Before I could construct my prototype, I first sketched ideas that explored how to manipulate the lamp shade’s form to achieve my goal of modified control. I settled on a flower design inspired by the tulip as their petals open and close around the pistil in response to changes in light and temperature. However, I added a vector pattern of constellations to the petals so light could seep out from the shade without harming a person’s eyes—creating visual intrigue within the shade’s specific design while maintaining its purpose. Additionally, I chose metal as my prototype material because of how striking light appears when it interacts with a polished silvery surface. Once I formatted my design in Fusion 360 to account for the local waterjet’s cutting window, I used metal shop tools to bend and roll individual parts so they could fit how I envisioned.
Lamp Shade Ver. 1
While the first set of waterjet cuts did coalesce into a lamp shade, I did observe several problems that I would need to solve before my prototype could be effective. For instance, the slots I created in the lamp’s base were not large enough to tightly contain the petals, causing them to fall out if moved too quickly. I found another issue in the base’s design: once I placed my bulb and its attached cord in the corresponding hole, I noticed that the base piece was too short to support the bulb and prevent it from leaning due to the cord’s placement. The last major issue was that the three petals I originally planned for didn’t cover the light entirely, so I would need to create more petals for my idea to take effect. After modifying my CAD design to incorporate these edits and repeating the earlier steps of cutting and metal bending, the final iteration of my metal lamp shade was able to cover the bulb in its entirety. The top of base’s tolerance was modified to support the bulb while its legs were proportioned such that the accompanying wire no longer caused unwelcome movement. Additionally, the new system of slots on the base’s top surface fit each of the six petals, allowing them to move when prompted by the user. This feature, in turn, would invite a user to interact with the lamp shade and see its value independent of the light it supported—especially when combined with the lamp shade’s polished appearance and novel design.
Lamp Shade
Finding the potential for beauty in commonplace objects is an important skill for industrial designers to develop. For example, while a lamp shade is considered a decorative element, it is most often noticed when it is not fulfilling its purpose of diffusing light. As such, to innovate the lamp shade’s routine design, I fabricated a metal desk light whose shade could be modified for different conditions.