CoSign

A Collaborative Sign by Disorient campers
By the CoSign Cell
Composed by The Eye in 2019
Stored in the CoSign Container

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Description

CoSign: A Collaborative Sign by Disorient

CoSign is a large-scale, three-dimensional rendering of the word Disorient, brought to life through clusters of wooden “pixels”—each one a handcrafted box painted Disorient orange and lit from within.

Each pixel measures 23” wide × 23” tall × 11” deep and houses a single orange LED bulb. By night, they glow brightly. By day, they stand tall. The letters are designed to be supported by a simple metal framework—pallet racks, scaffolding, or whatever’s clever.

A Gentle Provocation in a Loud Landscape

In an era when LED art has evolved into a full-blown spectacle—often dazzling, often complex—CoSign offers something different: a pause. A breath. A chance to step back.

Created by Disorient, a collective that helped usher LED art onto the playa in the late 1990s thanks to co-founder and light artist Leo Villareal, CoSign is consciously and intentionally low-tech.

Since our beginning in 2001, Disorient has been known for pushing light into new dimensions. But now that LEDs have gone mainstream—and the race for the brightest, biggest, and most intricately sequenced never seems to end—we decided it was time to dial it back.

So we went back to basics.

Binary Beauty

CoSign isn’t animated. It doesn’t flash or dazzle. It simply turns on. Or off. That’s it.

In its refusal to perform, CoSign reveals the quiet elegance of binary logic—the same principle that underlies all LED art, and all digital life. It invites you to rediscover the poetry of simple presence and absence.

Sometimes, the most illuminating act is to not chase spectacle.

Form, Function, and Freedom

CoSign is designed with two clear goals in mind:
1. To capture attention from a distance, and
2. To invite meaningful interaction up close.

To achieve this, the sign’s size and pixel proportions are consistent across the entire structure—ensuring legibility and impact. But how each pixel is built? That’s where things get interesting.

In fact, we encourage variation. Construction isn’t just fabrication—it’s expression. Each builder brings their own style, quirks, and energy to their module. This diversity becomes visible and meaningful when experienced up close, turning the structure into a mosaic of creative fingerprints.

Built by Many, Made for All

CoSign is more than a sign—it’s a collaborative canvas.

Anyone helping bring it to life is welcome to leave their mark, so long as the overall coherence holds. Beyond construction, campers are invited to personalize individual pixels with small 2D or 3D Pornj objects that live inside the boxes—surrounding, but not blocking, the light.

These contributions can be sculptures, paintings, collages, written memories—each one a tiny altar to a Disorient moment, story, or feeling.

CoSign is Disorient

It doesn’t just spell our name—it reflects who we are. A collection of individuals creating something bright, bold, and beautifully communal.

Elements and Modules

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The Notch

All 3/4” plywood items (B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J and K) need 3/4” triangular notches all cut on one side for electrical cables. Notches start at 1 foot from a short edge and are cut every 2 feet. Notches are usually cut with a jigsaw.

D25

Fabrication lead: DGFT
Assembly lead: Pinky
Composer: The Eye

Due to weather conditions we were not able to assemble the "S" at D23. We used the plywood elements that we had prepared for CoSign as walking paths in camp to address the mud problem after several days of rain. DGFT volunteered to fabricate those elements again and connect them into modules for the "Ess" ready to be transported to the playa for D25 following our D23 plans and cut list.

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Fabrication of modules pre playa in Sonoma, CA

Discussion on Discord
Cut List File:20230607CoSignElementsDimensionsForD23Addition.pdf

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D25 Shopping List for the Ess

(70 bulbs) Home Depot 2 pack and/or Amazon 6 pack
(50 Porcelain Outlet Box Mounts) Amazon

D24

In 2024 we add the letter i and three dots to make a "Di..." CoSign expanding on last year's "D"

Assembly lead: IceCream

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On-site installation notes

In 2022 and 2023, we used long boards (2x4s and 2x6s) in the back of CoSign to help hold modules together better. This installation technique resulted in damaged modules during disengage.

In 2024 we decided to try assembling each letter in place one module at a time instead of assembling the entire letter and raising it up against the pallet rack. This resulted in almost no damage to the modules. It was a little harder to install the higher modules but overall this seems to be a safer and less damaging way to install CoSign.

