The project was highly time-limited, so concept development had to happen swiftly and smoothly. It did not. We revised our concept 4-5 times, with massive changes.

Part of why we changed paths several times was trying to tune 5 group members’ opinions and visions for the installation. Luckily through several concept development sessions, we landed on the concept of a dying star, a supernova, and a “Nebula”.

The installation’s complexity quickly scaled in parallel with our ambitions. We used the common Arduino as the microcontroller for all the electronics.

I was mainly responsible for the wiring, planning, and “figuring out” the circuitry for the installation.

We used the CAT5 Ethernet cables for all our wiring. This ensured we didn’t have to use LOADS of singular wires, but instead one with 8 inside.

We counted over 200 solderings for the whole wiring, with a lot of LEDs connected.

We ended up with a “centralized hub” layout, with branches of wires from each hub sending out signals!

This was very fun! But also stressful, as the team had to rely on and trust each other with their current tasks!

The final exhibition was successful and very fun! 4 weeks of hard work were showcased for 2-3 hours before being dismantled.

Learning about the physical and tangible “world” and not the digital was also a delight, as our work can often be very digitally bound.

Working in teams was also an endurance test, as we worked very closely together over long and intense sessions. I learned that reassurance is an important factor in keeping morale up and good communication between us helped immensely!

All in all a great experience of teamwork and collaboration together with feelings of stress, joy, and fulfillment.

Looking back, I wish I could do this again!