Nopales Itara by Sebastian Morales and Tiri Kananuruk

Nopales Itara by Sebastian Morales and Tiri Kananuruk is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2024 Igihembo cya A' Design Award cya Buronze in Ubuhanga bw'Ikoranabuhanga Competition Category.

BuronzeIkoranabuhanga· 2024

Nopales Itara

by Sebastian Morales and Tiri Kananuruk

Client: Morakana

Igihembo cya A' Design Award cya Buronze Winner in Ikoranabuhanga Category

55,863

Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #156665

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

Colors

The Design

About Nopales Itara

Nopales ni itara ryubatswe mu bice bikorana rikoherezwa ririnze nk'Ikibaho cy'Umuzingi wa Elegitoronike (PCB) kandi rishobora gucibwa mu bice bikomeye ukoresha amaboko gusa. Ibice bihuza birahana bigarukana kaktusi nziza ya 3D. Byahumetswe n'imiterere y'ubutaka bwa Mexique, igishushanyo cyoroshye cyakinnye gishobora guterurwa mu buryo bwinshi bitandukanye kandi gishobora gukura mugihe uhuza amakarita menshi. Iyi Nopal ntabwo imurika gusa imyanya n'umucyo utuje, ahubwo kandi itereza umubano bwite, ituma abayikoresha bahinduka abasangira mu guhanga muri ubusitani bwabo bumurikira.

The Recognition

About the Igihembo cya A' Design Award cya Buronze

Nopales Itara ni uwegukanye Igihembo cya A' Design Award cya Buronze, ishimwe ry'agaciro gakomeye ritangwa ku bishushanyo by'indashyikirwa birangwa no guhanga, ubwenge n'ubushishozi. Abegukanye Buronze ni ibihangano bifite ubuhanga bwinshi kandi bihanga cyane, bishimangira uburambe, ubwenge n'ubushobozi bw'ababihanze. Nopales Itara biteganyijwe ko izaba ikintu cyubahwa, gishimwa kandi gikundwa, gifite ubunyamwuga n'udushya. Iki gishushanyo cyegukanye Buronze gikoresha uburyo bwiza mu buhanzi, ubumenyi, ubushushanyo n'ikoranabuhanga kandi kirarenze mu gutaha ku tuntu duto. Nopales Itara ishimisha ibyo dukeneye, ikora ku byifuzo byacu, itwara amarangamutima yacu kandi ikurura amatsiko yacu.

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