INSPIRATION:
I was inspired by the LED and Acrylic artwork of Sharon Andrew, and the perfect mechanical form of a crane's neck. Sharon's work depicts light, and the materials we use to see light, in a unique way. I wanted to create a lamp that used these same materials, but did so in a simple and unassuming way. In researching the design, I relied on the principles of Bio-mimicry to lead my thinking. As I drew the design, what started as a very angular and harsh piece based on a natural form, began to more and more resemble the bird I had used for inspiration. Curves, and tangent angles created a form that had more of the "muscles in tension" look about it and added life and character to the piece.
http://www.truthinertia.com/Crane_lamp/Keyshot%20render_VR.9.html
UNIQUE PROPERTIES / PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
The Crane lamp celebrates the unique refractive qualities of ordinary Acrylic panel, while creating usable, positionable, and ambient lighting. It incorporates three independently controlled LED arrays (two in the head, one in the base) to provide a highly customisable mixture of lighting possibilities. The lamp is passive electric, powered by a USB connection. It can be plugged directly into a nearby computer, or into a wall or extension socket with an adapter. There are no internal wires in the lamp, it relies instead on conductive paint and 360 degree rotating joints.
This allows the clean look of the clear Acrylic to remain unbroken by wires, and provides for a flexibility in positioning that most lamps are simply not capable of. The Acrylic panels direct the light to the edges of the panels. When lit from below, using the LED array in the base, the lamp gives off a diffused glow from the edges, highlighting the naturalistic contours of the lamp, and emphasising the bird-like features that inspired it. The head of the lamp has two LED arrays, A bright white CREE array, and a softer peach-white array - each one facing in opposite directions. This is to allow for direct light, softer up-lighting, or a combination of the two. If the lamp is flipped over, or the head reversed, the user can change the light used for direct or up-lighting.
Simple materials and visible technical touches, mixed with naturalistic elements define this lamp. The base carries this on with the use of burnished aluminium and oak wood. The controls for the lamp are hidden in the base in the form of touch sensitive toggles, allowing the user to enjoy the tactile experience of touching and feeling the aluminium base as they cycle through the light settings.
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Crane Lamp
The Crane lamp celebrates the unique refractive qualities of edge-lit Acrylic panel to create direct and/or ambient lighting. It incorporates three independent LED arrays (two in the head, one in the base) to provide a highly customisable mixture of lighting possibilities. The Crane Lamp is powered by USB so can be plugged directly into a computer, or wall socket with an adapter. There are no internal wires in the lamp, it relies instead on conductive paint and 360 degree rotating joints, which give a high degree of positionability.
