This was a two week long Industry Project at the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design for Velux.
Velux is a Danish company that manufactures skylights and windows. They are very forward-focused on sustainability, quality, and the longevity and relevance of their products.
The Sun Project is a concept that intends to bring awareness of the sun back during the cold and dark winter months. In Denmark during the winter, the sun rises around 10am and sets around 3 or 4pm, and it’s rare to actually see the sun because of the cloud cover.
The Sun Project would exist online and on a mobile app as an overlay on a map showing the sunny spots. Tall skyscrapers block sunlight in big cities and clouds block sunlight on dreary days, but sometimes there’s that sunny spot where you can bask in sunlight and soak in the warmth.
As cities grow larger, and we get more out of touch with nature, it becomes important that we have a spot to watch the sunset or sunrise when you feel like it. The Sun Project would be the go-to resource in those cases.
The Sun Project was also formulated as a physical object – a glass sphere with two hemispheres that would always show what part of the world the sun was illuminating at that moment, and the ambient glow would act as a sort of light therapy on the darkest days. It would also be a physical reminder that the sun will set or rise in 2 or 4 or however many hours and minutes, just as it’s always done and will continue to do.
Date: 2010
Project Background: This was a two week long Industry Project at the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design for Velux. It was a group project with my colleagues Elena Gianni and Martina Pagura.
My Role: Conceptualization, User-Research, Documentation, Prototype Development, Video Production.
Metrics: The concept was well received by Velux and they were interested in producing about small giveaway objects that would mimic the concept of the full scale prototype we built.