moodboards both 1(visual inspiration) and 2(construction inspiration)
So when I came about beginning this project, I knew I wanted to make something with an active/inactive on/off state. So this meant that the object would need to transform in some way or atleast indicate how to change states. As seen above, I came up with a slide mechanism that would support a backlit graphic. I wanted the lamp to become a volume in it's on state, but be flat in it's off. Mostly I was thinking about this in a way that it would simply be easier to store it if it were flat. With these limitations in mind, I got to prototyping.
What I needed to get sorted first was the sliding mechanism because I just had to make sure that mechanically it worked without adhesive.
Next, I worked on securing the battery pack into the slider mechanism. I figured that the battery pack could also serve as the weight in the lamp so depending on orientation the top slider could slide down.
As I continued working I knew that eventually, I would have to figure out how to incorporate other elements of the lamp structure into this battery fasten.
After not really reaching a solution with the mechanism, I moved on to the graphics themselves and experimented with which cutouts afforded better folds. This was a rather painstaking trail and error process where I battled with illustrator for about four too many hours. 
Inevitably, I was able to decide to make only 3 layers and have them be different lengths so that in rest, they have a natural fold and hierarchy. My next challenge was fastening the graphics to the main sliding components. Again because I couldn't lasercut foamcore, this process was painstaking, but eventually it paid off. 
All that remained was wiring, so I soldered a simple circuit made up of the battery pack, a tilt switch, and a panel LED. This allowed for when the lamp was in one orientation, it was off, and in the other, it turned on. A challenge, I came across was that fastening all the electrical without adhesive. As a solution, I incorporated it into the "slot" fastening consistent with the rest of the body. 
In conclusion, the lamp wasn't quite as bright as I had hoped it would be due to the LEDs I had chosen. If I had more time and no restrictions, I would like to explore this assembly in some sort of lightweight wood. I think the craft has the potential to be alot nicer. All in all, I learned alot about construction and the behavior of materials. Everything is perfect in CAD world, however unfortunately I don't live there. 

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