Jiva Materials is a London-based startup and project spin-out from RCA that has developed a non-toxic, biodegradable, flax-based circuit board substrate branded Soluboard. The circuit board peels apart and sheds its electronic traces after being soaked in hot water. Continue reading jiva materials
Commonplace Studio is an Amsterdam-based design studio consisting of designer Jon Stam and hard- and software engineer Simon de Bakker. Stam and de Bakker are creating some very interesting concepts that integrate micro digital projectors into ceiling- and wall-luminaires to … Continue reading commonplace studio
This past week I attended and presented at the Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition 2019, staged by the excellent Messe Frankfurt Hong Kong team. My presentation was titled “From Architectural Lighting to Architectural Media“, in which I covered the transition to … Continue reading guangzhou lighting exhibition 2019
Digital signage systems are becoming pervasive in architectural environments, with widespread adoption in out-of-home marketing, wayfinding, menu systems, and retail branding. The steadily dropping cost of digital screens and cloud-based content distribution makes digital signage highly appealing to brands and … Continue reading 5 tips to prevent digital signage burnout
Evolving from Designer to Product Manager The business world is convinced of the competitive advantage in bringing “design thinking” into various development processes. So why don’t more organizations select and help transition design professionals into key roles beyond traditional “design” … Continue reading Business thinking for designers
I proudly hold two degrees in Architecture. I spent 7 years of my life (and a huge sum of money) to earn these degrees and build a professional reputation in the construction and manufacturing industries. You know what is incredibly … Continue reading Should the AIA and RIBA sue tech companies for professional misrepresentation?
Bloomberg recently released a nicely-produced video on the LED revolution, especially touching on Shuji Nakamura’s development of blue LEDs at Nichia: But I do find it bit humorous at the end of the video how they show LG’s curvy OLED … Continue reading bloomberg video: how blue LEDs changed the world
Archilumo is a Dutch startup launching a very interesting range of planar LED architectural lighting. I’ve long wondered why fixture manufacturers don’t explore more interesting forms of flat, planar lighting – given the propensity of architects to want to treat … Continue reading archilumo
Signify is slowly revealing more of its commercial-scale 3D-printing program, launching the consumer-focused offering “Philips MyCreation” in the Netherlands and Germany. MyCreation allows home consumers to mix and match from a massive variety of styles and colors to build their … Continue reading signify’s 3D-printed “MyCreation” series
Lightwave Laser is a Santa Rosa, California based company that makes a variety of architectural-scale laser-cut panels. They have a nice collection of back-lit application examples. Like my work with Luminous Patterns, I believe this area embedded luminous architecture is ripe for innovative new concepts. Continue reading lightwave laser
More exquisite papercut lightbox art: Hari & Deepti are husband-and-wife Mumbai-based artists exploring the beauty of layered, luminous papercut art. Some gorgeous inspiration for lighting designers, stage designers, etc. And what an incredible tool for teaching lighting students an understanding … Continue reading hari & deepti
Vibes Genius is a small crafts company I ran across on Pinterest that makes beautiful little layered papercut light boxes. The effect of the layered depth and translucency of the paper with the scenography of the illustrations creates some striking … Continue reading vibes genius
Over the years Audi has continued to impress with creative concepts using cutting-edge technology for their automotive headlights and taillights. Here are a couple recent videos: The first showcases what is possible when headlights become interactive 1 megapixel digital projectors, … Continue reading audi headlight concept videos
Back at the Integrated Systems Europe 2019 show, LG’s professional signage group demo’d their transparent OLED screens front-and-center in their massive booth. They’ve now launched a complete website with a real product on the market. Transparent OLED is interesting because … Continue reading LG’s transparent OLED tech
Sony presented a beautiful installation called “Affinity in Autonomy” that explored future relationships with robotics of various sorts. The installation was beautifully conceived, using both darkness and luminous splashes of vivid blended-pastel colors to create a wonderful experiential sequence. But … Continue reading milan 2019: sony’s affinity in autonomy
The investment conglomerate Investindustrial created a massive 4,000 sqm presence for its newly organized Design Holding portfolio of companies, including Flos, B&B Italia, and Louis Poulsen. Most impressive was a beautiful interactive entryway installation. Depicting fun caricatures of the famous … Continue reading milan 2019: design holding – interactive installation
The future is dim for preset-scene lighting controls We are entering a future where architectural design and its associated technology systems are increasingly focused on experience management as the primary end-goal of many projects. New technology systems, such as digital … Continue reading media-driven vs data-driven environments
The Entrepreneurs is an interesting and well-produced podcast from Monocle. Episode 381 from 30 January 2019 contains a great interview with the two founders of Plumen, the startup that introduced decorative CFL lamps in 2010. Plumen was always a bit of … Continue reading plumen: the entrepreneurs podcast
One of the best examples of lighting design at the 2019 Salone del Mobile surprisingly did not come from any of the lighting companies, but from the booth design of Italian architectural surfaces manufacturer Cleaf. Designed by Bestetti Associati, the … Continue reading milan 2019: cleaf booth design
In the Feb/Mar 2019 issue of ARC Magazine, the editorial team asked me and a few other speakers from the Light School sessions at the Surface Design Show to elaborate our opinions on “wellness lighting.” Here was my response: There … Continue reading wellness lighting
