FOG OF DAWN
Fog of Dawn is designed upon a natural view before/during/after sunrise in Long Island, NY, USA, the colors of which are represented through lighting design.
PROJECT INTRO
OVERVIEW
Fog of Dawn is a wall light designed in simplism to maximize the lighting effect inspired by a natural view captured in person. To present the documented view before/during/after the sunrise, Fog of Dawn offers three color options accordingly and can work as a series of products in living rooms.
MY ROLE: INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
Lighting design, CAD modeling, rendering, hands-on prototyping, 3D printing.
DESIGN TOOL
Solidworks, Keyshot, Photoshop.
TEAM
Individual project.
PROJECT DURATION
Mar 2019 - May 2019, 7 weeks
LOCATION
Brooklyn, NY, USA.
KEY TASK
To present natural view in lighting design by wall light in either living room or washroom. Easy mass production. Low cost for factories and makers. Moderate marketing price.
DESIGN PRINCIPLE
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Wall light
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Effect based on the view
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Low material cost
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Aims to mass produce
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Aesthetics
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User friendly
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Easy operability
PROJECT GOAL
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Presentation on the view
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Simplism to maximize lighting effect
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Aesthetics to enhance retention
GUIDING QUESTION
How to present and enhance lighting effect through a simple fixture?
KEY WORD
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Wall light
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Natural view
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Low material cost
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Aims to mass produce
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Aesthetics
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User friendly
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Easy operability
NATURAL VIEW
ANALYSIS
Subsided
Rise
Hope
Quiet
Solid
Reddish clouds above followed by orange sunlight in the middle, and underneath is the blue ocean appearing in purple, a mix of orange and blue.
IDEATION
A simple fixture is able to emphasize its lighting effects. So the less complex the fixture is, the stronger viewers feel when looking at effects. I thought of simple fixtures with specific screens to or filled water and sand to depict the natural view. But it could be simpler, so I removed the screen painted upon the view and any objects, and chose lights as the only material.
Among basic shapes of circle, box, and triangle, I picked a reserved perfect triangle with its upward side to present the width of sky and downward corner to present the depth of ocean. Thus, orange and blue LED light strips are considered for top and bottom.
DESIGN
Based on my decision, I started designing right away in Solidworks, thinking of components and layers. Then I rendered it with lighting effects to see what it would look like and if it needed further adjustments.
PROTOTYPING
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Solidworks
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Keyshot
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3D printing
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Assembling
PLA for the fixture and two layers of glossy paper to dissolve intensity of lights so it will not hurt eyes. The back is shield is designed for a sticky wall hook to successfully stable Fog of Dawn on the wall while testing. Ideally, there should be not be any wires exposed on the back. Fog of Dawn is supposed to be a wall light with wall switch and wires hidden in the wall.
FINAL OUTCOME
Before sunrise it's all blue.
After sunrise it's all orange.
NEXT STEP
WHAT COULD'VE BEEN DONE BETTER
WHAT'RE EXPECTED TO LEARN NEXT
Representation of the natural view. During the sunrise, the colors should be blue and red on the top, orange and bright yellow in the middle, and blue and purple on the bottom. But I didn't get it as specific as possible. Partially it's because of the limited space in the fixture. So if the fixture was made larger, effects would've been different.
Safety. Although the fixture shapes in triangle on purpose, triangle itself is a dangerous shape by its sharp edges and corners potential to hurt users. They should've been filleted more.
My work ended in making out the prototype. Ideally FOG OF DAWN is a wall light without wires and switch hanging underneath. To install a wall switch and wires hidden inside the wall is an unknown zone of knowledge to me. If I had such experience working with electricians and technicians, I'd gain more experience to work with other parties and collaborate to solve problems in complex conditions.