Alexandra Simon

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Alexandra Simon

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IDEA 170 - Project 2

Paper Lampshade

Pushing the properties of paper to create a container for light, using precision cuts and machinery

Project task: design a lampshade cover for a lightbulb using only 1 type of paper, and glue. The shade must to rest on 3 L-brackets affixed to a wall. A small bulb protrudes out of the wall, providing the light for the lampshade.


Design goal: create something beautiful and whimsical while still operating as a functional shade

Process and Procedure

The first steps I took to design this piece was to take all of its necessary measurements. The two measurements I was most concerned about were the lampshades height and width. I wanted the light to be strongest at the widest part of the lamp, so I measured the distance between the two parallel L brackets and made that the diameter of my largest segment. Then, I simply decreased and increased that measurement above and below to create the shape of a hot air balloon. The next few measurements were a bit tricker. The balloon is composed of 5 laser cut strips of paper. I had to figure out how long each segment of the paper would be to make the ballooning shape. This involved some trigonometric functions to measure angles and their relations.

Modeling

Once the math was done and I had drawn out what the piece of paper would look like in 2D, I transferred those measurements to the digital modeling platform SolidWorks. From there I created an Adobe Illustrator drawing and using color mapping I was able to assign different segments to either be cut or perforated to help with the assembly of the piece.

Assembly

The assembly process was very easy. I simply folded the lines I had perforated and attached each paper piece with glue. The shape came together very nicely and was relatively sturdy.

Iteration and Aesthetics

While the measurement of the widest part of the balloon was quite perfect and sat nicely on the L brackets, it could not hold itself to the wall without some sort of hook. The weight was too heavy towards the front and it would lean forward off of the brackets. I first designed a simple hook that held the piece to the top L bracket, but this did not fit the aesthetic of the design. A hot air balloon is almost like magic, a wonder how it floats effortlessly in the sky. So I rethought the hooks and placed two internal ones on the sides of the piece that would wrap around the L bracket, barely visible when the light is on and completely invisible when turned off.

To make it appear more like a hot air balloon, I affixed a woven paper basket onto the bottom of the piece. This was constructed out of 6″ and 4″ laser cut paper pieces, and though not very noticeable from far away, close up the woven effect is really compelling in making this lampshade appear more as a hot air balloon.

Final Touches

Once I was sure the technical elements of the lampshade were done, I printed out another layer of paper to affix over the base structure to create a design. The paper I used was very thin and so by layering it I was able to create different thicknesses which translated to different shades when the light was turned on. I made the pattern using hexagons and squares, attempting to maintain a somewhat realistic design as to how hot air balloons actually look.

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