Solight Design

Solight Design is an American lighting company focused on portable solar lanterns for disaster response, humanitarian work, and people living without dependable access to electricity. Its best-known product is the SolarPuff, a lightweight, cube-shaped lantern that folds nearly flat for transport and expands into a water-resistant illuminated unit. The company also offers the lower-cost SolarHelix model. Both products combine an integrated solar panel, a rechargeable lithium-polymer battery, and ten LEDs, providing an alternative to kerosene lamps, candles, and battery-powered lighting in settings where grid electricity is unavailable or unreliable. The brand grew out of the architectural and materials research of Alice Min Soo Chun, an architecture professor interested in solar energy, building skins, and practical responses to environmental and humanitarian problems. In 2008, Chun developed experimental inflatable structures containing a solar panel, battery, LEDs, and a fabric diffuser. The work was connected to research into energy-efficient building envelopes and was supported by a Brunner Grant from the Center for Architecture Foundation. The technology later took a more personal and humanitarian direction. After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Chun asked students at Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture to develop relief solutions intended for individuals rather than large buildings or urban systems. The resulting exploration suggested that her earlier solar structures could be adapted into personal lanterns. Students contributed ideas including a handle, and Chun and the students pursued patent protection for the inflatable solar-lamp concept. Chun subsequently refined the design by removing the mouth-inflation nozzle used in earlier inflatable concepts. This eliminated a hygiene concern and led to the origami-like folding structure associated with SolarPuff. A patent for the folding solar lantern was granted to Chun in 2015. In 2011, Chun founded Material Intelligence Project, Inc. with Stacy Kelly to commercialize the lantern; the company was later renamed Solight Design, Inc. The brand's development remained closely connected to social-impact and disaster-relief work. Chun had also established a nonprofit organization in 2010, initially called Studio Unite and later renamed FAARM, which used architecture, design, and making to address disaster relief and energy poverty. Solight Design's products are designed around portability, durability, simple controls, and off-grid charging. A lantern can be charged through exposure to bright sunlight and can operate for many hours after a full charge. The SolarPuff uses high-quality sailcloth as its diffuser and folds to a very small thickness, while SolarHelix uses flexible, recyclable thermoplastic polyurethane and is positioned as a more economical option. Their intended uses range from emergency shelter lighting and humanitarian distributions to camping, travel, preparedness, and gifts. The company received public attention through humanitarian deployments and design recognition. FAARM distributed SolarPuff lanterns in countries including Cameroon, Ecuador, Ghana, Haiti, Liberia, Nepal, Senegal, Greece, Turkey, and Syria. In 2015, a Kickstarter campaign reached approximately twelve times its funding target and raised $446,940, supporting fulfillment of backer orders as well as planned donations to earthquake victims in Nepal and an orphanage in Haiti. SolarPuff lanterns were also used during Malala Yousafzai's appearance on the opening day of the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit. The product was highlighted by The New York Times as a suitable gift in 2015 and won the 2016 Architizer Award in the Lighting Accessories category. Solight Design's identity therefore combines consumer product design with humanitarian utility, emphasizing clean-energy access, compact form, and relief-oriented distribution.

