The design of a flexible lighting device with intuitive interaction for ambience creation in the bathroom environment

Abstract

This thesis describes the work that has been done for a Master graduation project with Philips Research. The aim of the project is to realize a flexible ambient lighting device for the bathroom environment that is able to provide a spacious feeling. A literature study gave the insight into the ordinary bathroom in the Netherlands but not enough on people’s expectations regarding ambient lighting. Consequently, an elaborate investigation was carried in a user study. The contextmapping method that was used in the user study generated a rich context information and understanding of the users’ aspirations that resulted into creating a spacious ambience for bathrooms. Within Philips, this direction has not been explored for a lighting device. Therefore, it was a great opportunity to be inspired by various fields, including the study of lighting design in architecture, art, and aircraft cabins. After generating the concepts, the concepts were rapidly judged on their ability to provide a spacious impression. The result was used to develop the light effect and interaction design. Eventually, a lighting prototype and physical-interaction designs were realized and evaluated by end users. The evaluation results showed the lighting design is able to enlarge the impression of the tested space and to provide visual interest. Although the physical-interaction designs were presented by images, the whole-hand and finger interaction were preferred by equal amount of participant. People thought both of the designs were flexible and easy to use in the bathroom.