Sallie Wormer

I was curious if people tended to gravitate toward or away from natural light.  I spent several sessions watching behavior in public spaces where there were both windows/outside spaces and places only lit by electric lighting.  I followed up these observations with focus groups to collect specific stories about choices.

Further study and observation into the very broad topic of “light” seemed to be taking the project in a different direction, so I needed more information about the quality of light and conscious (or unconscious but self-observed) behaviors around light.  I conducted a series of focus groups (not shown for privacy) with hospitality.  I learned much about the confusion and irritation caused by artificial light.

If the light wasn't coming from a light bulb, where could it come from?  What would it look like?  If it weren't 'lit', how might that appear?  What other things did I need to think about?

It's hard to imagine the color of light when you're not a lighting professional.  However, it was significant in the focus groups that the different 'look' of various new light bulbs (LED, CFL, incandescent) was really problematic and frustrating.  This prototype was a 1/8 scale 'window' to demonstrate the difference between normal daylight/solar collection use and night-time or low light programmable lighting source.

I truly can't wrap my brain around a 2D light look-up table, which was needed to give users control over the color temperature of the new lighting fixture.  By breaking it down into the appropriate three dimensions, the only thing left is how to display it.  Solution?  3D hologram. 

What might an Apple iWatch look like in three projected dimensions?  Would the main interface still be icons?  Does the color temperature representation make any sense at all?  How would text appear, as flat screens or multiple overlays?  Can the eyes' normal depth of focus be utilized?  I had users test these questions and more.  The shape seemed naturally understood but the iconography was a challenge.