The ‘Dutch Twilight Cushion’ is a plush night-light designed to represent ‘Oranje’, Holland’s national football team and is aimed at combating children’s fear of the dark by providing a dim, comforting, source of light when the child hugs the cushion during their sleep. Alternatively, it serves the purpose of demonstrating a child’s support for Oranje, if the child is watching them play on a TV.
According to research by the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center and The Childrens hospital of Philadelphia, the amount of light that penetrates a child’s eyelids during sleep affects their eye growth and refractive development and can result in a child developing myopia (nearsightedness). On the other hand, the Cleveland clinic suggests that a night-light can be fundamental in reassuring a child in the dark. Thus, in the light of this research, the ‘Dutch Twilight Cushion’ was designed to provide a dim, comforting, source of light that would wrap around a child’s body, whilst greatly reducing the light radiation around a child’s face.
The design, which was entirely hand sown, is composed of a small, elastic, orange fabric, which is stuffed with poly-fill. The electronics that drive the system are found within the poly-fill and consists of ten LEDs, two 3V CR2032 Duracell batteries and a momentary switch. These electronic can be broken down into three components: a power source, a light source and a momentary switch; which are soldered together, integrating the momentary switch between the negative ends of the power source and light source.
Images of the process and final image can be found below:
O.