Design Debate

It's no secret that at Pickle Design , where I work, we love design classics . We've chosen to illustrate quite a few of them for newsletters and calendars over the years. I just love discovering good design, and the stories behind it. One illustration I did which never saw the light of day was the PH lamp system designed by Poul Henningsen for Danish lighting company Louis Poulsen . The distinctive three-shade system was developed during 1925–26, so a century later seemed like a very good excuse to bring it out again. Henningsen was fascinated by light but frustrated by glare. Rather than simply hiding the bulb, he took a much more scientific approach to controlling and softening the light it produced. The geometry of his shades was based on the logarithmic spiral, a form familiar from the natural world. By carefully calculating the curves and position of each shade, he could distribute the light more evenly and create a softer glow without the uncomfortabl...

Love this, the fairground lights are so simple but paired with stunning late 1800s architecture it is rather special. Bosco Mishka Bar in Red Square, Moscow, was designed by twin sisters Irina and Olga Sundukovy.  A simple and restrained use of elements, not all shouting at once for attention, but each worthy of it. From those fabulous lights to the black metal benches to the mottled grey walls and theatre-stage-style lights.  Found at the Cool Hunter . 

Designer Michael Anastassiades presented at FuoriSalone 2018 this beautiful installation of delicate links alight. The London-based artist is interested in the relationship between jewellery and lighting. His new collection Arrangements hangs elegantly with glowing geometric forms. Jewels after Jewels after Jewels is the title for the piece and I think he has successfully created that sense of balance and delicacy you find in jewellery but with the scale needed for an impactful installation.  Arrangements is a modular system of glowing LEDs that can be combined in many ways. The suspended forms feel quite calming and sculptural, a lovely way to re-imagine the chandelier. Originally found at MoCo Loco .  Some photographs are by Germano Borelli.

Product designer Sebastian Scherer captured my imagination today, especially his bubble-like iridescent pendant lamps – so beautiful. After studying product design in Aachen and working as an interior designer in Berlin, Scherer set up his own studio and later founded the NEO/CRAFT label. Iris was inspired by the delicate, shifting appearance of soap bubbles, and Scherer's prototype won the Lexus Design Award Grand Prix in 2014. The idea has since developed into today's Iris Globe , made from mouth-blown crystal glass. Ultra-thin layers of metal oxides create those wonderful iridescent colours, changing as the light and viewing angle change. The orbs within orbs are mesmerising. I want to reach out and touch them, as though I could hold a little world in my hand. I love how subtle the colours are and how the glass captures, distorts and reflects the view around it. That fascination with geo...

Have you heard of Esther Patterson and her brand Curiousa & Curiousa ? She is taking the design world by storm with her delicate and sultry hand-blown glass lights. I love her work, the colours are mesmerising, all made traditionally in Derbyshire, England. She has won many awards and her work exhibits in Libertys, London. You can see these glowing works of art in Harvey Nichols Fifth Floor Cafe and Jamie Oliver restaurants.  Her passion is working with UK crafts people and her designs are have great scope - each shade is free-blown (no moulds used) which means pretty much any shape, colour and size can be achieved. Lovely.  Originally found at Heart The Home blog . 

Welcome to the studio of Sabine Marcelis , these sublime pieces of neon and resin are created by the New Zealand born designer. "DAWN" and "VOIE" are part of Marcelis' journey in manipulating and diffusing light. Her pieces are sculptural but functional and I love the warmth of colours and tones these two mediums produce. I especially like the moon shapes that give a space-like glow. Do check out the rest of Sabine's work , her layers of coloured foils and glass are especially beautiful. Originally found at Yellow Trace .  

What a dining experience! Imagine enjoying a meal six meters below the waterline. Subsix restaurant is located in the PER AQUUM Niyama resort in the Maldives and has been transformed by   Poole Associates . The interior is amazing with a ceiling dripping with thousands of strands of capiz shells in waves just like looking  up through the water. The seats are fun and feel like they would be quite at home on the sea bed and the bar is clam-inspired with a fiberglass shell. The lighting shifts throughout the day from pure white to lavender during dinner, and blue into the late night. But all this is of course secondary to the epic view. No matter how captivating your dinner dates' conversation is, your eyes will be drawn to the parrotfish, Moray eels, and butterflyfish or the other 90 coral reef species viewable in the surrounding water.  Found at My Modern Met.  

Viktor Varga I know this isn't really very seasonal, today as I type it is a gorgeous sunny June day, but how about some sparkly lights? I came across these beautiful trams from Budapest, Hungary. In the winter holidays the transport company covers the public transport in 30,000 twinkling LED lights.  Krisztian Birinyi Englishhungary And the result when captured in a photograph is something quite ghostly and beautiful, a trail of colour.  Read more at My Modern Met .   Krisztian Birinyi Andras Csore