For the second part of the Student Design Challenge hosted at WantedDesign, students representing three American and three French schools were divided by the judges into small teams based on their individual presentations. With access to acrylic, a laser-cutter and 3M-donated architectural films, the students began meshing their ideas together with their teammates. Challenge judges including Core77 Editor in Chief Allan Chochinov, Parsons Product Design Director Rama Chorpash and New Zealand-based designer David Trubridge worked with students while François Brument helped guide the process. With less than 48 hours until their final presentations, the students had a long road ahead of them.

Participating schools are Art Center College of Design, Parsons The New School for Design, Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), ENSCI les ateliers, Ecole Boulle and Ecole supérieure d'art et design Saint-Etienne.

A great example of these collaborations came from an American student who created a radial lamp for his personal presentation. He was partnered with a French student who had created a series of V-shaped acrylic pieces that can be notched together. Together, their pendant light became a sculptural object.

I especially liked the way that this team explored the materiality of the 3M architectural films. Their light was powered by batteries hidden in the fold of this soft-bodied light. The shape undulates into a rolling S-shaped donut.

One of the few projects that successfully explored both materials—laser-cut acrylic and 3M film—this team applied the reflective films to a modular acrylic base to build out mirrored, sculptural table lamp.

Another theme that emerged from the students emphasized how easily customized objects can be when working with digital manufacturing. This student duo used 3M films to created the Metamorp, a customizable lamp shade that expands and shifts shape by changing the degree of the "twist" and the number of ribs employed in the construction.

The diameter of these acrylic rings can be easily changed out. The construction employs a simple hook to connect the layers, creating an optical effect.

This group of students wanted to inject a sense of movement in the hard lines of the acrylic. By creating a twisting sculpture that brings the light out toward the edges of the piece, the light radiates down and around a sculptural tail of the light.

This project used the adhesive 3M film as a structural element to mixed results. The overall illuminated effect was probably the most dramatic, though.