Solight Design emerged from architectural experimentation rather than from a conventional lighting company. Its co-founder, Alice Min Soo Chun, was an architecture professor whose research examined solar power, material systems, and energy-efficient building skins. In 2008, Chun created experimental inflatable units that integrated a solar panel, a rechargeable battery, LEDs, and a fabric diffuser. The units were initially associated with architectural research, including work supported by a Brunner Grant from the Center for Architecture Foundation. The humanitarian potential of the technology became clearer after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Chun challenged students in her Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture studio to design relief tools directed at individuals rather than at buildings or entire cities. The class recognized that Chun's inflatable solar structures could become personal light sources for people in disaster zones and communities without reliable electricity. Students contributed design concepts, including a handle, and Chun and the students filed a patent application for an inflatable solar lamp. The same educational environment also helped inspire LuminAID, a separate company founded by students involved in the work. Chun's humanitarian activity was supported by a nonprofit organization she founded in 2010. Initially called Studio Unite and later renamed FAARM, the organization sought to apply architecture, art, research, and making to disaster relief and energy poverty. Its work exposed Chun to the health and safety problems associated with kerosene lighting, which is widely used where electricity is unavailable and can create indoor-air pollution and fire risks. Through FAARM and related relief efforts, Solight lanterns were later distributed in multiple countries and refugee settings. In 2011, Chun and Stacy Kelly founded Material Intelligence Project, Inc. to commercialize the solar-lantern technology. The company was subsequently renamed Solight Design, Inc. Chun continued developing the product architecture. Earlier inflatable concepts required oral inflation, but she redesigned the lantern around a folding, origami-like structure that could be opened without a mouthpiece. This change addressed hygiene concerns and produced the distinctive flat-pack form of SolarPuff. Chun received a patent for the folding solar lantern in 2015. The company's principal products are compact, water-resistant cube-shaped lanterns. SolarPuff is the premium model, using a high-quality sailcloth-like diffuser material and folding to approximately one-quarter inch when stored. SolarHelix, introduced in 2015, was designed as a more economical model and uses flexible, recyclable thermoplastic polyurethane. Both lanterns use a solar panel, rechargeable lithium-polymer battery, and ten LEDs. Their controls provide off, low, high, and blinking modes. When fully charged, the lanterns can produce up to 100 lumens and operate for roughly eight to twelve hours, subject to conditions and usage. Solight Design's public profile expanded through a combination of product design, crowdfunding, humanitarian distribution, and media attention. A 2015 Kickstarter campaign achieved around twelve times its target and raised $446,940. The campaign was intended not only to fulfill customer commitments but also to send lanterns to earthquake victims in Nepal and an orphanage in Haiti. SolarPuff lanterns were supplied for Malala Yousafzai's appearance at the opening of the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit, and FAARM distributed the products in countries including Cameroon, Ecuador, Ghana, Haiti, Liberia, Nepal, Senegal, Greece, Turkey, and Syria. The product was also recommended by The New York Times as a gift in 2015. Design recognition followed, including a 2011 Core77 Design Award runner-up distinction in the DIY/Hack/Mod category and a 2016 Architizer Award jury win for Lighting Accessories. Across its development, Solight Design has retained a dual identity: it is a consumer-facing maker of compact solar lights and a social-impact brand whose products are intended for disaster response, refugee support, outdoor use, and communities without dependable grid power.

• 2016

  Architizer Award jury winner

  [1]Solight Designen.wikipedia.org

  SolarPuff won the Architizer Award for Lighting Accessories.

• 2015

  Folding SolarPuff patent granted

  [1]Solight Designen.wikipedia.org

  Chun received a patent for the folding solar-lantern design that became the basis of SolarPuff.

• 2015

  SolarHelix introduced

  [1]Solight Designen.wikipedia.org

  Solight Design introduced SolarHelix as a more economical portable solar lantern.

• 2015

  Kickstarter campaign exceeds its target

  [1]Solight Designen.wikipedia.org

  The company's Kickstarter campaign raised $446,940, approximately twelve times its funding goal, with relief distributions included in the campaign plans.

• 2015

  Lanterns supplied for United Nations summit appearance

  [1]Solight Designen.wikipedia.org

  SolarPuff lanterns were used for Malala Yousafzai's talk at the opening of the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit.

• 2011

  Material Intelligence Project founded

  [1]Solight Designen.wikipedia.org

  Chun and Stacy Kelly founded Material Intelligence Project, Inc. to commercialize the solar lantern; the company later adopted the Solight Design name.

• 2011

  Core77 Design Award recognition

  [1]Solight Designen.wikipedia.org

  The lantern concept received runner-up recognition in the DIY/Hack/Mod category of the Core77 Design Awards.

