The end of the beginning

Well......... it's all over!!

Thats my 3 years at Edinburgh college of art finished. Im happy to say that I graduated on the 1st of July with a 2:1 in Product Design. The degree show went well, and I had lots of positive feedback about my work, everyone seemed to connect straight away with the concept and understand it, which I was unsure people would do. I have uploaded a short description about my final range of luminaires in the 'News' page of my website, there is a link to a video explaining the concept (the page is a bit messed up at the moment I need to figure out how to change the size of the video, but the content is there).

I will hopefully be exhibiting the pendant and table luminaires as part of designers block in September, dates and venues are still to be confirmed. But if my bank balance allows it I will be there along with others from the course.

But in the meantime I will be taking a break and deciding what the best thing is to do next.

B*

Power l.e.d tests: Luxeon Rebel Stars*

I got rather excited this morning when the two power l.e.d's I ordered to test arrived. They are luxeon rebel stars and you can buy them from this site: L.e.d 1 (who are great! excellent customer service & super fast free delivery!) they were about £6.99 each, and you have to use a 650ma constant current source to step down the flow of electricity from the mains, they also have to be heatsinked really well (sticking them on a piece of metal) otherwise they will overheat and die!

This is the Cool white 6500k 130 lumen through 3mm opal acrylic

This is the warm white 2500k 122 lumen through 3mm opal acrylic

I am amazed at how bright they are....I don't think these were around last year when I was buying power l.e.ds for air pendant light. I bought the best ones I could at the time and the warm white was only 75 lumens for 1 watt power and these are 122 lumens for approx 1.2 watts (if my calculations are correct) just shows how quickly l.e.d's are developing.

beth *

Update*

Hello*

I do seem like I am neglecting my blog, my initial intentions were to keep this updated with everything I am doing and the whole process however it turns out that I am not able to publish all my sketches models etc as i wont be able to get my range of products registered or apply for a patent (if thats appropriate) at the end of the year. As I need to protect my ideas before they are exhibited/publicised..... but there are a few things that I want to share with you.

beth *

I am still here!

Apologies for not posting anything for a few weeks, I am stil here! But I have been mega busy with deadlines, the NEC and keeping my project going.

I exhibited my pendant light at the Interiors Birmingham show where it got lots of good feedback, which I am really pleased with. I also helped judge the lighting design awards 2010 with Lyndsey Hubbard, editor of Total Lighting Magazine, Martin Lupton of PLDA, Nic Mallinson of LIF and Peter Hunt from the Lighting Association. The winner was the 'Swan Series' by Illuminati.

I have also been hard at work reviewing all of my research again and making sure that my concept relates directly to my research, getting my brief right and producing my product design specification. I hope to get prototyping soon. I'll try and keep this updated more regularly.


B*

Arduino: It worked!!

Got my Arduino working this afternoon woo! Granted so far I have only managed to get it to blink and get an RGB l.e.d to fade between different colour combinations. Yes it is a lot to get your head around, but hopefully I'l manage to something interesting with it further down the line! All the basic tutorials on the Arduino website are a bit confusing for those who don't have a clue, so I used 'Lady Adas' tutorials which explain everything in an understandable language, her cat analogy for explaining how code works was very amusing and it made perfect sense! Check out her tutorials @ www.ladyada.net/learn/arduino/index.html.

RGB colour changing circuit

Blinking L.e.d

b*

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Birmingham Interiors 2010

Just a little reminder that the Birmingham Interiors Show at the NEC starts on the 24th January and runs until the 27th, I will be exhibiting 'Air' the light that won me 'Student Lighting Designer of the year 2009'. Tickets are free if you pre book them on the shows website: http://www.interiorsbirmingham.com/ and I will be on the 'Lighting Association' Stand in the lighting hall along with the other finalists so feel free to come along and have a chat if your going!

I have also been asked to help judge the 'Lighting Design Awards 2010' which I am honoured to do so, if not a little nervous but I am sure it will be a great experience.

b*

L.e.d bulbs: the best way forward?

After coming across numerous l.e.d bulbs that you can get from the likes of philips, panasonic etc It has got me thinking whether we should be using the l.e.d's in what is essentially (aesthetically) an exact replacement for the incandescent bulb. Maybe we should be thinking up a new look for the 'old bulb' and utilise the benefits in size and application of l.e.d's? L.e.d technology is about to revolutionise the lighting industry, so why don't we create something totally different, rather than replicate products of the past. Of course everyone likes the shape of incandescents, (I admit they are a lot nicer than cfl) and yes we do have the problem of existing fittings etc, but as I said maybe it's time for change.

And also why have companies made these bulbs so pretty? when they are going to be stuck behind a shade the whole time. I wouldn't want to cover one of those up if I had one, especially if I had forked out £35/£40 for one to!