.
What I really like about this light is the fact that it bookends a couch really nicely. A couch is so boxy and just plops there, but this light molds to it nicely. The main reason why I chose this route for my light because the gesture and the flow of the object seem to set the tone for the entire space. It has calm curves which set a calm environment, and allows the dynamics around it to function without attracting too much attention. I also like how this lamp is only a few gestures. I think for me, when something is most impactful, it dose a few things, larger, with more dynamic gestures. I think though that this is something that not a lot of other people believe. What makes me nervous about this design is how a lot of people find beauty or worth in something that shows a lot of technique and intricacies (I think there is technique in this its just more applied). This makes me think is this just my preference and am I not relating to those around me/what people want.
Overall, I really enjoyed this project. I loved making the sketch models and working with this final version in the end. I found that there was a lot more freedom for this which made it a little difficult at first, but was ultimately very helpful. Also, I loved working at this scale. A lot of my projects in the past have been kept to a small scale (hand held objects). I The only thing that makes me kinda sad about the project is that I had some really interesting sketch models, and I would have liked to developed them, but I know that if I had, it would have taken time away from refinement of one idea. I think this was a great project and I’m really happy with the process and how it turned out!
