Development.

After doing the testing I thought about different ways I could make the form work, I tried to push the Idea of having the wax fall into water but I found it hard to pick a shape as I needed the wax form to be an angular shape pointing down so the wax would fall down when it melted but i couldn't figure out a shape of the water to complement it. I also found it hard to figure out how to hide the wiring from the battery to the lights as the wax would be sitting on it and I don't want it to be visible. I finally came up with an idea when I found a lighting design online that I liked I thought it was simple but I liked the contrast between the to materials, so I was going to redesign this look but make it out of wax rather then a bulb so that when it melted it would show the contrast between the wood and wax thou not just the colour and the transparency of the wax but also would show how the wax melts in the light and the wood wont, it would also make a interesting shape around the wood as it melts down, it will go form two balls to one.

Halogen

I felt the next step to do was to buy some halogen lights and play around with them and find out their limitations, I went to a Lighting shop and asked them about halogen lights and want was the easiest to work with so they found me some 10watt bulbs, having 10 watts went that I could set them up to s simple circuit and use normal batteries rater then buying but battery packs.

i was also given sockets to put the bulbs into so that so it didn't have to play around trying to solder the lights to wire and it also had hooks on it so I could easily attach it to my frame. I also found away to get around soldering because in the last project I found it very difficult to solder so this time to save time and my sanity I would a way to screw the wires in to place rather then solder them.

 I found a place in wellington to buy big blocks of wax that I could melt down and remold in to my chosen shape.

I then made a simple circuit to see it I could get the light to work, and I DID. 

The next part was the most important part of my testing, to see if the light could get hot enough to melt the wax, so I set it up so the wax was siting on top of the light so that when the heat off the light would rise up and corse the wax to heat up and melt. and it worked... very slowly, but it worked. i feel a few there where a few factors on why it melted slowly one would have been the fact that it was only a 10watt light and if i had a stronger one it would melt faster and another factor would of been because it was in an open space so the heat was not controlled so it went out the sides so it i made it a closed space it would trap the heat resulting it to melt faster.

wax concepts

I came up with a few concepts on making my own wax light;

• I first came up with have a very geometric wax shape so that when it melted it would change shape to soft rounded organic shapes showing the contrast between the start point and end point, I felt that is form would inherence the forms and shapes wax can take on with it starting out with hard sharp shapes. I was think a few hanging triangles showing repetition and also representing a modern look on stalactites.
• another idea I had was to have multiple lights that had different switches so it was up to the user to switch them on and off, so they could control what lights would corse the wax to melt or at what pace the wax would meant out, the more lights on, the more heat, resulting in the faster the wax to melt. it light is more interactive and got the user to think about how they wanted the wax to form.
• Another shaper I thought of was to have a round shape to represent a flame, i felt that this was a strong way to show the concept of the heat of the light because when I think of wax melting I think of fire melting it, not light so having the wax the shape of wax plays on that idea and when the light is on the wax would melt and change the shape of the wax and slowly reveling the light being the source of the heat and light.
• I also though about how the wax would fall and I didn't just want the wax to fall on the ground but didn't just want a container to capture it in as I felt it would reflect to much on the precedent so I thought about making a clear container that held water in it so when the wax fell of the top part it would fall in to water, and at first the wax would make little balls of wax that floated on the top of the water and then over time as the wax accumulated it would cover the water so you would no longer see it and would act like an iceberg in the ocean and be a stable structure onto of water. It would also be easy to clean up as the wax would of only stuck to its self so to remove it all you would have to do it just scoop it out of the water.
• I also had to think of different ways to hold the wax to the light, in the precedent the used bent wire to hold it on and it also would restrict the wax to much when it is melting so i wanted to find away that would do that to. I thought of doing pins that went though the wax and into the frame on angle. I also thought about having a screw in system so the wax would screw into the frame but I thought that the would be hard to make fit perfectly. I also though of having the wax on top if lighting and having holes around the lights so the wax would drip though because heat risers so having above would not only be easier to support as heat risers it would melt faster. 

Wax light

I came a cross the light one night as was really inspire by it, on how such as simple concept had a looked so unique and could stand out so strongly. So i felt i would change my idea for my light to use this as a precedent,

I really liked the fluid organic forms and movement the wax makes when the the light it on. I enjoy how a harsh shape of the way the wax starts with moves into soft unpredictable shapes as it melts down. I love the warm coloured light that comes though the wax and the different shadows and brightness it creates in the different thicknesses of the wax and when the wax melts away the light becomes stronger. 

another part of the light that fascinated me was the way the wax was reused, it was designed so the wax would drop in to a cup below the lighting fixture and would remold the shape of the wax so it can be re used. the problem with this is I don't think it would work properly as air would become trapped in the bottom case and it wouldn't dry flat on the top so it would never look the same as the original, but I guess that the fun and uniqueness of it.

I would use the concept of wax and light as I feel that those are two strong complainants together and its quite a unique way to show different aspects of light and lights don't just produce light but some lights such as halogen lights also produce heat. I would play around with what way the wax falls (falling off the frame or having it above the frame and have it fall around it) or i could get it to fall on to something like fall into water or fall onto an uneven surface to adjust the way the wax would form.

water light

I looked into creating a light that used water to produce the current like the "water graffiti wall", I tried to think of other ways to make water interactive and unique in a simple way to create the circuit as that is not my strongest part of design, so the simpler the better.

