Charles Smith

Portfolio: Industrial Design
Engineering + Chocolateering

Gestural Lamp

Ever seen Luxo Junior? My goal for this project was to create a lamp that looked almost as if it were gesturing while not at all looking human. The design features two nested shades, and the bulb is situated so the shadow of the lower shade is cast onto the upper shade.

This was a very satisfying roll up your sleeves project, as I did all of the cutting, turning, wire & tube bending, gluing, welding and painting myself.

Note the sinuous shadow on the bottom of the upper shade. The main vertical stem has a slight wave .	The sharp edge accentuates the motion of the lamp, like a fish cutting through water.

3D Puzzles

Both of the below objects are made of laser cut acrylic, and assemble without any tools. Snap fits are used to hold the sphere together, and the cube his held together be the mid-plane compression member.

Design Drawing & Product Definition

I've done lots of drawing of isometric cubes, but I've been trying to work on true perspective and more stylized hand renderings. Here are some samples of my more recent work, as well as presentation on research that prompted the design.

The final physical prototype will be added shortly.

PDF of a presentation defining a particular demographic's problem, and research into the solution space. (~1 meg, some slides rotated funny)	This is an early conceptual design, in a stowed configuration.	The cups unstack, revealing wrapped cords and a Mac power supply.	A few more sketches clarifying the concept.

Handheld Forms / AV Devices

Results of some explorations of hand-held forms.	This design features speakers that would snap into place over the screen to protect it from scratches will tucked into your pocket.