DESIGN_ Simon Frambach,a German industrial design student, has brilliantly designed a "flexible" lamp that couldn't help but draw our attention.
Soft light is a soft and flexible light shade made of foamed polyurethane. It can be placed in unused spaces like cavities in furniture and other places as an object that fills a void in one's living environment. Its warm and tangible surface invites to touching and literally feeling light: extremely flexible in use without having a technical characteristic. Its curvy fluent shape that resembles a calabash pumpkin provokes an organic and familiar appearance for a thoroughly synthetic and industrialized material. The light shade has been crafted from a massive block of polyurethane foam on a simple self-constructed device for rotational milling. The device allows for a precise production of a desired shape. An energy saving light bulb, protected by a cage, illuminates the porous foam from the inside.
"Soft Light is intended as an object that leaves it's utilization to a certain degree to the people who use it. I think it is really interesting to see what people come up with as a first guess: Some see their toddlers that are afraid of the dark cuddling with the lamp, others look at it for the sole purpose as a reading light in bed. I personally appreciate it's flexibility in your living environment that makes it a light for lots of purposes. Being able to squash it between gaps makes you think of all the situations and furnishings it would fit into — shelves, stool legs or any rigid structure in one's environment."
"The idea of designing a lamp, that is altered completely in its functionality only through its untypical and odd surface has been the first point of interest for me. To me it is fascinating how one little alteration (the softness) can really change the whole concept of a product that surrounds us."
"I originally intended a simple organic shape that fits the impression of a moldable and alterable object. It also had to feature a kind of a handle on one side which would make you want to grab it and carry it through your home, just to place it somewhere completely new. So I basically envisioned the appearance of soft light with the aim of implying a feel of playfulness in the product. I think the contrast between a soft and tangible object and its artificial, synthetic origins create a certain tension that plays with our expectations. On an exhibition I met people who were telling me they were expecting a kind of pottered object, crafted out of brittle ceramic material. But only until they touched it — it's all about that moment of touching."
Carina l'idea brutta la forma.