Lighting Engines

To start off this project, we observed different lighting systems on campus, noted down why each light was interesting to us.

1. Interesting contrast between yellow and white light, 2. Interesting use of bar of light to light the distance between the upstairs floor and the bottom floor in the UC, 3. This light in MM was interesting to see how the light created a reflection on the white panel above.

1. Interesting use of panels to focus the light in certain places. 2. The lighting is consistent across this entire courtyard area, really warm. 3. Interesting use of both lamps and ceiling lights in Entropy.

Discussion about Lights

The Purpose of Lights

• Task Lighting-lighting meant for work (in studio, in a surgery room)
• Navigation Lighting- lighting meant to guide people (in tunnels, on paths)
• Ambient Lighting- lighting meant to create a mood (in restaurants, in stores)

Types of Lights

• Harsh/soft- deals with brightness and color
• Bright-how many photons are actually being emitted
• Direct/Indirect- whether the lights hits you directly, or if it bounces off of other walls/ceilings
• Intermittent- single beam of light
• Ambient- more dim, and yellow, more warm
• Reflective- the way in which the light hits our eyes and reflects off of other surfaces
• Distributive- when you put a material over the light that helps spread out the light
• Warm/cool- the color of the light, yellow means more warm, more intimate and homey, white means more cool, more modern and harsh

Playing with the Light

Comparing Different Materials

Newsprint

The way the light is diffused creates a warm, reddish glow. The layered newsprint is obvious through the light, so make sure that when you layer it is intentional. The paper is straight, no texture has been added

When you crumple the newsprint the warm glow isn’t as apparent anymore

Tissue Paper

The crumpled tissue has a similar effect to the crumpled newsprint. However, the color of the light that is diffused greatly changes. The newsprint brings about a more red color, while the tissue has a warmer, yellow tone.

Tracing Paper

The wax paper made a nice white light when it diffused the lights. The folds in the paper were interesting in the way that they created the shadows. The light shape also shone through the paper.

Somehow, when I used the tracing paper without the folds, The light shone through less. The same thing happened with the tracing paper, where you could see the overlap of the paper on itself.

Bristol Paper

The light was not able to make it through the bristol paper very well. In addition, it was interesting that the hue that was created was a reddish/pink glow.

Printer Paper

The printer paper creates a warm hue as well. It allows the light to shine through quite well, as the paper itself is not that thick. I also messed with some cutouts with this shade, some completely cut out and others only sliced on the top and bottom

Messing with a Cut Up Sheet of Newsprint

With this single sheet of newsprint, I made a cut out fan-like shade that I placed on the light in several different ways. It was interesting to see how the same sheet of paper could be used in a variety of fashions.

Stacked upwards, the shade itself was tilting, so I need to be conscious to make sure that the shade itself is balanced.

This method was not very efficient as a shade, but it created a cool effect on the actual newsprint itself. So for the next set with this newsprint, I made a hole where it could fit in.

This created a very interesting effect throughout, but the light doesn’t extend to all ends of the paper, so I need to make sure that the shade itself is a good size for the size light that we are given.

My Topic-A Navigation Light

When I got my topic, I was a little confused about what this meant. My initial instinct was to make a light that functioned somewhat like a lantern, but when I asked Stacie, she said that the light must be stationary since it needs to be plugged in somewhere.

Then I was confused about the “path.” Usually paths are very long, and if we were to make one light that is meant to light a long path, I thought maybe the light would be made better if I was to use multiple light bulbs. Also there are a variety of paths that exist in the world, so how was I supposed to narrow down on one path to focus on? Was my path inside or outside? Was I trying to light up a hiking trail, or was I trying to light up the hallway of some room? I was not sure how specifically we were supposed to narrow down on the concept of our project, so I decided it would be good to set up a meeting with either Stacie or Steve to discuss the prompt of the project.

My Questions

1. Are we only allowed to use one light bulb?
2. Navigating a path is very general. Should this path be inside or outside? One light also isn’t enough to light up a general path? Should I pick a specific path that needs to be lit up or is this more general?
3. I am having a hard time narrow in on a single concept and just any more direction with this specific concept would be helpful.

After talking to Steve, I was able to calm down a little bit about the prompt. I was heading in the wrong direction with my attempt to figure out some specific problem that I need to solve. It is more about a path in general, providing some direction, rather than choosing a specific path that I needed to “solve a problem for.” In addition, I had the wrong conception of the prompt term “a one-off.” I thought that indicated that the light cannot be made again, because often when I think about navigation lights along a path, there are multiple versions of the same light. But Steve clarified to me that the term “one off” just meant that we don’t have to think about the manufacturing process of the lights.

So I decided to think about specific motions that occur when you walk down a path. This light should be about movement, whether it be mounted up on a wall, or placed near a path, or hung up above us.

The First Set of Prototypes

The Corner Light

For this light, I wanted to make a light that would fit into a corner of a wall, because that is typically a place that is not lit very well. However, I realized after making the light, that this wouldn’t fit into a wall because the wire would protrude into the wall, and therefore not allow it to fit snugly into the corner. So if I was to continue with this idea, I would need to change the way the light fit into the corner, with the wire coming from underneath. Also, I am unsure exactly how this light would help with navigation along a path, so I do not think I am going to stick with this idea.

The Path Light

This light is meant to go along the sides of a path outdoors, and the cutouts are meant to push an upwards and forwards movement. However, this idea really doesn’t work too well, and the shape is primitive and the cut outs are decorative. In addition, this paper light would not hold up well outside, so this idea likely will not work.

