Genesis

What was the first question you asked yourself to start this project, and how did that guide you?

Bella Molyneux: The first question I asked myself was how I could give waste streams a second, more beautiful life? After settling on my material process, (gelatin bioplastic preserved in a bio-based resin) I was drawn to the idea of sunrises and sunsets, as they symbolize new horizons, second chances, and the like. The bioplastic lent itself well to creating durable, light permeable surfaces, so a light fixture felt like a natural material application.

How did your project change throughout the design process, how did it turn out differently from your original vision?

BM: This project began as lighting, then went through various versions of furniture and desk storage, and eventually found its way back to lighting.

What challenged you the most about this project?

BM: The most challenging part was definitely designing a product around a material, rather than applying materials to a product design–it felt very counterintuitive for me. Predetermining a material puts limits on what you can design, which is not a bad thing, it’s just not how my brain typically works! Additionally, working with a material that I developed over the course of a few weeks basically meant that prototyping was just experimenting more with the material and hoping it worked!

What was your greatest success in this project?

BM: Honestly, I am just excited that the material was able to be applied in the way that I intended. It was an incredibly labor intensive process, and I had almost now way of knowing that it would work prior to creating my final prototype outside of the fact that I knew it worked on a very *very* small scale.

In what ways would you like to further improve your project?

BM: Now that I know the limits of the material, I would absolutely experiment more with the form. Because the design came second to the material development, I think there is a lot of room for improvement with regards to the overall form, scale, and proportions of the lamp. I would also love to develop a version with a higher gelatin content in order to decrease the amount of resin.