I first idea I had was to form a kind of funnel so that you would pour water down the center and it would core the lights to turn on and I would design a pattern, I thought about the patters first I came up with the ides where when the water flowed though the lights would turn on in a spiral starting from the top and working its way down, the next I thought rings which different lights would turn on in an unexpected pattern making the whole experience unexpected. and the last was just vertical strips that when the water hit the bottom of the funnel the lights would flash.

another idea I had was to have multiple small funnels that would capture the water in different parts so when then different funnels get water different lights would turn on. this design seemed more interactive and unique I also thought it would be easier to execute. 

500 words

Structure of feeling

In the reading I found it suggested that we take comfort for granted and that " people are animals designed for sensory simulation but comfort doesn't do too well" it is suggested that comfort is stronger after discomfort the example was given that a hot shower is more pleasurable after a week of tramping then a shower at the same temperature everyday. I felt I would try this theory by making an experiment at that would repeat an uncomfortable experiment and then on the last turn you would change the uncomfortable factor to a comfortable one. I found that when putting on shoes/ tying up your laces it doesn’t produce a loud sound. So I designed an experiment to be based over four days on the first three days I would play the theme song form Alfred Hitchcock’s film “Phyco” a very jagged fast passed pace of music that would make you jump out of you seat and feel very uncomfortable and scarred for your life. And then on the last day I played an upbeat calming song that would make you feel relaxed and comforted, The song would tell you that "its ok all will be fine now" I chose a song that normally I wouldn't be proud of but I felt it fitted the part, I picked an instrumental version of 'what makes you beautiful' by One Direction. I found the piece of music very relaxing and comforting as it had song slurring notes and a slow peaceful pace and even though the song is differently not one of my favorite song, I felt that nothing negative is related around this song as it is upbeat and familiar, there has to be a reason it so popular and I felt that as it was popular and well know it helped to crate a comforting environment. When doing the experiment I did feel on edge when Pyscho was playing, it became hard to concentrate on the activity as the song that gets you heart racing, definitely when it get to the extremely high pitched part I always wanted to tie my shoes up really fast so I didn't have to continue listing to the song. When the music was playing I felt like the worst was going to happen. Like the girl in the movie when she is court of guard in the shower and stabbed and having the song as a routine didn't help as then by the third day I was not looking forward to putting on my shoes because I didn't want to listen to it again. When day number four came I sure did feel comfortable even having no sound I would of felt comfortable, having the relief of not listing to physo AGAIN. But the One Direction song made it surprisingly more comfortable as its is show pace and uses slurring notes which I feel plays a big part in making a song as it gives a soft sound and making comfortable music. I also enjoyed listing to the instrumental version of the song I felt it gave a different sound to the song, you focused on the music being played rater then listing to those boys sing it, I felt it was unexpectedly familiar as you know the tune but having it as an instrumental you get to hear it in a different context. I found on day four i took my time and was more comfortable doing the act as it was a familiar, upbeat song to tie your shoes to, when has One Direction made you uncomfortable?

    

Comfort Sound.

As putting on you shoes/tying up your laces doesn't produce a loud sound I wanted to play on the Idea in the reading,  that we take comfort for granted and that we only notice it and appreciate it when it has been taken away from you for a while. so for this experiment I wanted to base it over a few days so for the first three days I played music that I thought would be uncomfortable so I played the them song from Alfred Hitchcock's movie Pyscho a very jagged fast passed peace of music that would make you jump out of you seat and feel very uncomfortable and scarred for your life.

And then on the last day I played an upbeat calming song that would make you feel relaxed and comforted, The song would tell you that "its ok all will be fine now" I chose a song that normally I wouldn't be proud of but I felt it fitted the part, I picked an instrumental version of 'what makes you beautiful' by One Direction I found the piece of music very relaxing and comforting as it had song slurring notes and a slow peaceful pace and even though the song is differently not a favorite song, I felt that noting negative is related around the song is upbeat and familiar, there as to be a reason it so popular and I felt that as it was popular and well know it helped to crate a comforting environment.

when doing the experiment I did feel on edge when Pyscho was playing, it became hard to concentrate on what was happening as its a song that gets you heat racing most definitely when it get to the expreamly high pitched part, I always wanted to tie my shoes up really fast so I didn't have to continue listing to the song, when the music was playing I felt like the worst was going to happen Like the girl in the movie when she is court of guard in the shower and stabbed and having the song as a routine didn't help as then by the third day I was not looking forward to putting on my shoes because I didn't want to listen to it again. when day number four came I sure did feel comfortable even having no sound I would of felt comfortable, having the relief of not listing to physo AGAIN. but the One Direction song made it even more comfortable as its is show pace and uses slurring notes which I feel plays a big part in making a song as it gives a soft sound and making comfortable music. I also enjoyed listing to the instrumental version of the song I felt it gave a different sound to the song, you focused on the music being played rater then listing to those boys sing it, I felt it was unexpectedly familiar as as you know the tune but having it as an instrumental you get to hear it in a different context. I found on day four i took my time and was more comfortable doing the act as it was a familiar, upbeat song to tie your shoes to, when has One Direction made you uncomfortable?