Jellyfish Lamp)

What if a lamp could bend? What if its shape was not only important to the space it takes up in a home, but also the diffusion of light in a room?

I have lived in one condo my entire life, Well, until I moved out for college. But even then, I found myself moving into an apartment. 

It turns out I'm not alone. With a population increasing and a migration by young professionals to city centers for jobs and careers. The modern, early family is often found living in a smaller space. In New York, for example, 23.7% of the population lives in an apartment as of 2019 (Statista, 2022). That's odd to think about, a quarter of a state's population lives in place that may not even directly touch the ground.

Through my youth, I saw the importance of versatility in furniture and fixtures in these spaces. In the condo I grew up in, our kitchen table acted as place to work, play, and eat. Our lamp just happened to accommodate all those scenarios as well. Yet this was not its original intent. So I set out to design one. A lamp intended for small spaces and for too many purposes.

Our class, divided into teams, conducted desk market research and drew out a competitive analysis. We then wrote down what we thought were the most important criteria to any lamp fulfilling this need. This included:

• non-evasive mounting (under the assumption that most city dwellers are renters not owners)
• adaptable to different rooms
• aesthetically pleasing
• effective at dispersing light in a space

An opportunity statement Northstar, influenced by our design criteria, directed our efforts and questions. 

"Most families in smaller homes like a condo or an apartment end up using their dining room and table for work or study too. As a result, this shared space would benefit from a pendant light that is aesthetically pleasing for guests and dining use, but also accommodate for a productive environment."

We pushed into ideation with this statement, making how might we statements and what if questions to jog our conceptualizations of a solution. 

This process took roughly a week, but helped us understand the needs of the consumer, what currently existed, and laid the foundations for our problem definition. Photos of this work can be seen below.

Our professor split us up to pursue our own ways of solving the problem, armed with a plethora of different avenues to explore and ideas to dream on.

My original direction, which was arguably too ambitious for the timeline given, was to create controlled diffusion through a magnetically levitated lens. The use of an alternating electromagnetic pulse would suspend a large acrylic lens at a set distance until more, or less, light was needed to fill the room. Then, the electromagnet would increase, or decrease, its power to lift, or lower, the lens to a new desired height.

In retrospect, there were a few issues with this idea. First off, how much power would this thing suck? Actively working against gravity 24/7 365 days of the year, that's a lot of energy. Likewise, I question its ability to address the non-evasive mounting design criteria.

My professor advised me to look elsewhere, and so the concept of creating a morphing lamp was born from two ideation sketches.

The morphing feature was an interesting shift in solution, and invited a new consideration; tactility.

Pendant lamps are intended to illuminate a space from above. As a result, thought is placed in our visual impression of them with very little in how the object feels. Most of the time, the only tactile experience we get with any lamps, for that matter, is in the rare situation when we need to get up and pull that little chain. I wanted to create something playful. Something a new family could have fun messing around with to set the mood for dinner, or for working time.

So what if a lamp could bend? What if it was meant to be touched and moved? What if its shape was not only important to the space it takes up in a home, but also the diffusion of light in a room? What if you could bend it one way to get a more productive lighting, and another way to create a calming environment?

I took these questions and looked for answers in rough renders, some small prototypes, and more sketches.

From this rapid ideation and sketching phase, I went in the direction of the coiling tube solution, and began prototyping with some polyethylene tubing. Cutting it the same way as cord protectors, I was able to create the flexibility I was after. For some reason it also made it more intuitive to hold, each finger almost had a notch.

I also found myself starting to play around with different materials and their effects on the light that was being emitted as well as how they felt in your hand.

The prototyping phase taught me that the original wire I chose was not thick enough and as a result could not keep the arms up. However, before our school's open house, I frantically replaced the wire with an 18 gauge version of it and it was just the right amount. 

final thoughts and review

Heavily inspired by evolution and individuality, The Jellyfish Lamp reaches out to be toyed with and adapt to its environment. 

The arms which are made from polyethylene tubing cut in spirals, and reinforced by a steel wire, house COB LEDs. These tubes are then covered in an unbleached muslin "sleeve" that help give it a warmth, in both texture and appearance. This both invites people to touch it and creates a visual juxtaposition with the base and alienness of the arms. 

The base of the lamp which was 3D printed was designed using generative design to create a bone like structure that has asymmetry beckoning back to its individualistic theme. 

With more time I would have liked to have spent more time designing the base of the lamp to make it fit the design language a bit better. Likewise, the noninvasive installation is not clear, but on the underside of the lamp base are slots for Command strips. I would also like to experiment with different warmths of LEDs as well as creating one side of the sleeve dark for greater diffusion control.