Upcycled Utility - Rationale

The overall design of my light went through many different stages within the design process. It saw the alteration and experimentation with different techniques, shapes, patterns, sizes etc but from the beginning, I knew that no matter what I changed, I wanted it to be based around the concept of using a singular uncut piece of material. I wanted to keep it simple, clean and elegant. Eventually I decided to use an origami-style folding pleat pattern that evokes powerful shadows when it is lit up (as my experimentation showed).

My final shape came simply from the natural form and result of the material being manipulated in the way that it was. It was all about 'evoking the essence of the material' and for me, that came through in a few different aspects. First of all was the fact that only one side of the material has printing on it, meaning that if the white side is used for the outer surface, it becomes a beautiful feature piece when not lit up, but as soon as the light is switched on, the colourful pattern on the other side shines through and brings what was previously lifeless, to life.

Secondly, the fact that this material has paper-esque properties, I used a folding technique that is familiarly associated with paper. The result of this is a very crisp and interesting pattern that seems to be aggressive (with all the V shaped ridges) but overall is very smooth and elegant. The bustier-like shape is the result of the pleats being tighter towards the middle part of the shade and the outer edges being much looser. I also feel that this shape focuses the attention directly to the light source, which is located in the narrowest part of the light. To compliment all of these features, this particular folding technique allows the entire shade to compressed to a 4cm thick strip which helped me greatly during the flat-pack process.

The assembly of the light is extremely quick and easy. It is an 8 step process that can be completed and working within 5 minutes. The globe is also very easy to replace, simply by reaching underneath the shade. The dimensions of the shade are quite awkward in relation to the sheet of material we were given so the wastage is about 20%, nevertheless it could always be resized to have 0% wastage.

This light is aimed towards a sophisticated market that would search for a minimalistic product that still manages grab the attention of viewers and attract them. Its ability to be flat packed and made from a small and diverse amount of components means that it is open for many alterations and improvements. If it were to be mass produced, the folded pleat pattern could be vacuum formed, rather than hand folded, in which case making mass manufacture an option that is definitely possible.