The Twisted Hanging Light

This light is meant to light a path along a diagonal. However, I think the form currently is just decorative and I do not think that it does a good job of bouncing and playing with the light. In addition, it just looks like parts rather than a whole model.

Rethinking After Feedback (on Tuesday)

With my previous set of prototypes, I was not really thinking about what I want to accomplish with each prototype. This led to many of my features being decorative and unhelpful in terms of using to form to direct movement. I think that my light needs to be brighter, and therefore I think that I need to get a bulb with a higher wattage.

In addition, I was considering making a ground light that would be meant to light a path outside, but now I am rethinking this. Putting a light made out of paper outside is not a good idea, and therefore this would not respect the material. I was thinking about how the light is more of a prototype and will be made out of something else in the future, but this is not the prompt. The final product should be made out of paper, so an outdoor light made of paper does not make much sense.

Therefore, I think that I need to experiment with making wall lights or hanging lights. Currently, I am more drawn to making a hanging light that slants downward, something that would do well on stairs.

The Second Set of Prototypes

With my second set of prototypes, I decided that I wanted to create a light shape that shows some sort of movement. So for my first light I created a hanging wall light.

The Stair Hanging Light

This light was one that went from high to low in its shape. This was my attempt to emulate the way that you move on stairs, but I do not think that this concept translated very well in actual execution. The shape itself was not very interesting, when looking at it face on, it was much more appealing to look at from the side, which would not make sense if it is a light you see when coming down the stairs. I also think this shape could work as a wall light in a corridor, but it does not make much sense in terms of emulating the movement that people make down a hallway.

The Gradient Light

The next way that I can show motion is through creating a gradient that goes from dark to light to indicate that you need to move in this direction. This light will likely be a wall light, and I want not only the gradient to indicate movement, but also the form of the light itself. Currently I have only tried one shape of wall light, which is half a cylinder. I want to experiment more with the forms of the light as well as the manner in which I create the gradient.

Method One-Folding the Paper tightly at one end and loosening the folds as I go

For this method, I am going to fold a piece of paper like a fan, and slowly increase the distance between the folds to change the way that the light reflects off of this surface.

Different Materials

Tracing Paper

This material was a bit too fragile, and I do not think that it has enough structure to bounce the light off in a visibly different manner. I need to try this same method with different types of paper.

Printer Paper

The printer paper was the best for this sconce method. It was strong enough to hold the folds upright, and the folds changed size in a clean way. I do not know, however, if the shifts in fold size are large enough to create the gradient that I was attempting to create.

Bristol Paper

I tried using this method with bristol paper, but the folds were not clean. Bristol paper is too thick to create a nice fold.

Method Two-Punching Holes

For this second method, I tried using a hole puncher to create further apart holes on one end and more concentrated holes on the other end. However, I really did not like how the holes looked in the paper. They were just too large and looked a little tacky.

Method 3- Slits

This method works pretty well. The shape also conveys movement. The increasing number of slits also does a good job of creating a gradient feeling.

Method 4 -Layering Paper

This method created a gradient from front to back, not from one side to the next. So while, I do think the form itself is pleasing, I do not think this light achieves what I want from it.

So for this critique, I chose to focus on the slit method.

The Critique

To hide the socket in the light above, I added in a base piece that completely covers the socket. It does not have the vertical slits integrated into it, so I think that for my next version, I want to try to integrate the socket part of my design more into the shape of the light itself.

For my critique, my reviewers said that my current paper model with the slits, looked like jail bars. They also said that the gradient that I was attempting to create with the increasing slits was not obvious enough, so I might try to recreate this with layering tracing paper. This will help create the gradient without creating bar like pieces. In addition, it will cover the bulb, which was originally visible through the slits of the paper.

I also think that the base right now is not supported enough

The Updated Model

With the next iteration, I implemented all the changes that I mentioned above, using tracing paper to create a gradient by layering the paper. With the paper that I had, I ended up having 7 layers of tracing paper. I also used a bristol paper frame to glue the tracing paper onto something, and provide it with enough support to attach to the foam core pieces.

I also changed the position of my light so that the socket does not stick out the bottom of the light fixture, rather just a small portion sticks out the bottom. This is so that the shape of my light is generally continuous, without a break for the piece covering the socket.

When I remake this model, I might try to use a better tracing paper, one that is slightly stronger in structure so that the paper does not fall as easily. In addition, it will make it easier to all the edges to be crisp. In the current model, there are some air bubbles in my tracing paper. I also need to figure out another adhesive that will be cleaner and easier to glue down. Also, I think I need to make the gradient itself more obvious. It looks clearer in person than it does in pictures. I also need to make sure that the foam core is the correct size for the size of my bristol frame.

The Final Version

I implemented all the changes that I discussed before and ended up with the final version. I changed my tracing paper to a thicker vellum paper. This paper was cleaner and reflected the light better.

Light when it’s Off

Light when it’s On

Details

In Context Shots

These pictures were taken in a hallway, which is the place I would want this light to be located. In addition, there would be multiple of these lights along this hallway, creating a wave like motion along the wall.

Reflection

This process was quite interesting, as I started off this project quite unsure about what I wanted to do with my light. However, overtime, I was able to narrow down what I wanted to achieve with my project, movement. So I was able to structure my whole project around the idea of capturing movement. In the process, I jumped between completing a wall light and a hanging light, and decided that in the end that a wall light would be better, since it would do well in most hallways, a common path that needs to be navigated.

This project really helped me figure out how to place constraints on myself in my process. Since we had so much freedom throughout this process, in terms of the material we could use and the bulb we wanted, that it was hard to narrow down on a single idea. Therefore the experimentation phase in this project was crucial, as it pushed us to understand our materials which was important when making a light.