We’re kicking off 2020 with inspirational lighting designs to help ‘spark’ your imagination! Perhaps the most ‘lit’ amongst the A’ Design Award’s multiple categories, this list looks at winning designs from the past year, celebrating good design from the year gone by. The Italy-based A’ Design Awards and Competition has always tried to be more than an award, by creating a multi-disciplinary program that rewards designers while also creating an environment that helps designers grow their products as well as careers… And yes, you also win a shiny trophy.
We look at the top Lighting Designs from last year, creating a compilation of what A’ Design’s stellar 209-member international jury panel deemed worthy of winning the A’ Design Award. While we’re at it, do check out what Winning an Award does for your Design Career, and don’t forget to head down to the A’ Design Award and Competition page to register to submit your design entries for the Award. The last date of submission is February 28th, 2020 and the awards will be announced here on YD on April 15th!
Register to participate in the A’ Design Awards now! Hurry, with the final date just 3 weeks away… You still have time to grab yourself an A’ Design Award in 2020!
01. Thorn Lighting by Yılmaz Dogan
Rather than taking on the traditional approach of symmetry, refraction, reflection, and classical design details, the Thorn is a chandelier that’s designed to have an aggressive, unburnished appeal. The chandelier comprises two different parts that interlock in a combination of ways letting you customize the shape of it. It also comes with a set of sockets for low-intensity bulbs. The Thorn takes inspiration from the hostile beauty of cacti or barbed wire. The form works exceptionally well in minimalist surroundings, becoming the very showpiece of the room, immediately drawing eyes to its “look-but-don’t-touch” form!
02. Click Shelf by Studio Knob
‘Click’ is the result of the action of magnetically joining the nylon ropes to the Click shelf, but it’s not the sound that is the dominant feature of the product… its the result of this sound. Quite unlike any cabinet/light you’ll ever see in your life, the Click Light by Studio Knob comes with a flat metallic plate that acts as a shelf. Along with the shelf come LED embedded Nylon woven ropes, with magnetic ends that conveniently snap to the metallic shelf. When they do, they light up with a beauty that’s pure and inspired, turning a flat, unassuming storage area into something much more. The nylon ropes can be arranged in any way, and even across different shelves, and they light up beautifully, creating a decor piece that’s difficult to describe without using the word ‘unique’.
03. Leaf Pendant Light by Daniel Mato
Bringing the tranquility of palm trees to the indoors, the Leaf Pendant Light mimics the shape of a palm leaf… but instead of casting shade, it casts light downwards on its subject. Its elongated, sculptural design is best suited for rooms with little decor, since this light is likely to become the visual centerpiece of any space!
04. Reverse Sunclock Walllamp by ADD Architecture Studio
Treading the fine line between lighting and installation, the Reverse Sunclock illuminates the room while also indicates the time through lighting. Its design features a rotating disc with a six-segment lighting unit on one half. The light segments gradually shut off each hour, before the disc rotates 180° and goes through the same process. Repeat this every 12 hours and you’ve got yourself a lamp that also functions as one of the most aesthetic clocks we’ve seen!
05. Foglia Photocatalytic Floorlamp by Kevin Chu
Designed to look like a massive fern growing from the floor, the Foglia is a designer’s representation of light, greenery, and photosynthesis. The Foglia’s design features multiple light-up panels which use light to cleanse the air… a process known as photocatalysis. Made to individually look and work like leaves (with their cellular design), these light-emitting panels can purify the air by killing bacteria, reducing CO2, as well as breaking up toxic and odor-carrying molecules, just the way sunlight naturally does.
06. Estelle Luminaire by Vanory
With three-dimensional light effects, Estelle creates a moving atmosphere in space that captures senses. Sitting within its glass outer body is a special inner that comes alive with RGB lighting that mimics light caustics seen on ocean floors. The lamp comes with customizable colors and patterns, and a smartphone app lets you infinitely control your lamp’s output. To see Estelle in action, watch the video below!
07. ELuminare Lamp by Hernan Gregorio
Boiling down the idea of a lamp to its simplest interpretation, Luminaire uses a bulb, two interlocking pieces of wood, and our ability to view 3D shapes in 2D forms. The Luminaire lamps come in a variety of shapes and don’t really need a shade covering the bulb, lest it would take away from the lamp’s raw beauty. Connect the two wood pieces and secure them with the electrical wire, pop an Edison bulb in, and voila! You have yourself a beautiful minimalist lamp!
08. ELeonardo 1482 Interactive Light by Maurice & Jordan Dery
A light designed for steampunk paradise, Leonardo 1482 looks like the kind of lamp Da Vinci would create. The lamp’s uniquely alluring mechanical design features three lights, magnifiers, and rotating mirrors that can be controlled via a pull-chain at the base of the lamp. Switch it on and adjust the angle of the mirrors to bounce the light beams around, creating what I can only describe as a Rennaissance-era disco ball.
09. EThe Imperial Palace Lighting by Lei Yu & Bingzhe Li
The Imperial Palace lamp pays homage to the palace within China’s Forbidden City. Designed entirely in wireframe, the lamp does a great job of highlighting the ‘forbidden’ element of the Palace by enclosing it in a spherical or cylindrical cage, while also playing on our ability to see shapes by connecting the dots, or in this case, lines. Switch the light on and the palace comes to life by lighting up, thanks to a powerful lamp right below the ‘architecture’!
10. Grain & Fire Portal Light Sculpture by Sunny Jackson
Unusual and unusually beautiful, the Grain and Fire Portal Light is inspired by the raw beauty of Earth’s materials. The lamp’s design only showcases the natural materials, hiding the lights and electronics from view. What you have left is a beautiful, raw lamp that shines through a Teak-wood ring, bouncing off multiple 280-million-year-old naturally occurring quartz crystals embedded within the teak’s inner bark. The result is something that’s uniquely appealing that immediately fills you with a sense of awe and wonder at the beauty of nature.
Register to participate in the A’ Design Awards now! Hurry, with the final date just 3 weeks away… You still have time to grab yourself an A’ Design Award in 2020!
