The best designers of the red dot design award 2007 in interview: Casper Asmussen, Gustav Nord and Filip Sauer

The panel of experts awarded the design agency Propeller red dot: best of the best title in the category “lightning & Lamps” for the pendant luminaire “Open Box”. We spoke to the Propeller designers, Casper Asmussen, Gustav Nord and Filip Sauer about the plan behind it.

What inspired you to create this particular product and what was the intention behind it?

In general we always look around us for inspiration, what is happening in other product areas, new materials and trends, it is a constant flow of incoming information.

Early in the process we identified some key values that we strived to incorporate in the design, such as sensual, harmonic, airy, friendly and iconic.

Opening up the enclosed volume using light and space to create an interesting relation between the outer and inner volumes. This was achieved by separating the flouresent tubes, which led to the idea behind Open Box.

What does being awarded with the “red dot: best of the best” mean to you?

This is an acknowledgement that we’re doing something right and we love it.

What particular challenges do you think designers have to face these days?

The technological development in sociaty in general calls for a different mindset when designing products, as there is a shift from products being just an object to something that provides an experience. Just look at the development within consumer electronics, a mobile phone today is capable of so much more than just making a phone call. The consumer expects and demands a richer experience and to be able handle this increasing complexity the designer needs new approaches in the design process  such as working in multidisciplinary teams.

As a designer, what would you still like to accomplish in the future?

What have we accomplished so far? The perfect product have not yet been designed and never will be in an ever changing world. There are so many aspects to work with, ecology, anthropology, social factors, new materials, new manufacturing processes etc. The challenge is to find the perfect and interesting balance between all these ingredients.

What do you think is the economic significance of design?

At Propeller we often talk about commercial creativity, making a product which attracts the onlooker and excites a desire. We would rate design as the number one selling key for consumer products,  consumption is emotionally driven and this is something which goes beyond technology, features and price. Design is about creating product experiences that meet and superseeds the consumers expectations.

Between space and illusion

The Open Box pendant luminaire is open and transparent like space itself and thus challenges the onlooker who cannot detect any conventionally closed housing in which the light sources have been enclosed and the louvre and cover have been integrated. For direct and indirect light dispersion it uses two different “housings” that are visually separated from one another, yet are consistently connected by one luminaire body or frame made of extruded aluminium. The common look of a luminaire as a “light-emitting block in the room” is thus overcome. The lower part of the luminaire is equipped with an efficient louvre for direct and glare-free lighting whilst simultaneously illuminating the inside of the luminaire housing in a highly effective manner. The upper part of the luminaire emits a soft and indirect light onto the ceiling. The used T5 lamps are driven by electronic dimmers, which allow for individual illumination control and thus offer personally adjustable lighting effects. The Open Box luminaire combines an innovative, purist form with the advantages of conventional pendant luminaires – its design succeeds with a redefinition of both light and space.