Lighting Student’s Well-being : Social lighting, social sustainability, subjectivewell-being

• Main Author: Grubb, Armelle
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för design (DE) 2018
• Subjects: Versatile lighting; subjective well-being; social sustainability; Scandinavian lighting culture; Design
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-74815

This thesis is an exploration of how artificial lights are used to create atmospheres in a space, andhow they enhance an individual’s well-being. The focus here is placed on students in Sweden,specifically those who live in one-room apartments. Students typically do not invest much intheir lights yet being in Scandinavia, artificial lighting is used to compensate for the lack ofdaylight hours. As such, the lights they have will impact how they go about their day.A light is designed using product design methods to respond to the research question: “to whatextent can a versatile light source alter the atmosphere of a student’s space to enhance their wellbeing?”As the research is situated in Sweden, aspects of the Scandinavian lighting culture will beexamined and implemented in the design. The student’s well-being will be assessed through thetheory of subjective well-being, specifically how it can be enhanced through perceived control.The light design also aims to be socially sustainable, focusing on how individuals’ well-being canbe improved through lighting. The design also attempts to tackle inequalities by showing it canbe made of cheap and accessible materials, as well as being professionally manufactured. Thecheaper version is to ensure students with lower incomes can access the same quality of light asothers, where the light will create a similar atmosphere. Finally, the concept of social lighting isdefined in the context of this thesis. It concentrates on designing the light based on interviewswith students and emphasising the relationship between a student and their apartment.Through interviews and photos, a design brief was formed to understand what type of lightstudents use in their apartment and what they were looking for. After a series of iterations, afinal design was obtained and created. One version was made professionally in metal by BelidLighting. Another was made out of thick card and paper clips, materials easily accessible tostudents. The models were tested by students in their home for two nights, after which aninterview took place to obtain impressions and feedback on the design.It was concluded that a versatile light source altered the atmosphere of a student space toenhance their well-being to a certain extent. This was due to people’s existing relationship withlights, where they don’t generally interact beyond switching them on and off. Nonetheless,participants enjoyed making their own lamp, and found the lamp design quite unique. Thishelped maintain their subjective well-being.