emo.table

So...this post is a bit delayed. I realized over the holidays that I had never posted on my final group project for the Art and Design seminar class. If you remember, my midterm project for this class was The Wall posters and accompanying video. Our group enjoyed working together and had a similar vision for what we wanted the next project to be so we stuck together (plus a couple new members) and started brainstorming. Really all we knew was that we wanted to develop a marketable product. After a couple meetings we settled on a vague concept which would use light to facilitate community and connectivity around the dinner table. We just ran with the idea not thinking too much about the technical aspects, confident that they would somehow work themselves out. We wanted the table to look basic and unassuming in its normal state so we decided to build a parsons table.

The trick being that the top of the table is a piece of clear plastic covered in thin maple veneer. This means that any light inside the table will show through the top of the table. We spent hours trying to come up with a brilliant pattern which would communicate our ideas and look great at the same time. In the end, I think we fell a little short here. We just needed more time and maybe a little space from the project to allow some fresh ideas in.


The table turns on by motion sensors placed underneath the table. So when someone sits down at a particular place setting the table lights begin to turn on. There was quite a bit of programming involved and many hours of soldering LED lights to little wires. In the end, though, it was quite amazing. It is like the table is alive in the room!