Prometheus ILight Pendant Light by Ionut Sur

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DI: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?

IS : The main focus was to design a light that is unique, that is close as possible to being alive. A light that is complex both in the story and construction, but also simple and clean.

DI: What are your future plans for this award winning design?

IS : The main goal is to reach production.

DI: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?

IS : One year, including the working prototype.

DI: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?

IS : The project was born form my desire to create an interactive light that would reflect the idea of light, knowledge and mathematics.

DI: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?

IS : I am very interested in finding a company that would produce the design and also in maintain my involvement in the refining of the project for customer use, especially because this design is only the first in a series of five interactive lights that I plan in designing.

DI: What made you design this particular type of work?

IS : I enjoy industrial design very much, especially light design because I can combine my experience as a woodworker and as a designer. Lighting design allows me to play with different materials and fully express an idea in an artistic way.

DI: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?

IS : The name was chosen during the first phases of design, and the rest of the project evolved from there. From the start my goal was to design a project that reflects the idea of light as knowledge and the myth of Prometheus is the beast way in doing so.

DI: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?

IS : Paper, pen, compass, carpenter's square, 3D modeling software, 2D software, plaster (for the mold), sandpaper, acrylic laser cutter, vacuum forming press, adhesive welding, arc welder, belt sander, power combitool, soldering station, epoxy, etc.

DI: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?

IS : The project is entirely designed by me.

DI: What is the role of technology in this particular design?

IS : Laser cutting machines play a crucial role as well as 3D and 2D modeling software.

DI: Is your design influenced by data or analytical research in any way? What kind of research did you conduct for making this design?

IS : A big influence in choosing a direction was the book: “How Round Is Your Circle?” Where Engineering and Mathematics Meet by John Bryant and Chris Sangwin.

DI: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?

IS : Firstly was finding “the right shape” that would best convey the message. Also a big challenge in this design was finding a reliable and simple system to power the motion of the segments. The system required needed to be an existing one, maintenance-free; simple and compact; reduced weight; to have a fluent motion and to be able to close the segments without the use of electrical power.

DI: What did you learn or how did you improve yourself during the designing of this work?

IS : It was more a confirmation of my belief that no matter how difficult a project appears at the beginning, every problem has its own solution, you only have to work hard enough.

DI: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?

IS : For more information on the working prototype please visit: http://surionut.wix.com/prometheus-ilight