About: Design and fabricate a conceptual LED lighting project by formulating a plan around a central idea, that may reference a variety of ideas, such as nature, family, utility, relationships, love, loss, life journey, ambitions, philosophy, creativity, and career exploration.

Materials: Adobe Illustrator, sketchbook, laser cutter, paper, wood, wood glue, bracket

Class: DES 326 Objects and Spaces

Professor: Jose Perez

Date: Fall 2021​​​​​​​

Listen to my favorite album while you scroll (refresh the page if it doesn't appear at first)

The Concept
How do I make LEDs have a deeper meaning?

For my second project in my Objects and Spaces class, I was tasked with creating a piece around a central theme that included LED lights. I thought about the theme of love and immediately thought of my favorite album, True Colors by Zedd. This album holds a special place in my heart because it introduced me to the genre of EDM and began my path of finding my specific music taste. 
When I introduced Zedd to my dad, Zedd became one of his favorite artists as well. We would always turn on this album when we drove in the car together. We have been to two of his concerts together and plan to attend more in the future. Zedd brought me and my dad closer together, which adds a deeper level of love to the meaning of this project.
This is dedicated to my dad. I love you!
Inspiration
EDM concerts/festivals: bright laser lights, mostly visual

What fits better together than LED lights and EDM shows? I put together a mood board of wood art that interested me, as well as pictures from Zedd concerts I attended. I noticed how crucial the bright, neon laser lights are in EDM sets. Visuals make the experience, so I wanted to represent that in my design. For the wood, I was drawn toward movement and negative space that created shadows and shapes. I picked out the colors for the album art to use in my design as well.
First Prototype
Quickly ideate my vision

To communicate how I would combine my mood board with the album art, I made a quick paper prototype. My peers thought the sound waves from each song on the leaves were a nice touch. Perez liked the direction I was heading in, but he wanted me to push my creativity even further. Instead of actual leaves, what shape could I use to represent EDM concerts more?
Sketches and Plans
Continuing to ideate by improving the leaves

I went back to the drawing board. Instead of flowy leaves, I drew them as geometric shapes. The laser lights would be represented as a second layer on top of each leaf. Then I experimented with how the leaves would fit together. I played with the idea of a spiral that mimics a flower to represent my favorite song on the album, daisy.
Laser Cut Plan
Creating a puzzle, piece by piece

In total, there are three layers and eleven leaves that represent one song from the album. I laser cut the soundwaves of each song so the LED lights would shine through. The red lines were cut from a sheet of wood while the black lines were engraved.
Attempt One
Failure is a part of the process

After spending hours creating the laser cut file, I knew the second layer of the leaves would be tricky. The wood was warped which led to pieces of the design not being cut correctly. Some parts broke off as I tried to pop it out of the wood. Although this was not ideal, I used the leaves to test the colors I would use to paint. Failure is a part of the process, and this step helped me to rework the thinner lines to cut better.
Final Product
Learning means pushing yourself outside your comfort zone

After much trial and error, my True Colors Tree was complete! The LED lights sync up to music, so they change color to the beat of any song on the album. This project looked very different in my head originally. I thought I would be using the CNC machine and creating a 2 by 4 ft art piece. I’m glad it ended up being smaller because I can hang it up anywhere after I move out of my apartment. I learned to work through frustration and to persevere when plans changed. I also feel very comfortable using the laser cutter. This project was out of my comfort zone but it turned out better than I could imagine.

More to Explore

Back to Top