NOUKA
LAMP
Designed in Blender as part of a university assignment, this 3D printed lamp was developed under a 100g material constraint, pushing every design decision to be both intentional and efficient.
I designed a lamp inspired by the nouka-a traditional Bangladeshi boat-after a trip to my family’s village where my family floated down a river at sunset following her passing. I wanted to capture that memory, and pushed the concept further by incorporating real water into the design
Year
2025
DES100
BLENDER
PRODUCT DESIGN
Purpose
Tools
Work
Process.
I started with broad concept sketches before landing on the nouka. While rereading the brief, I had a spontaneous idea: what if the base held real water? From there, I developed iterative sketches exploring floating elements like lily pads and lotuses, and determined where to place the LED, ultimately choosing a hollow base with a bottom panel to conceal the electronics.
I prototyped early, printing a tiny boat to test whether the filament could float, and made a paper prototype that revealed I needed an oval base rather than a circular one to give the boat enough room to float.
I also tested out the shape of the boat and with the second iteration, I realised the boat needed a flat bottom to float better on water.
Challenges.
Blender was a constant battle, measurements didn't translate correctly on export, leaving walls too thin and causing water to leak through the base, which I sealed with PVA glue. Supports left deep marks on the boat that took hours of sanding, and still left black scarring.
The slots for the USB-C port and switch required precise measurements that were nerve-racking to get right, and the port ultimately snapped when first plugged in, forcing me to rip off the bottom panel to repair it.
If I did this again, I'd use Fusion 360 for better measurement control and double-check wall thickness with someone before printing. Despite everything, I love how it turned out.
Final.
Task