Confession
It is a desire inherent in many of us to preemptively plan an alternative world and realize potential things that don’t exist at this moment by using various methods.
The LED Cube project was one of such kind for me. At the time when I first saw these examples on the web, LED cubes generally remained hobby projects and didn't have usability or meaning. They displayed plain geometrical shapes or letters created by a microcontroller.
For some mysterious reasons that couldn't be explained, I was eager to light a fire into it. Not a real flame of course, but I imagined a visually convincing fire effect would be a suitable application that fits the aesthetic of an LED cube.
Normally, investigating the problems of a particular product or service is the first step, and making a solution is the next. That is how I was taught in design school for years. However, at that moment, the process of the project-making worked the other way around which is the way I was told I should avoid in the design process.
This entire project was driven by internal impulses, not by reason. I envisioned what I shall make in the future first and the process of persuading myself followed. As if I was under a spell or hypnotized after gazing at a flame for hours, through years of realizing this project, internal energy pushed it further.