Nanoleaf Shapes
Set the spark alive.
Walls – without pleasing paint colours or artwork, they can be boring. But if you have neither in your home, then Nanoleaf might have just the thing for you. The company has been making light panels for a while, with two previous sets already under its belt – and we’ve been big fans of the square-shaped Canvas panels since their launch in late 2018. Now Nanoleaf has taken a leaf (ahem) from nature’s book and brought us hexagonal panels to jazz up our walls.
Like the older panels, Nanoleaf Shapes are modular LED lights that need to be wall-mounted to convert that drab surface into an interactive wonderland of vivid colours. The hexagonal Shapes are touch-sensitive, can be controlled by your choice of smart assistant and, best of all, aren’t really all that expensive – you can get a starter kit in Australia (with five panels and all the necessary paraphernalia) for under $230.
Spark the joy
Like the original Nanoleaf Light Panels (called Aurora at launch) and the Canvas, each Shape is made from white lightweight plastic measuring 20cm high and 23cm wide. That makes these the largest Nanoleaf lights yet, and a single starter kit of nine panels is actually enough to enliven a whole wall if installed in an open design.
Speaking of installation – that’s really simple to do. Like the Canvas before it, you can either use the Nanoleaf Smart app to help you come up with a design (if you aren’t able to come up with creative ideas yourself), lay it out on the floor to ensure you’ve got it right, clip the linkers into the right spots and start sticking the panels onto your wall. As soon as you plug the power cable into a socket, the lights are ready to be switched on, and you don’t even need the app to
use them out of the box.
But where the sticky tape that ships with the Canvas is nearimpossible to get off the walls without some amount of damage (in case you want to reposition the panels), the Shapes have a more sensible approach. Each hexagon is clipped onto a smaller module that sticks onto the wall, meaning you can easily get the lights off your wall to change things up. However, we found that clipping the panels back onto the module isn’t as easy as getting them off. It takes precise positioning and a significant amount of force to snap the little plastic nub back on again.
Even the linkers are now different – they’re thicker, shorter and way more sturdy than the delicate linkers that the Canvas uses. These new linkers, which transfer the electric current from one panel to the other, clip into slots on the underside of each hexagon – however they do keep coming off during the installation process and can take some diligence.
But once you’ve got them all set up the way you’d like, you’ll have lights dancing on your wall, sparking a huge amount of joy.
Light ‘em up
Compared to the Canvas, the Shapes are much brighter and we found ourselves reducing the brightness, particularly of saturated, dark colours. And while the hexagonal shapes are great, the corners are opaque and, sadly, the lights don’t flow into neighbouring panels like they do with the Canvas. In fact, the Canvas’ unique crystal-like effect is now gone and, we have to admit, that was a very interesting look indeed. Now, each Shapes panel is just a block of coloured light, albeit the soft corners and edges are pleasing.
The other issue we have with the Shapes is that you can see shadows in the corners, particularly when lighter colours are being used. Considering the design of the panels, that’s only natural (an effect of the opaque corners) but it does mar the beauty a little.
That said, Nanoleaf has hit the nail on the head with the new control panel. Instead of having it built into a panel, it’s a separate module that can be linked to any hexagon – although we would recommend you place it with the panel closest to your power socket to reduce the amount of cabling visible on the wall. The buttons on the control panel are amazingly responsive and eliminates the need for an app.
The Nanoleaf Smart app, however, allows you to customise the Shapes, add several ‘scenes’ and – if you have other Nanoleaf setups – lets you sync them all.
Keep the light on
The Shapes are capable of displaying over 16 million colours in different patterns and rhythms. In fact, like the Canvas, there’s a rhythm module built into the new set – along with a microphone – that detects ambient sound and triggers the light pattern to flicker with music. There’s also screen mirroring tech on the Shapes, and that will reflect the colours on your TV or computer monitor.
Each panel is also touchsensitive. When you place your palm on a panel, the colour of the light briefly changes. This touch capacitive nature also makes the Shapes interactive and, like the Canvas, lets you play little games. It also allows you to use gestures to control your setup.
Unlike the Canvas, though, the light of the Shapes is bold enough to be used during the day as well. Where you could barely see the colours of the Canvas at daytime, the saturated colours of the Shapes look marvellous even in bright sunlight.
Personally, for us, we like the Canvas panels better. The coloured lights of each square flows beautifully into the next, with no gaps or light bleeds to speak of. The ripple and crystal effects on the Canvas, thanks to each square being divided into four parts, are beautiful and we’d really have loved something similar on the Shapes.
That said, there’s no doubt the Shapes are great for adding a touch of drama to your walls.
Once you’ve got them all set up the way you’d like, you’ll have lights dancing on your wall, sparking a huge amount of joy.
Nanoleaf has done well with the new Shapes – the hexagons are interesting and the colours are great. But colourless, opaque corners take away from the beautify of the panels. For that, we’d highly recommend the Canvas instead.
Sharmishta Sarkar