Project Overview

Project Overview

Fire has captivated humans for centuries. Its warmth, glow, and gentle movement have always brought people together. Yet in modern life, the traditional hearth has disappeared. Apartments, safety regulations, and urban living have made traditional fireplaces impractical and digital alternatives often feel cold, artificial, and emotionally detached. People, however, still crave that familiar sense of calm and connection that comes from firelight — the slow flicker, the shifting warmth, and the quiet presence that makes a space feel alive.

Ember was created to rekindle that feeling. It’s a modern light fixture designed to mimic the warmth and ambiance of fire without the flame. Through soft, dynamic light and reflective materials, Ember captures the essence of fire’s organic movement, transforming any room into a space of calm and comfort. The design merges nature-inspired materials with refined simplicity, offering a safe, sustainable, and emotionally resonant alternative to traditional light sources. Ember encourages users to slow down, gather, and reconnect.

Problem Statement:

"How might we design a light fixture that mimics the warmth and ambiance of fire, creating feelings of calmness, comfort, and coziness?"

Why is this important?

Firelight isn’t just beautiful, it physically and emotionally impacts us. Firelight brings people together while they create important memories.

Birthdays

Fireplace

Candles

Firepit

How does fire have this impact on us?

Firelight isn’t just beautiful, it physically and emotionally impacts us. Firelight brings people together while they create important memories.

Firelight lowers stress and heart rate.

The random flicker is hypnotic, helping us relax.

People naturally feel more at ease in warm, glowing light.

Many cultures associate fire with comfort and connection - Hygge, bonfires, saunas.

What's Missing in Today's Lighting?

Modern Lighting is functional, but lacks warmth and emotion. People crave the emotional ambiance of fire, but fireplaces are not always practical or feasible.

Modern white light

Warm firelight

Current Market

The home lighting and ambiance market is growing, with consumers wanting cozy, fire-like alternatives to traditional fireplaces.

Electric Fireplace

Pros:
Provides warmth, realistic visuals

Cons:
Bulky, expensive, high energy use, difficult to install

Candles

Pros:
Affordable, warm glow

Cons:
Fire hazard, burns out quickly, leaves soot on ceilings

Smart LED Lighting

Pros:
Customizable, energy-efficient

Cons:
Lacks organic flickering effect, feels artificial

Design Goals

A light fixture that brings the warmth, movement, and ambiance of fire into any space.

1. Dynamic movement – Organic flicker, never repetitive or manufactured.

2. Warm, shifting glow – Mimics fire’s natural tones.

3. Safe and practical – No open flames, but adds ambiance.

4. Enhances relaxation – Designed for modern living.

Material Exploration

Material exploration focused on how materials, reflections, texture, and opacity could evoke the warmth and feelings of fire.

Ideation

Ideation focused on how to abstractly represent warmth, reflection, and movement through light.

Initial Prototyping

Exploring how form, scale, and light interact to evoke the feeling of fire through abstract reflections.

I used MDF to create a rough rectangular base for my light. To create the reflections, I added layers of mylar paper and tested different configurations to achieve the desired glow effect. Using LED lights, I experimented with various brightness levels to see how they interacted with the mylar under different lighting conditions. I found that this setup didn’t produce enough light, so I planned to explore new approaches as I moved into my next prototype.

Final Prototyping

I refined the form, making it larger and longer so it would feel more balanced in a living space. I enhanced the lighting and reflections by adding additional LED lights and adjusting the angles at which they hit the reflective mylar to create a richer, more dynamic glow. I introduced a front cutout to let more light pour into the room, adding a soft, ambient warmth. A metal knob was added for light adjustment, and I began exploring ways to incorporate subtle crackling sounds to deepen the sensory experience of the design.

Final Concept

Ember combines organic flickering reflections, warm light, soft sound, to bring comfort and atmosphere into any space.

The Ember Light captures the calming atmosphere of a real fire in a safe, modern way. Inside the fixture, moving and flickering LED lights shine onto reflective material, creating abstract, fire-like patterns that dance softly across the wall it’s mounted on. The cutout in the center gives off a warm ambient glow that extends further into the room, adding depth and comfort to the space. A subtle crackling sound can play in the background for an even more immersive experience, and a brass dimmer dial lets users easily adjust the brightness to match their mood. EMBER brings warmth, movement, and emotion back into everyday lighting.

UX Integration

Users can personalize the light by giving it a name and adjusting the flicker speed, brightness, color temperature, and optional sound either from the phone app or directly using the brass dial. A scheduling tool allows the light to turn on or off automatically, making it easy to create consistent, cozy routines. This integration combines tactile and digital controls to provide a flexible, intuitive, and emotionally engaging experience.

In Context Photos:

Next Steps >>>

The next phase of Ember focuses on both refining the product and expanding its presence in the market. On the product side, I plan to continue refining the light dynamics to create a more fire-like flicker, enhancing the natural, dynamic movement of the reflections and the overall warmth of the light. I also want to experiment with materials and LED configurations to make the ambiance even more immersive and responsive to different spaces. On the business side, I aim to further develop Ember’s branding and explore its retail potential, including the possibility of creating a full line of lights under the Ember brand. This would allow the product to reach more users and bring the calming, fire-inspired atmosphere into a wider variety of homes.