Braided Lamp

FEB 2020

As physical objects in the home become embedded with increasing smartness, how can interaction design move beyond efficiency? Entangled in our daily existence, these smart objects shape our rhythms and routines. So, instead of being purely utilitarian, how can they be crafted to evoke joy, embrace tactility, invite serendipity, and encourage moments of reflection?

This is a lamp. If you want to switch it on, you should braid its tassels! 

↪ Interaction design
↪ Personal Project

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2023 Interaction Awards (Category : Expressing), Certificate

This lamp shifts the focus away from efficiency, prompting the inhabitant to begin the slow, unhurried, and intentionally inefficient process of braiding the tassels—a practice almost akin to a ritual. By challenging the seamlessness of our daily interactions, it reimagines the materiality of a 'seamful' interaction.

This lamp was created by constructing soft circuits with conductive thread on a plain muslin fabric. Today’s technological objects obscure materials and complexities with their hidden circuitry and untouchable insides. Instead of hiding the circuit, I chose to incorporate it as a part of the lamp aesthetic. The softness of the material informs the interaction of ‘braiding’ to switch the lamp on.

RESEARCH

↪ Slow Technology - Designing For Reflection
↪ Designing Calm Technology
↪ Slow design for meaningful interactions
↪ Design Frictions for Mindful Interactions: The Case for
Microboundaries