Congratulations to the Winners of the
2014 New York City Student Lighting Competition

This year’s theme – A LIGHT TOUCH – asked students if they could ‘touch with their eyes’ and challenged them to consider how light conveys the sensation of touch. As in previous years, students are tasked to apply their education, ingenuity, and skills in order to take an elusive concept and transform it into a three-dimensional illuminated visual experience.

Out of an unprecedented 160 student submissions from the New York City-area, “Livre Noir,” designed by Esli Teker, attending Parsons The New School of Design won First Place in the Illuminating Engineering Society New York City Section’s (IESNYC) 14th annual Student Lighting Competition. Teker received a cash award of $2,000 from the section. Second Place was awarded to Pratt Institute’s Ia-Chi Pan and third Place went to Jordan Ringdahl also of Pratt, who received $1,000 and $500 respectively. Additionally, four students and their projects received honorable mentions.

Submissions from this year’s competition came from students studying lighting design, architecture, art, electrical engineering, interior design, product design, photography, and product design in undergraduate and graduate programs in area schools including Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), Fordham University, New York School of Interior Design (NYSID), Parsons The New School of Design, Pratt Institute, and the School of Visual Arts (SVA).

First Place

“Livre Noir” by Esli Teker

Parsons The New School of Design
BFA – Product Design
Erika Doering, instructor

Teker’s project, “Livre Noir,” can be described as a book that’s full of secrets and these confidences can only be read once the book is touched and it becomes illuminated. The installation engages several of the senses and beckons interaction. By touching the “black book,” it produces different colors and elicits various moods. As viewer flip through the pages of the book, they are invited to share their own feelings.

Second Place

“Divisiono Interactive” by Ia-Chi Pan

Pratt Institute, BID – Industrial Design
Scott Vandervoort, instructor

Third Place

"Fluid Passage" by Jordan Ringdahl

Pratt Institute, BID – Industrial Design
Scott Lundberg, instructor

Honorable Mention

“Tentacle” by Huira Koo

Parsons The New School for Design
BFA - Product Design
Andrea Ruggiero, instructor

Honorable Mention

“Cave” by Emily Soderberg

Pratt Institute, BID – Industrial Design
Willy Schwenzfeier, instructor

Honorable Mention

“Lambent Contingence” by Armand Damato

Pratt Institute, BID – Industrial Design
Scott Lundberg, instructor

Honorable Mention

“Flux” by Dillon Chen

Pratt Institute, BID – Industrial Design
Willy Schwenzfeier, instructor

Honorable Mention

“Thumbprint” by Tobias Holler

Parsons The New School of Design
MFA Architectural Lighting
Derek Porter, instructor