What is the purpose of your device, how does it function, and who is your user?
The device we will be creating is a Carousel Candle, in which candle(s) are placed on the bottom, and objects (paper-cut figures) will be on the top. This creates an effect where the figures, like a carousel, spin around. Therefore, the energy conversion here is from thermal to kinetic energy. Additionally, because it involves fire, our targetted audience will be middle school students and above, acting as an aesthetically pleasing and reducing stress decoration. Precisely, it serves as a decoration for rooms. Also, I have noticed that school has been a stressful environment, especially with homework and assessments. Therefore, at the same time, out design can lift one’s mood because of its way of creating a warm and relaxing atmosphere. Additionally, based on research, its pleasing smells can stimulate specific brain cells connected to memory and mood. Furthermore, another targetted audience we thought of is individuals in the ISB community. This is because we plan on combining both ISB components and Chinese cultural elements to create a candle that demonstrates our dragon spirit.
What is the environmental impact of your products and is it durable and safe?
The figure that will be placed above the candle and rotated will be made of paper, which is recyclable. Additionally, the candle itself is extremely durable and can last for years. Lastly, the product is durable (we will further ensure that by adding candle holders so that the candle can be changed and will minimize accidents) and can be reused countless times.
What precedents inspired you? what did you take away from them and how did it inform your choices?
There were mainly two ideas that inspired us.
The first one is the trotting horse lamp. They originate from China and are traditional toys that are often used in festivals such as the Lantern Festival and during the Lunar New Year. We want to take the outer structure of the lamp; the sticks that combine together to create an outer layer, so that the figures are not directly revealed, yet are viewed through a piece of paper.
Our inspiration is the angel chimes. It is a form of Christmas decoration popular in Europe and the U.S. Something I found stands out about this is that instead of using only one candle, all angel chimes use multiple candles. This is also an element I will add to my carousel candle, various candles to hopefully increase the convection current speed, which, therefore, increases the speed of the spinning figures.
How are you making your product original and or using creativity?
Our view of the candle contains dragon figures (ISB’s mascot) and a trotting horse lamp-type outer structure to present an item that can be widely used across our school community. Although we will use the same structure containing candles and figures, we will combine ideas from the trotting horse lamp and the angel chimes to create our own unique lamp.