VANTA
Photosensitivity
Photosensitivity describes a condition experienced by all humans where our eyes experience pain as a result of sun, strain or overuse. Though possible for all eye types, it is much more prominent in light eyes.
VANTA
A non-reflective paint used in art, sculpture and on space crafts launched by NASA.
I am looking for a way to alleviate sun damage on the eyes in ways sunglasses and eyeblack fail to do.
Sunglasses are great- but they don’t cover everything. VANTA aims to ensure the eyes are blocked from the reflection of the suns rays on the planes of the face. But- everything casts a reflection. Right? Here’s an exception - Vanta Black paint (right) produces nearly no reflection. Though true Vanta Black is used solely by NASA the Vanta Black 4.0 is open to the public.
Materials
Unfortunately, most materials available would be unable to be fitted to a face without warping or risk of burn.
Worbla is a versatile thermoplastic I used to mold the mask to the user’s face. Worbla’s low melting point allowed for immediate fitting.
The consensus was that they were comfortable and lightweight, but not perfectly form-fitting. Below, I aimed to solve that problem using a 3D scanner and a flexible material.
Using the Worbla face pieces I ran them through a 3D scanner for meshes I could accurately print.
3D models and drawings from Rhino3D.
Problem: The fit was too tight, despite being an exact fit with the Worbla. It is my belief that the material shrunk or the PLA prints were offset in a way that tightened the fit.
Solution: I designed 2 final prototypes using black PLA filament and a heat gun. With the low melting point of PLA I was able to mold the prototypes perfectly to the users faces. For those with minimal facial contours, I designed a pair with straps called the “Butterfly”. Also viable for sports.
Prototype final (a)
Prototype final (b) for Butterfly
CMF: I designed these with the intention for them to feel familiar while also being non-absorbent and heat-resistant. This makes me lean towards silicone or cellulose acetate (material used in glasses) for the materials.
Ideally the material is porous and flexible to allow for facial movements and to reduce the amount of sweat gathered. The paint would have to be VANTA, with absolutely no finishes or glosses applied. It should be 100% matte.
Britta Strevig is a SCAD illustrator with albinism. Her vision is constantly affected by her photosensitivity.
I could not have had a better user test for Vanta.
