We had the distinct pleasure to interview award winning designer Nhi Ton about their original and creative Pendant Lamp design work. Nhi Ton is an award-winning industrial designer, that makes our world a better place with their original pendant lamp works.
Nhi Ton ("NT") answered Design Interview ("DI") questions about their award-winning work Mobius Pendant Lamp. Interview questions prepared by Frank Scott.
NT : This design was inspired by origami fundamental which transforms from a single piece of paper and creates more than what the material could offer by simple folds.
NT : By study the basic mountain and valley folds, I focus on its ability to create structure, flexibility, and aesthetics. The goal was using this fold, apply it to a bigger scale for a lean, minimal waste manufacturing process.
NT : I hope I can get this design manufactured. Also, I hope to study more about the possibility that origami can offer us.
NT : I spend 3 months for learning about mountain and valley folds by running a lot of weight and pattern tests to know the constraints of this fold in comparison with material thickness. The application exploration phase took longer time as I want to create a product which could showcase the structure of the fold as well as how the flexibility of the fold could benefit the product.
NT : This is my graduate thesis. I chose this concept since I have a very strong interest in Origami and would like to apply it to the Product Design level instead of just craft.
NT : My interest in culture and holistic design motivates me to explore and design this work. There is so much beauty in culture. My lamp design made out of a single piece of paper, a very ordinary material, but it would give a "wow" moment by knowing the material and apply origami fundamentals into it instead of complicated hardware. I think it is fascinating.
NT : During this process of design, I got inspired a lot from other scientists and physicists such as Robert Lang, Paul Jackson, Mike Tannis, and engineers who have been studying origami and find the application for what they learned.
NT : This design used a single piece of folded material to create such a flexible structure. The mechanism was made for disassembling and offer the reconfiguration to users.
NT : Because it simply has the shape of a Mobius strip especially when you twist the disc to reconfigure the lamp, it switches its surfaces.
NT : A lot of prototyping, user testings, 3D rendering, working with the manufacturer.
NT : I collaborated with Weber Packaging Design in Philadelphia to learn about the scoring process for folding as well as material testings. After several rounds of prototyping, they also gave me the costing for the production.
NT : I think the most difficult thing is to ask the right questions for the design process and what is that that you want your product to be or tell?
