Loon
Project Attributes
Brightens Dark Corners
Customizable
Honest Material Choices
Minimalist
The Process
THE PROJECT & MY ROLE
Anony, a modern lighting company based in Toronto Ontario, wanted a lighting design that was modular and solved a small space lighting problem.
RESEARCH
Through research on common lighting problems that occur in small spaces, we discovered that small spaces often have dark corners. We decided to design a lighting fixture that could open up these corners.
Some background research was conducted on Anony to learn about their company and how to design for them. Through this research, we found that Anony makes minimalist designs using geometric shapes. Anony keeps their designs simple enough that customers can customize them themselves. We also found that Anony uses solid clean colours and materials to help their products look more refined and environmentally friendly.
IDEATION
Through a collaborative process involving ideation sketches, quick CAD models, and close communication with the client, we developed a floor lamp with a unique twist: interchangeable arms that could rotate, offering users the freedom to customize the positioning of light according to their specific space requirements.
REFINEMENT
The design was refined in SolidWorks, with scaled prototypes, and with a full-scale prototype. The scaled prototypes let us try different arrangement options to determine which looked best. The scaled prototype shown here was made by one of my two partners for this project. When we prototyped the light and tipped it ten degrees, it fell over. Therefore it did not pass the tip test (a safety test for floor lamps) and we had to make the base wider.
PROTOTYPING
Once the design was finalized, I purchased MDF, spray paint, Shellac, PCV pipe, and conduit, and found someone who worked at Humber College who offered to 3D print the spheres. Then, I made the base of the lamp from the MDF, sanded it, picked up the 3D prints and sanded them, handed over the conduit tubing to one of my partners to bend, and gave all the other parts I made to that same partner to paint. This partner also did the electrical for the light since he was more familiar with electrical.
DESIGN BENEFITS
By allowing users to choose the most effective light placement, the Loon floor lamp effectively transformed dim and overlooked corners into well-lit and inviting spaces, while also helping customers develop a stronger connection to their decor.
TAKEAWAYS
This was the first large functional prototype I built. While building the prototype, I learned how to work with MDF, some basic electrical skills, and different ways to finish ABS 3D prints.
​​​Please note that this project was completed as a group of three. I have only shown my work for the project here, with the exception of the scale mockups and part of the final prototype (as detailed above).
