“LIGHT IN MOTION” Workshop in collaboration with Domus Academy

Light as protagonist of everyday life between comfort, emotion and functionality.

Light has been an essential element for the life from the beginning of history. Light affects both physical and psychological conditions. Human culture has developed in parallel with the innovation and control of the light, changing behaviours of the people, society and lifestyle.

Technology developed in recent years has allowed for the miniaturization of components including batteries for energy storage. This innovation has opened up new design scenarios; the meaning and possibilities of these technologies in relation to contemporary life and behaviour need to be considered. On one hand, there are new opportunities that were impractical with artifical light until recently. On the other hand, we know well that mobile and portable light was a prerogative for millions of years until the invention of the electric light.

We also know that since the invention of the lamp, (which is simply a “light bulb” connected to a cable with two poles coming from electrified points) lighting fixtures are divided between different typologies: floor, ceiling, wall, and table. In product design, considerable attention has been dedicated to the lighting fixture in terms of form but also with the intention to “free” the light from the technical and functional constraints of the electric cable. Surprising mechanical and structural inventions have been invented. There are many of examples of table lamps from great designers who have been challenged for more than a century, inventing of knots, joints, springs and arms that, laboriously managed the electric cables to allow more and more degrees of freedom of movement.

The search to “free” the lamp from the cable constraint represents a strong design requirement, which today has became possible. What are the contexts, the micro-environments where the use of this technology creates new and innovative solutions?

The collection aims to investigate the environmental contexts where the use of mobile, portable and rechargeable lighting devices can be interesting, functional, useful, plausible and comfortable.

Students identified a series of new types of portable lamps similar to the traditional ones but which, unlike these, will have a close relationship with human behaviours. Our attempt is to free the light from the spatial elements that have been the constraints of traditional cable lamps (wall, table, floor, ceiling).

They investigated the home environment in search of every-day actions and their needs, identifying a specific context to explore. These actions have been then broken down and analyzed, in a dimension closer to the body, taking into account the micro-environments and the complexity hidden behind apparently simple gestures. All these information have been collected in maps and infographics.

As expressed in our description: “(...)the tools that leave room for the interpretation of how and where to use them”. The aim of this collection is to define a new perspective, where the lamp follows human behaviour and not viceversa. What is challenging about this task is that possibilities are endless: If we let go of electric cables’ limitations, lamps become multifunctional, metamorphic and chameleon-like.

During the workshop students have witnessed to the birth of a series of dynamic objects that are almost “alive”, that complement human actions in a changing environment (the house). New ways of living finally come with new ways of lighting.

Hat Trick

Nowadays we carry out an innumerable number of “nomadic” activities, we move constantly but we always seem to stay in the same place. Lighting is an essential component of any activity. However, current lighting systems are too tied to a surface or worse yet to a specific area. The project aims to solve the problem of mobility of light by integrating it into a trivial but essential object that is present in every environment we inhabit: a bottle cap. The choice of a familiar object (the hat), miniaturized to the scale of the common bottle, maintains its purpose of covering the top of a bottle while harnessing modern lighting technologies and high-energy rechargeable AA batteries. The resulting light is completely free from any connection to the wall, allowing it to move seamlessly between indoor and outdoor use.


Inspired by the theory of the transitional object, Pofuduk’s versatility and practicality stems from the idea of having a luminous friend that helps guiding children through life.
The product is made of soft cotton with the classic look of a capitonnè blanket. This multi-purpose blanket leaves room for the child to imagine how and where to use it. The buttons are plastic with metal connection points that the child can use to attach a collection of animal and tree-shaped light objects, thus creating their own light landscape.


With the aim of “freeing” lighting from its traditional constraints, the concept stems from an analysis of the human behaviour inside the home focusing on microenvironments that could benefit from the creation of a portable light. On that basis, the project is centered on the task of working from home, which reflects the modern polycentric house. The rooms and working stations chosen change depending on the individual, people can work at a table, on a sofa or even on a bed.
The results of this research led to the concept of a lamp that can cover all of these areas: a telescopic portable light that through height adjustment can satisfy the individual’s personal needs. Using an intuitive gesture, it can be adjusted to between 120cm and 40 cm. When it is closed it is easy to carry around and, thanks to its telescopic parts, it can produce both diffuse light on the floor and direct light.


People spend most of their free time in the living room and most frequently on the sofa. Considering it as a target place and investigating the effects of light on people’s emotions, Klipak design is based on a clip-on structure suitable for any soft item (sofas, pillows, blankets, etc): its pressing piece reflects the light source, light radiates on surfaces and spreads creating a warm and embracing atmosphere.


Living in a microenvironment is not easy. When it comes to lighting, users often have to adapt the arrangement of their furniture around power sources. Lumina is composed of a rechargeable cordless lamp, which is associated with various reflectors designed to be placed in different areas of the microenvironment. Thus achieving optimal lighting, while taking advantage of wireless technology and the short distances users cover when moving around the house.
Simplicity and dynamism are the main characteristics of these products. Lumina can be charged with the same charger as our cell phones and has three light power levels that are regulated by simple finger touches.


With Ast plants are brought to life inside the home thanks to this fabulous lighting solution.
Ast helps people accentuate plants and those corners of the house that often go unnoticed. The simple and compact shape of the lamp makes it easy and quick to change location according to different needs. The concept also includes the fact that the lamp is wireless, making it portable and hassle-free. This smart lamp is battery operated and comes equipped with a universal port, meaning it can be charged using a regular cable.


After carrying out a survey to measure people’s time use in different rooms, designers found that people spend most of their time in the bedroom. A good bedtime routine and sleep quality are important, which is why the product is targeted around the bed. The most common thing people do upon waking is grab their phone, therefore people need their mobile phones by the bed.
Due to the small, lightweight, convenient and portable qualities of mobile phones, this light uses the flashlight that comes with mobile phones as a light source to provide light while in bed. This bedside lamp can be used as a mobile phone holder.


Lighting is absolutely critical in dining, the purpose of light is not just to improve visibility so people can see what’s going on, but also to create a dramatic ambiance to enjoy both food and company. A dining table can easily become cluttered with dishes and cutlery, so having a lamp with a cord would make it even worse. The Volano lamp is a simple and smart solution for hassle-free dining. Lighting up the table with adjustable brightness, this colour-changing lamp is the ultimate tool for setting the dining mood. Food is not just meant to be consumed indoors, but can be enjoyed anywhere. Volano is a compact and portable lamp that fits in perfectly everywhere.


In this crowded city life, people tend to live in small but functional apartments. Usually, there are several lights in a room in order to fit different activities, and this causes an excessive use of energy.
The concept underneath LightTray is to find a way to use light only when necessary matching it with the most performed action during people everyday life: drinking. The result is a light that can be carried with a drink. The handle is a tubular structure in the middle of the tray, and the light is under it. The battery is rechargeable so it can be carried anywhere. With this light, users can illuminate just the area immediately surrounding them, like a desk where they are working, a balcony where they are relaxing or a bedroom where they are reading LightTray has three brightness adjustments to suit different usage scenarios.

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