Dal Beat, designed by Sejung Oh, an industrial design major at Pratt Institute was awarded the grand prize at the Illuminating Engineering Society’s New York City Section’s (IESNYC) 12th annual student lighting design competition held on February 29, 2012.

In essence, the winning project–constructed of acrylic, an LED strip, and MDF–is a drum filled with water and light that when tapped, created a refraction of light and evokes the way the moonlight is reflected on water.

“The name Dal Beat is a derived from dal bit, which is Korean for moonlight, says Oh. “I changed the name of my project as an invitation to viewers to tap or beat the drum to see the movement of the light.”

Sang Yoon-Lee another Pratt student was awarded second prize for Ivre, and New York School of Interior Design’s (NYSID) Farnaz Hamedanchian won third prize for her untitled design.

The jury felt Dal Beat was very beautiful and well constructed. They were impressed that it was interactive, felt alive, and the way it visualizes the sound an instrument creates using light through a different medium. Additionally, the jury commended the top winners for giving a lot of thought as to what light is and what you can do with it as an art form and were equally impressed with the way they constructed their works.

As first place winner, Oh receives a three-day, all expense paid trip to Paris, the City of Light, plus $2,000 compliments of Debbas International. Oh will have opportunity to interface with lighting engineers and designers at the firm’s new Paris showroom and exhibit space, L’Atelier, and at La Machine, their factory outside the city. The IESNYC awarded Yoon-Lee and Hamedanchian a cash prize of $ 1,000 and $500 respectively.

Each year, the competition committee selects a specific aspect or property of light to focus on and themes are intentionally abstract so as not to inhibit the boundaries of a student’s creativity. This year’s topic, “Fraction/Refraction,” piqued the interest of more than 100 students.

Grand Prize
Dal Beat
Sejung Oh
Pratt Institute, BID Industrial Design
Willy Schwenzfeier, Instructor

Second Prize
Ivre
Sang Yoon-Lee
Pratt Institute, BID Industrial Design
Jonathan Thayer, Instructor

Third Prize
Untitled
Farnaz Hamedanchian
New York School of Interior Design, MPS Interior Lighting Design
Charles Cameron, Instructor

Honorable Mention – Quasar – Andrew An, Pratt, BID Industrial Design – Patrick Fenton, Instructor
Honorable Mention – Midnight Glory – Rupam Patheja, Parsons, AAS Interior Design – Randy Sabedra, Instructor
Honorable Mention – Obscura – David Krawczyk, Pratt , BID Industrial Design – Jeanne Pfordresher, Instructor
Honorable Mention Nova – Caleb Ferris, Pratt, BID Industrial Design – Willy Schwenzfeier, Instructor

Photo Credit: Naomi Castillo, 90 Degree Photo, Lighting & Architectural Photography

Craig DiLouie

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