Designing a new lighting product for Fatboy

Designing a new lighting product for Fatboy: Fatboy O-deer: a new way to make atmospheric lighting flexible and tactile

Boerkamp, Ilonka (TU Delft Industrial Design Engineering)

Pont, Sylvia (mentor)
Brand, Dicky (mentor)

Delft University of Technology

Integrated Product Design

2018-04-05

The aim of this project was to design a new lighting product for the company Fatboy. In Figure 1 an abstract overview is shown of the project process, consisting of three main phases.

Fatboy is a Dutch design brand that provides accent furniture products which bring more (fun) to living. The company is especially known for its colourful and iconic bean bags. Besides these textile lounging products their relative younger lighting category especially distinguishes itself from other brands with portable and simplistic designed lamps. The products are playful and flexible in use, while iconic and simple in shape.

When looking at the future of the lighting market an important aspect is the shift in the functioning of light. For years the functioning and experience of light was mainly evaluated on its visual performance. Only recently researchers realized that light can accomplish a certain atmosphere and therefore affect people in their mood and emotions. Furthermore the development of LED technology creates new possibilities for this, by making light for instance smart and adjustable in colour. Besides the development in the connected lighting market, LEDs are also boosting the innovation in embedded lighting. The miniaturization of electrical components, results in LEDs the size of 1 mm2. This makes it possible to integrate light sources in flexible structures and architectural materials.

The future context of living was mainly defined by the population growth and urbanization trend. More people are moving towards big cities, which results in smaller living spaces. Furthermore the trend of small and compact living is also driven by the environmental awareness and mindful living. Experiences are becoming more important than the possession of physical objects. Furthermore the Danish hygge principle showed that there is a desire for experiencing more nostalgic and cosy moments of togetherness. Especially in a world where people are surrounded by technologies and distractions, there is the desire to enjoy the simple pleasures in life. For these reasons it was considered important for the new lighting product to be: flexible, sustainable, atmospheric and personal.

According to the Vision in Product (ViP) design method, a vision was created to form an inspiring basis for the conceptualisation phase. The statement was defined as: “I want to enable people to enjoy the simple pleasures (together) by creating a cosy atmosphere in a flexible way”. From this a few main product qualities were defined as: playful, affectionate, care-free and supportive.

With the vision as starting point ideas were generated, which resulted in various key ideas. From these ideas new insights were gained and a new focus was created. The flexibility in the use of the product is of great importance in this project. Therefore the concept should leave room for the personal interpretation of the user. The light experience is focussed on moments of cosiness and relaxation. Furthermore the interaction with the product especially should be playful and intuitive. Eventually it was decided to focus on ideas in which the combination of textile and light is the essence. The use of textile makes it possible to create flexibility in the lighting product, but the tactility of textile also refers to cosiness and comfort. Furthermore it creates a direct connection between the Fatboy product categories.

Further literature research was done on the integration of LEDs in textile (products). Different technological principles with supporting product examples were explored, that resulted in concept directions which were tested with material experiments. To maintain a low tech, simplistic and friendly experience of the product, which is important for the connection to the Fatboy design language, it was decided to integrate the LEDs underneath the textile. In this way the light experience becomes a surprising element in the design. The LEDs are connected to another textile material with the use of conductive yarn, which maintains the flexibility of the product. Furthermore it was decided to make use of a light pattern, which creates a natural, playful and cosy experience of light.

The essence of the idea is that the flexible lighting product shaped like a small slightly thicker blanket boosts the relaxing atmosphere at home. Due to its flexibility it is possible to bring the light close, even on soft unstable but comforting places like the couch or the bed. With the warm and soft light pattern an instant cosy atmosphere can be created. Furthermore with the looped rope makes it still possible to hang the product somewhere.

The final form of the product was inspired by the shape of an animal skin rug, which is playful but also refers to the cosy elements of the hygge principle. The product exists of a sleeve, an electronic inner part and some accessories like the rope. The embodiment of these parts were defined by their materials, measurements and manufacturing principles.

A working prototype was made and tested with participants on the qualities that were defined in the design vision. There was concluded that the product is validated on these different aspects. Some more qualitative insights were also gained from the making and testing of the product which resulted in recommendations for the further development of the product.

Lighting
Product design
Aesthetic Experience
E-textile
LED
Vision in Product Design

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:bf73dbd0-b437-4dd1-8565-987539ec36ac

Campus only

Student theses

master thesis

© 2018 Ilonka Boerkamp