• 2010

  Haiti earthquake redirects the design toward individual relief

  [1]Solight Designen.wikipedia.org

  After the Haiti earthquake, Chun's Columbia architecture students explored adapting her solar structures into personal disaster-relief lanterns.

• 2010

  Studio Unite nonprofit established

  [1]Solight Designen.wikipedia.org

  Chun founded Studio Unite, later renamed FAARM, to apply design and architectural methods to disaster relief and energy-access problems.

• 2008

  Early inflatable solar-lighting research

  [1]Solight Designen.wikipedia.org

  Alice Min Soo Chun developed experimental inflatable units combining solar power, a battery, LEDs, and a fabric diffuser in the context of architectural research.

Design-led, portable solar lighting for humanitarian relief, emergency preparedness, off-grid communities, and everyday outdoor use.

• Portable solar lantern

  SolarPuff

  SolarPuff is Solight Design's premium portable solar lantern and signature product. Its cube-like body expands to approximately 4.5 inches on each side and folds to about one-quarter inch for storage and shipping. The water-resistant structure uses high-quality sailcloth as a light diffuser. An integrated solar panel charges a rechargeable lithium-polymer battery, which powers ten LEDs. Controls provide off, low, high, and blinking modes. A full charge can provide up to 100 lumens for approximately eight to twelve hours, depending on operating conditions.

• Portable solar lantern · 2015

  SolarHelix

  SolarHelix is the more economical member of Solight Design's portable solar-lantern range and was introduced in 2015. It follows the brand's foldable cube format while using flexible, recyclable thermoplastic polyurethane rather than the higher-end diffuser material used for SolarPuff. The lantern integrates a solar panel, rechargeable lithium-polymer battery, and ten LEDs. It is intended for emergency lighting, off-grid use, outdoor activities, and humanitarian distribution where portability, durability, and lower purchase cost are important.

• 2015SolarPuff Kickstarter campaign

  United States · Nepal · Haiti

  Solight Design ran a Kickstarter campaign to fund SolarPuff production and fulfillment. The project was featured by Kickstarter and raised $446,940, reaching about 1,200 percent of its funding goal. The campaign also planned lantern distributions to earthquake victims in Nepal and an orphanage in Haiti.

  Outcome. The campaign substantially exceeded its stated funding target and supported both customer orders and humanitarian deliveries.

  Source
• FAARM humanitarian lantern distribution

  Cameroon · Ecuador · Ghana · Haiti · Liberia · Nepal · Senegal · Greece

  Through FAARM and related humanitarian activity, Solight Design's SolarPuff lanterns were distributed to people affected by disasters, displacement, or lack of electricity in multiple countries.

  Outcome. The distributions extended the brand's use beyond consumer sales into disaster-relief and energy-access programs.

  Source

• 2015

  Move from inflatable concepts to a foldable SolarPuff structureGeneration change

  Background

  Earlier experimental solar lamps used inflatable forms and could involve oral inflation, creating a hygiene concern and adding operational complexity.

  Action taken

  Alice Chun developed an origami-like folding lantern that eliminated the mouth-inflation nozzle and could be transported nearly flat.

  Aftermath

  The folding design became the basis of SolarPuff and received patent protection in 2015.

  Source

• 2015

  Introduction of SolarHelixProduct launch

  Background

  Solight Design sought to offer portable solar lighting at a lower price than its premium SolarPuff model.

  Action taken

  The company introduced SolarHelix, using flexible recyclable TPU and retaining the integrated solar-charging and LED-lighting architecture.

  Aftermath

  SolarHelix broadened the company's product range and value proposition.

  Source

• 2011

  Commercialization under the Solight Design identityStrategy

  Background

  The solar-lantern technology developed through Chun's architectural and educational work required a dedicated commercial company.

  Action taken

  Chun and Stacy Kelly founded Material Intelligence Project, Inc.; the company was later renamed Solight Design, Inc. to market the lantern products.

  Aftermath

  The renamed company established a consumer and humanitarian brand around portable solar lighting.

  Source

1. 1Solight Designen.wikipedia.org