LED Light Project

This project is an acrylic based LED light. It is an engraved light with a personal image that is a perfect source of lighting whether it is for studying or a night light. This light is a perfect product for someone who loves music. It includes a “spotify like format” that mimics the format of a song when looked at on Spotify. I personally loved this idea because when researching ideas of what to do I thought it would be a more interesting design to complete opposed to a regular design. I really liked how in a sense it was a design within a design and how it allowed me to express my music taste.

During this project there were only two materials used, the acrylic plate as well as the LED base. The acrylic plate was used for the design to be engraved on and the base was used for the acrylic plate to be inserted into.In regards to the tools I used I started off by sketching my ideas on a sketchbook, meaning I used a sketchbook and pencil, as well as a ruler to measure out my design. Then when finishing my design I used glowforge to print it out.

Start off by brainstorming different images and songs you want to use for your design by research. My recommendation is to choose the title of the song and image that can make a good contrast with others. After you have found the ideal image and song sketch your design using a pencil onto your sketchbook. And make sure your proportions are correct (use ruler).

After you have made your sketch, make sure to scan your image so that you can trace your design more easily. Then upload your file on Adobe Illustrator app. Then measure your LED base using a ruler and make sure the height and width of the bottom of the acrylic is proportional to the base that can fit into it perfectly. 

Lock the layer with your picture on it and make a new layer and use the pen tool to begin tracing the design. Make sure that the box you made for your album cover has a black stroke so that it is engraved and not cut. Also make sure to create different layers for each design that it’s easier to fix later on. 

Begin focusing on the design within your album cover. Make sure to use multiple layers when moving on to another portion of your design. Also remember to lock the previous one to avoid any confusion. Use pen tools and shape builder tools to create your design and it must color as black in order to engrave them

Begin to add additional details such as the song names, the “like button”, the time record (the line containing information on what point of the song it is), as well as any additional factors that replicate the format of spotify such as the shuffle button.

Go over each area to check if you have any overlapping parts in order to make sure that Glowforge can print your design without making errors. This can be simply done by using the selection tool to drag cursor images then click the pathfinder tool to use the unite tool that’s on the right corner side. Also make sure to rasterize your design (also by dragging over the whole design) making it one image and easier to read on glowforge. Additionally, if you have any text in your design, you must convert your text to outline text in order to make sure Glowforge understands your editable text to print them properly. 

The thing I liked most about my  project was that it incorporated a picture that I actually took opposed to one from the internet. If I were to change something it would be the blank spaces in my design because I feel as though they make the design look incomplete. And If i were to repeat this project I would rasterize my design right away instead of trying to unite layers so my patterns wouldn't disappear.