For this final project, I planned to create a lamp of the concept: Chaos to Harmony. I specifically chose this concept because this is what I got from my research about the urban parks. Urban parks are tiny, surrounded by skyscrapers and traffic noises. However, they still provide the tranquility which is necessary for the people who live in the modern cities. They are like manmade “harmony” exist within the “chaos”, which is where I came up with the concept of the lamp. Here is a planning sketch about my final project:
It also relates to my previous project, the 3d system of urban parks. I chose to use the same material — foam board because I think this material is really clean and neat, which is able to conduct the modern and minimalist style of my work. I used only two colors, white and green in this previous project as well, to emphasize the theme that I’m focused on. I also think it is a better way to help the viewers understand my concept without much of explanations. It is almost like a related but updated version of my 3d system project:
I specifically used black, white and the geometric shape of the lamp to represent the city. The beautify city with amazing buildings, cutting edge technologies and beautiful views yet crowded and noisy. The black artist tape represents the chaotic environment of the city. Despite the beautiful outline of Manhattan, the city is still packed with people, traffic, trash and rats. The light bulb in the center represents the urban park, glowing and healing even if it is surrounded by the city. It gives people a feeling of chaos if the light bulb is turned off. Yet the feeling can change completely as you turn on the light, it glows so soft and provides people a sense of peace and tranquility just like those urban parks do.
During my photo shooting, I also realized an interesting detail. I specifically chose the whole Manhattan view as background, and it is interesting that when I turn the light on, Manhattan is hard to show in my photos. It’s like the light bulb is attracting the focus, and help people to temporarily forget about the city.
One of the shortboards that I realized about my final project is that it cannot be on for too long or else it might overheat. I did not think about the problem that the light bulb can be this hot. This is a great lesson for me because, in future assignments and designs, it is really important to think about the material. It is an important job for designers to chose the safest, most sustainable yet best-looking material in order to create successful designs. I truly learned a lot during the process of researching, brainstorming, sketching and actually making this project. I also had a lot of fun with it, and I think it turned out to be the way I wanted. I’m really content with this project.
- Here is the diagram of my project and things that I can relate to during the process of my project. I used watercolor and micron pen for this diagram.
