Brainstorming

Initially, I had the idea of making something to put on my desk. I thought it would be a great idea to make a lamp+speaker combination that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing.

Design Inspiration

I stumbled upon a product called Lumio, which is a mesmerizing book lamp. I thought this would be compatible given that my desk has limited surface area. So I looked into the product deeper on how to re-create it.

Sketching + Ideation

I did some quick sketches of what kind of material I want to book pages and book cover to have. I explored the interaction process between human hands and actual notebook. I also experimented with different paper and lights.

The actual process consists of the following stages:
1. making the paper pages
2. making the book hard cover
3. addin the LED lights

Prototyping

I started with taping some pieces of paper together to see how I could connect the outer rim of the pages but leaving an empty space on the inside for the lights to shine through.

Fabrication

Making the Paper Pages

Making the Book Cover

Adding LED Lights

First I need to solve the problem of powering the lights. In the past, I have had some challenges with using external batteries because I am always afraid of over-powering a device and burning the wires. I managed to find appropriate LED lights that does not need resistors and soldered the LED power wires to a battery cap. I also added heat sleeves to hide the wires and make the product more clean and aesthetic.
Then, I need to figure out a way to both allow the lights to shine through the pages and not show the lights when the book is closed. I taped the LED strip to the back of the book cover. Because my book cover is made out of clear acrylic, I taped thicker paper to the otherside of the book cover to hide the LED.

Final Product

For this project, I primary focused on the form. In the past, I have always focused on learning a specific skill, such as using a laser cutter or resin casting. This time, I want to create a finished product with a much more cohesive form and a specfic concept in mind. I achieved that by making something with minimalistic appearance and simple yet intriguing user interaction. If I had more time, I want to make the lamp actually lights up when it is being open (and turns itself off when closed). This requires some hardware prototyping, which may lead to more interesting problems that could potentially affect the product's current form and design.