Principles and practices

Week 01

My idea for my final project is to design, fabricate and code a lamp that reacts to the presence of the user and illuminates that area of the room/table where that user is.

First sketches and thoughts

(I love diagrams and simple drawings, I think they are the most efficient way to communicate with others without the restrictions of the language).

The lamp would be divided into four parts that would work independently from the others. So, for instance, if there are three people on the table, the lamp would only illuminate those three areas and the forth one would be dark. How would it work? The main idea is that a sensor reads the presence of the person (input) and send that information to a motor by an electronic board. Then, the motor fold and hide an opaque exterior layer allowing the light come up (output).
So at the end my project idea consists in designing and fabricating a product, so I think that it is also important to think and develop its packaging, as well as trying to create a design as integrated as possible

(Here it’s me just drawing, thinking and taking notes at the same time. I cannot think without a pencil in my hands!).

In this first sketches I try to imagine how the structure of the lamp could be and how the electronic elements could help me to move and fold the different areas of the lamp. For now, I think the lamp needs to have three parts, at least: we need a removable top piece, which allow us to have access to the interior of the lamp. Then, it would have a main body formed by two structures, one fixed, to hold the lamp, and another one movable, to allow the light come up, and then it would have a base in where we could place and hide all the electric/electronic elements.

(Well I think is a good start. We will see how the project evolves!!).

Inspiration

Wim Lanz
Georges Hanna
Kevin Cheng
Massimiliano d’Angelo