Project title:

In Praise of Shadows

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Project name:

Alora

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Project leader:

Assoc. Prof. Christophe Gaubert

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Brief:

In typography, we learn that the white of paper is as important as the black of the ink. The white can give shape to the black. In architecture, we learn that space is more important than walls. The empty can give shape to the full.

Product design is somewhere between 3D and 2D, producing usable objects at the same time as strong and readable signs. So, let’s make the hypothesis that light can give shape to volumes. Can we design a product just by thinking about light or shadows? What could be an object if we first design its shadow? Can the shadow be part of the product? How the light can reveal the function?

The originality of this platform will consist in a research by experimenting with light and shadows to design a product in a non-conventional way and prototyping from the first ideas to the final product. The choice of the typology of object will stay free but will have to make sense with the question of light.

Structure:
Understand the powerful role of light
Collect cultural and visual references as a collective mind map
Work on light drawing and “dirty” prototypes as a way to search for volumes and develop the ideas
Make a demonstration of products as a shadow theatre

Learning opportunities:
Working from collective intelligence to individual development
Experimenting how to think differently
Developing a sensibility for shapes
Using prototypes as a way to design a product