So I came up with a variety of ideas for the plush night light. The first was to do an ice cream cone and either have the sprinkles or the ice cream part light up and use some sort of plush/translucent material on the top part of the cone.
The second was to create a fish bowl with a light up fish, haven’t quite worked out the materials for that one.
Third idea was a terrarium style night light. So have a glass jar and then either real of fake plants and plush filling pretend dirt with the lights coming from underneath.
The other ideas were after thoughts but more abstract like something that looks like dripping ice cream or paint dripping on the wall, or pipes and each is a different LED color.
Nice brainstorm, Antya! I love plush food. Your ice cream idea reminds me of Mindy Sue Wittock (Meyers), an artist I went to school with: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bekathwia/sets/72157607441610953/
An illuminated terrarium sounds magical. I encourage you to work with designs that give you space for diffusion (long skinny shapes can be tough to light evenly, if that’s what you’re after, but can be used to create a gradient of light if the LED is at one end). What are some of your inspiration sources? Some folks have been creating pinterest boards with images representing concepts and also research into prior art.
I also challenge you to dig deeper in each idea– who is the user, or, more broadly, what is the object’s purpose/story?
Remember to put the LEDs inside something, and diffuse the light with soft materials– steer away from ideas that have LEDs on the surface of the object. Since you’re getting a bit of a late start, please reach out early and often for help! I’m available for quick response by email, and happy to set up a video call if you want to chat before next class.
I LOVE the fishbowl and terrarium ideas. Sounds like something I would definitely buy and keep around the house 😉