Nopales Kukui by Sebastian Morales and Tiri Kananuruk

Nopales Kukui by Sebastian Morales and Tiri Kananuruk is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2024 A' Design Award Keleawe in Hoʻolālā ʻEnekinia Huahana a me Hoʻolālā ʻOihana Competition Category.

KeleaweʻEnekinia· 2024

Nopales Kukui

by Sebastian Morales and Tiri Kananuruk

Client: Morakana

A' Design Award Keleawe Winner in ʻEnekinia Category

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Verified Award Winner

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Visit Site View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Nopales Kukui

ʻO Nopales he kukui mokulā e hoʻouna pālaha ʻia ana ma ke ʻano he Papa Alanui Uila Paʻi (PCB) a hiki ke hākiʻi māmā ʻia i nā ʻāpana ma ka lima. Ma hope, hoʻopili pū nā ʻāpana hoʻohui a hoʻololi i kekahi panini 3D nani. Me ka hoʻoulu ʻana mai nā ʻāina o Mekiko, hiki ke hoʻopōpili ʻia ka hoʻolālā paʻani ma nā ʻano like ʻole he nui a hiki ke ulu pū ma ka hoʻohui ʻana i nā kāleka he nui. ʻAʻole wale nō e hoʻomalamalama ana kēia Nopal i nā wahi me ka ʻālohilohi mālie, akā hoʻoulu pū i ka pilina pilikino, e kono ana i ka poʻe hoʻohana e lilo i nā mea hoʻokumu hoa ma kā lākou kīhāpai mālamalama ponoʻī.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award Keleawe

Ua lanakila ka hoʻolālā Nopales Kukui i ka A' Design Award Keleawe, he ʻike hoʻohanohano nui loa i hāʻawi ʻia i nā hoʻolālā kūʻokoʻa i ʻike ʻia ma o ka hana noʻeau, ka akamai a me ka makakoho. He mau hana mākaukau a hana noʻeau kupaianaha nā lanakila Keleawe e hōʻoia ana i ka ʻike nui, ka noʻonoʻo a me ka maʻalea o kā lākou poʻe hoʻolālā. Manaʻo ʻia ʻo ka hoʻolālā Nopales Kukui he mea i mahalo nui ʻia, hoʻohiwahiwa ʻia a aloha ʻia, he ʻoihana a hou loa. ʻO kēia hoʻolālā i lanakila i ka A' Design Award Keleawe e hoʻohui ana i nā hana maikaʻi loa o ka hana noʻeau, ka ʻepekema, ka hoʻolālā a me ka ʻenehana, a maikaʻi no kona nānā ʻana i nā kikoʻī. Hoʻokō maikaʻi ka hoʻolālā Nopales Kukui i nā pono, hoʻopā i ka makemake, hoʻohiwahiwa i nā manaʻo a huki i ka makemake e ʻike.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: Nopales is a modular lamp designed to be playfully assembled from a single Printed Circuit Board. Unlike typical PCBs that are flat and hidden inside enclosures, Nopales subverts this industrial nature to create a delightful object that is meant to be touched, bring joy, and evoke life into our spaces. It can ship flat as a postcard and can be hand assembled into your own nopal. Grow you cactus by combining cards.
Dimensions & Packaging: Variable dimensions
Flat: 84mmx125mmx5mm
Assembled: 50mm x50mm x100
Tags: PCB, Lamp, Nopales, Cactus, Modular, Mexico, Art, Garden
Production Technology: Printed Circuit Board, LEDs, Microcontroller, CR2032 Battery
Design Challenge: The project looks deceptively simple but a lot of research has gone into the interlocking connections. Even when PCB manufacturing is a mature industry, there is no way to connect two boards in the ways we were searching for. Current solutions require bulky mechanical components "connectors", or to be solder. We have tried multiple approaches and worked with the PCB manufacturer though iterations. Orienting components in different planes, plating surface edges, special routing, springs, and more.
Inspiration: Nopales was inspired by the landscapes of my Mexican upbringing and our passion for developing creative hardware. We wanted to reframe Printed Circuit Boards (PCB)s beyond their technical existence, to expose the material's beauty and transform it into something tactile, delightful and captivating. We spent months working with manufacturers to create a simple and efficient way to interlock the PCBs both mechanically and electrically. Nopales circuit is designed to shine for months or even years.
Project Duration: The project started early 2023 and exhibited at the HeadHi Lamp show in Brooklyn NY from March until July. A new updated version was shown at PioneerWorks Software For Artists Day in November.
Operation Flow: Nopales starts as a flat PCB that breaks apart by hand and can be interlocked into your own Nopal (cactus), then you can press the button to cycle though multiple brightness levels. It has an auto sleep timer to prevent draining the battery in case you forget to turn it off.
Team Members: Sebastian Morales
Tiri Kananuruk
Image Credits: MORAKANA LLC