Cantern LED Power Bank + Lantern Concept

Working with Isabel (Tiny Pantry), I can’t help but notice how many battery powered lanterns she’s constantly breaking. She seems to buy a new one every couple months. As a consistent theme in her YouTube videos, they got a lot of harsh use, but it got me thinking about why it was that there doesn’t seem to be a durable one out there. Then I started to tear them apart, and find out how much dead space there is inside, and how small the batteries are. Being that we work together to make products, and lanterns are a big part of her visual brand, I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about how I would design one. After a lot of tinkering and iterations, this is what I came up with.

In My Spare Time | 2024

SKILLS UTILIZED

  • adobe creative suite

  • rhino 3D

  • concept and brand design

  • knowledge of materials

the analog nature of the shade, coupled with the threaded connection, allows for replacement with a different form factor shade with relative ease and low cost

a threaded connection between the shade and canister keep moisture away from points of ingress, only requiring a waterproof on/off switch for the lantern on the base of canister

My initial idea was to base the proportions loosely off an aluminum can, allowing for 6 18650 batteries

objective

The goal of this project was to create a high level design to take to an R&D factory for feedback on manufacturability, feasibility, and estimated cost of development. This was my first thorough attempt at electronic enclosure design, so I knew that there would be a lot of necessary changes to interferences and materials, among other things. In short, this project highlight represents my hypothesis for what the Cantern could look like.