THE BACKGROUND INFO
Just a small bit about us.
Understanding the User and Brief
This was the first stage in the production of Lumen's LUXIO lamp. Before any designer can truly begin, they must first analyze and understand what it is that their user requires. This of course comes alongside the research that was done on existing products in the market. We sourced our inspiration in the initial design stage from The Conran Shop. This allows us to inspect the competition and to generate original ideas simultaneously .
Idea generation
On to the next step. Idea generation.
Now this is arguably the most important stage for a designer as it ultimately decides whether or not the product has sufficient appeal to sell. It's quite difficult to conceive a product that everyone likes- people will have divided opinions on even the most timeless designs. The main goal here is that your stakeholders will find it attractive.
And so that exact target lead to the birth of the LUXIO.
A total of 10 concepts were created- but, only one was able make it through to the next stage of development. The stakeholder really is at the heart of the entire process- their consistent feedback leads to a high quality and desirable product.
Developing concepts
Once we secured 3 sketches that the stakeholder was pleased with, we proceeded on to the next important stage. Modelling.
Placing emphasis on speed and efficiency, 3 cardboard mockups were created for the relevant chosen sketches. The main goal here is not so much to create a perfectly accurate representation of the finished product but rather to simply give the user a good idea of the proportions of the lamp.
Final Design
Now we move to the more advanced and precise model.
Using stronger materials, we create a model that not only represents proportions with accuracy but mimics the textures of the final product.
For many designers what prevents them from taking a product to the next stage and keeping it in its original concept form is the rules and safety regulations. These also have to be taken into account as they can vastly affect the resulting dimensions of what is being created.
In our scenario, the model at this stage was changed quite drastically as we experimented with a different form to see whether it would appeal to the primary stakeholder. This was not the case, so we reverted back to the original path shown in the initial sketch.
Lamp Production
And finally onto the final long anticipated final stage of production.
As mentioned earlier, this is truly a one-off product that has been tailored acutely to suit the needs of the user.
Every step taken in the earlier stages is essential to reaching the final stage of a physical working product. The actual process of manufacturing the lamp required the use of multiple tools and machinery. With the help of machines such as a metal and wood lathe, Lumen Lamps was able to manufacture the lamp to a high degree of accuracy that is repeatable for not only one-off but even a batch level of production.