The “Ampers’hand” is a night light for small groups of people to stay together in a crowd. As public gatherings and events have had a comeback, getting lost in crowds has also had a larger comeback. Initially thought out as an additional assistive hand for mums with more than two children; I soon realized, music festival go-ers, friend groups, tourists etc could get an extra hand.
I wanted to add a third dimension to an ‘alphabet’ or a sign or a universal symbol for this project. The ‘&’ happened to spark my thought further adding to the ‘pun’
Does it light up?
Yes, I would like to light it up with a touch sensor so that it blinks every time someone touches the Ampers’hand.
Materials used
Cotton or Linen
Hard padding – Foamboard or Cardboard
Pillow Stuffing
This is a scaled-down prototype, that I later realized couldn’t be turned inside out 🙁
Hi Zai, I love that you settled on the ampersand! It’s a dynamic shape and allows for cool use cases. I agree that you should make your plush light bigger – maybe 16×16″? Make it big enough to hang on your shoulder or arm when not in use. I recommend you place the lights to face down and illuminate people’s path as they’re moving together. And Ideally they hold on where they won’t cover the light.
For the photos you can easily shoot down the road at Madison square park or one of the crowded squares. Rush hour is a good time 😂 Show how the ampersand keeps your group connected while surrounded by a dense crowd.
Excited to see the final product!
This is really clever! I like hearing your process coming up with the idea. The use case of a plush-light outside of the home is unique.
I think it could be helpful to narrow down your user group. The aesthetics of parent + children vs teenagers may be different.
Considering function, I at first thought it’d be better for the & shape to have a full loop. Whereas if it is “open” and people are tugging on it, will it become outstretched and lose its shape? Something to consider.
If you go the route of this being an everyday “tool” for parents + kids, I think it’d be really cute to photograph it in a family’s mudroom/area by the door of their home. It could have a little hook/pin that it hangs from on the wall alongside the keys/coats. Then, it’d be there and ready to go every time someone leaves the house! Would it be at the kid’s level for them to grab it? Or the parent’s height?
What’s also great about it, is that it becomes the plush toy that the kid is excited to take outside of the home. That way, they’re not taking their personal/beloved plush toy and risking losing it outside the home. Yours would be more readily replaceable and hold a different emotional connection for the kid because it’s a tool for the family vs a personal thing.
Hey, Zai! I very like your idea of the “&”.
And I just think about if you want people to grab it, maybe you need to consider about the degree of thickness and cotton filling capacity to make people grab it more comfortable!
Maybe you can make multiple parts and combine them to achieve different letters, which might also make it easier to make.
Your blog is soooooo funny! hahahaha!
I love your concept! You can make the size bigger, and then put some more lights to reflect the concept of “&”! I can’t wait for your finished product