Portfolio

Design Brief:

Complete the training and training challenges

Design and prototype a lamp for a friend or family member

Document the process using the template

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Target User:

Name: Jose Nogueira

Age: 18

Relationship to user: Partner

Occupation: Retail Assistant

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Design Statement:

After the interview, I have learned that my client is interested in a quite modern, unique design that also gives a sense of luxury. He also wants the design to be environmentally friendly so recyclable materials would definitely be used to create the product. However, there are some difficulties I have encountered after contemplating ideas for the lamp.

One problem is that the client wants to use the lamp for both reading and sleeping purpose, which means the light has to be bright enough for him to read but at the same time not too bright so that his sleeping pattern is not disturbed. Having given this issue some thoughts, I think it would be best to use a dimmable bulb so that he could adjust the light however he wants to. Also, for the choice of light bulb, I have decided to avoid using LED because while doing my research, I have found some medical resources confirming the blue light from LED can cause damage to users’ eyes as well as disturb their sleeping patterns.

 Another problem is the layout of the design space. The room is pretty much cramped, and the gray shade of the curtains together with the white furniture give off a dull feeling, making the room almost look like part of a grayscale. Hence, I struggled quite a lot to find a hue that would both light up the room and perfectly balance with the décor, to the extent that the room can be complimented as the target user required. Fortunately, there is also the light color of the wooden shelf bringing an organic sense to the space and to highlight this feature, I have decided my color palette should be including cool, calming, nature-related shades like blue or green. One of these two colors will be used for the lamp base so that it would directly match with the color of the wooden shelf. An additional effect I hope to achieve by using cool colors for the lamp is that cool hues usually make the space seem larger due to the fact that they are not overwhelming and tend to recede in space. This way, the lamp would help client’s room look more spacious even with the furniture. As regards the lampshade, I will use a buttermilk yellow so that it can harmonize with the light when client turns on the lamp. Ideally, I expect this to bring about a golden, shiny lighting, which will give the design somewhat a feeling of luxury.

One other factor to think about is that what would make my design unique for the target user. From what I have understood about the client, he has a rather mature, subtle, and elegant taste as he shows no interest in changing colors light but instead wants something just decorative enough to compliment the current style of his room, which is simply filled with mostly gray and white. He prefers the design to be unique, eco-friendly but also wants it give off a sense of luxury. Combining client’s desires and my findings, I have chosen to make a lamp bottle with a used glass bottle for the base, which would answer the environmentally friendly requirement and I will make some gaps on the lampshade to create a spider-web effect with the light’s shadow on the wall, which is expected to be a subtle way of decoration for the room and bring about a luxurious feeling.

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Visualization Prototype:

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