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Extra electrical components after D24

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  D24 extra components

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  D24 extra components

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  D24 extra components

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  D24 extra components

D23

Cell lead: IceCream
Design: The Eye
Fabrication of elements in Reno: So On It, Karl Mak and friends
Playa assembly and installation: IceCream and friends

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D22

Cell lead: IceCream
After a successful "i" test at CCX, we present the "D" as part of the frontage of Disorient Camp at Burning Man 2022.
"D" CoSign ran 100% on solar, part of our Sustainability_Efforts.

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  Disorient Sustainability effort

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  Disorient Sustainability effort

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  Disorient Sustainability effort

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  Parts of the "D" to be repaired at D23

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  Parts of the "D" to be repaired at D23

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  Parts of the "D" to be repaired at D23

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The letter "D" is composed of 54 pixels organized in clusters of 7 and 8 pixels. Those clusters are stackable for transportation and storage.

Sides ready to be loaded in NYC container (11” x 96” x 24”)

The "i" of Disorient (CoSign at CCX)

Fabricated by IceCream, Phil J. and The Eye

Lighting for the D - Spring 2022 by Vadim

Here are 2 options for 54 individually addressable pixels depending on power situation.

Big generator

If this is near the big generator it’s really easy to do it with completely rentable gear.

DIMMER RENTAL
You rent this guy - it’s a 48x 2.4 kilowatt dimmer rack:
https://www.usedlighting.com/2008/etc-48-x-2k-sensor-rack-cem-
Then you add one of these:
https://www.usedlighting.com/47398/etc-sensor-12-x-2-4kw-dimmer-rack
It’s a 12 rack - so now you’re at 60 dimmers total

I gotta ask for a price quote. Renting big dimmers likely less expensive than buying small ones - unless you already have the small ones.

CABLE TO BULB
Then you use this type of cable to go to the bulbs:
https://www.usedlighting.com/86/12-14-multi-cable-150- (750 USD)
https://www.usedlighting.com/14467/edison-break-out-6- (140 USD)

Small generator

If it’s gotta run off a 7k put-put genny it’s gonna to be done off dimmers that would likely have to be purchased. If you’re out in playa and you’re using a small generator with a photo cell and or timer you need the type of genny that can kick itself on under load

DIMMER PURCHASE (2,000 USD)
You have to buy 10 of these and use regular zip (lamp) cord and I would just get a spool and connectors and custom make it for length.
https://goknight.com/Chauvet-dj-dmx-4/

DATA CABLE
Oh you would also need a data cable to link the dimmers -So you would need 9’ of these - these we can buy new or used - also re-usable
https://www.usedlighting.com/13526/5-pin-dmx-cable-25-5-Pin

Common to both options (~1100 USD total)

16/2 CABLE (350 USD)

PORCELAIN SOCKET (150 USD)
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Leviton-600-Watt-250-Volt-White-Outlet-Box-Lampholder-R50-49875-000/207106566

BULB (220 USD)
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Sunlite-60-Watt-Equivalent-A19-Dimmable-Filament-E26-Medium-Base-LED-Orange-Light-Bulbs-6-Pack-HD02270-3/312593793

CONNECTOR (175 USD)
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Leviton-15-Amp-125-Volt-3-Wire-Plug-Orange-R51-515PV-0OR/205165505

SEQUENCE CONTROLLER (140 USD)
Then we can use my console or whatever computer gadget you want to generate the DMX sequence for whatever length you want - I usually aim for 10 minutes and make it look nice
And we can use one of these to essentially be the VCR that played the DMX show back over and over and over again on a loop:
https://www.newlighting.com/32537/new-chauvet-dj-dmx-rt
You have to provide a microSD card for it

PHOTO CELL (40 USD)
Finally, you out it in a timer or a photo cell so that it turns on at dusk. And turns off at daylight. Or your run it forever or if it’s in camp you just go turn it on:
https://www.aqlightinggroup.com/outdoor-lighting/landscape-accessories/timers-controllers/commercial-grade-photocell/
https://www.aqlightinggroup.com/outdoor-lighting/landscape-accessories/timers-controllers/multi-mode-astronomic-timer-yl-t120v/

CoSign Concept (2019)

File:DisorientCollaborativeSign20191222.skp

Supported by pallet rack or scaffolding.