The Human Light; Designed By The Finest Artists In Their Fields And Lauded With Awards, Artemide Lighting Finishes A Design As No Others Can

“Let there be light.” And there was. It came from the sun and it disappeared at night. Sometimes lightning interrupted the darkness, but usually not. Then humankind discovered how to control fire, and things got a little better. Rush lights floating in oil – better still. Candles; oil lamps; gas lighting; and at last Thomas Edison and the incandescent light bulb. You can tell how important that was – what do people say when they want to describe the birth of a great idea? “A light came on.” And how do they illustrate it? With a picture of a light bulb! Oh, the human race was pretty pleased with itself.

And then, fifty years ago now, Ernesto Gismondi said, “Okay, this is good – but I can make it better.” (Only, of course, he said it in Italian). And he and Sergio Mazza founded Artemide to show what he meant.

“Design” is an Italian word for “genius.” (Well, okay, it isn’t. But it should be). What Gismondi and Mazza knew was that form without function is nice to look at but doesn’t get you very far and function without form gets the job done but you want to look at something else while you’re doing it, BUT put them together – marry form and function – and the whole world will be knocking at your door

Which is exactly what happened.

Artemide Recognition in high places

When Motel One opened in Basel this month (July 2016), it gave visitors the benefits of a great city – the famed Barfusserplatz is next door and the Cathedral, the town hall and St Peter’s Square are in walking distance – combined with the pleasures of a hotel built on great design. Art by Giacometti, Munch and André Masson. Egyptian cotton bedlinen. A Loewe flat screen TV. And lighting by – who? By Artemide, of course. In that company, who else?

AdAstra, a 200 year old palazzo on the Arno in Florence, is owned and lived in by the Torrigiani family. What did they choose to set off the high, frescoed ceilings and the stone and parquet floors? Artemide lighting. What else?

And what did Mercedes do when they wanted to turn the inside of the S-Class luxury automobile from a good experience to a great one? They chose Artemide Ameluna lighting. Look at it from below and it’s a perfect circle. Look at it from the side and the dynamism of the curve is a revelation. But Artemide isn’t just about design – as we’ve said, it’s form and function combined – and the 288 LEDs, though individually you can’t see them, give off a spectacular lucency almost impossible to describe – you have to experience it. And you can experience it, even without an S-Class Mercedes, because Ameluna lighting is also available for the home and the office.

Awards won by Artemide

Artemide has been winning awards for many years. The Compasso d'Oro is a design award hosted by Associazione per il Disegno Industriale (ADI) and is the most valued, most sought after award in its field. Artemide products have won the award five times since 1967; Tolomeo, the design that won in 1989, is still one of our outstanding collections. Here’s one of the products in the Tolomeo collection:

Tolomeo Classic Table Lamp

An “anglepoise” lamp in spring-loaded polished aluminum. For the diffuser, choose between parchment and a silk satin fabric.

Other items in the Tolomeo award-winning collection:

Tolomeo XXL Outdoor Floor Lamp

A quite outstanding outdoor lamp designed by Michele De Lucchi, an Itlaian architect who founded the “Cavart” artistic movement and has designed for a number of well-known furniture manufacturers. A concrete base gives stability in any conditions and the anodized aluminum body is rugged, durable – and graceful; an unusual but highly desirable combination.

Tolomeo Double Shade Pendant Light

Designed by Michele De Lucchi and Giancarlo Fassina, its adjustable arms make for ease in choosing where light will be cast, and the diffuser comes in three sizes.

There were also outstanding awards in the first half of 2016 with Artemide designs winning:

• The 2016 Lux Award Middle East judged on a combination of outstanding performance, breath-taking appearance and low power consumption. It was presented at LuxLive Middle East 2016 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center.

• The 2016 Red Dot Award for “Best of the Best.” This, bear in mind, in a competition that started out with 5,200 projects from 57 countries and judged by a panel of 41 independent experts from all over the world. The award was handed over to designers Giovanni Giacobone and Massimo Roj in July 2016 at the Red Dot Museum in Essen, Germany.

• The 2016 Hans Grohe iF Design Award for design excellence.

Artemide Designers

The essence of Artemide design is to draw on the talents of gifted artists and designers. Not people who spend their whole lives designing lamps and only lamps, but artists from many fields who put at our disposal the skills and knowledge they have gained elsewhere. We can call on so many great designers that to name only a few without mentioning everyone may seem invidious…but…taking them entirely at random:

Naoto Fukasawa was born in Japan and graduated in Art before moving to America where he did excellent work in computer and related electronic product design. Returning to Japan, he set up Naoto Fukasawa Design taught art, and became a professor of integrated art design at Tama Art University. He sees the purpose of design as achieving a complete and harmonious relationship between user, environment and object. His Demetra LED Wall Lamp and Demetra LED Spotlight illustrate this philosophy perfectly.

Carlotta de Bevilacqua is an Italian designer and university lecturer who also happens to be an Artemide Vice President responsible, among other things, for innovation in product design. Carlotta has designed a number of Artemide products including:

• Mimesi Floor lamp, a dual source floor-standing lamp that allows switch-selectable direct or diffused LED lighting

• Copernico, an intricate suspension lamp comprising no fewer than nine concentric mobile ellipses studded with white LEDs and rotating independently on two separate axes so that the whole can be configured (and reconfigured) in a way that suits the needs and the mood of the moment. Simply wonderful in larger rooms

Bruno Rainaldi brings to his designs an amusing, self-referential look back at the hangings and drapes of Victorian times in such captivating designs as the Ceremony Chandelier where opalflex swagging lets through a mix of direct and diffused light. One could almost imagine oneself walking into a saloon – one of the better class of saloons, naturally – in the Old West. Annie Oakley and Billy the Kid spent their evenings in light such as this.

Artemide Products

Starting a list of Artemide products is daunting, because there are simply so many. And thinking about the kind of space scarcely makes things easier, because Artemide lighting is used in so many ways: hotels, restaurants, retail spaces, offices, out of doors, homes – and that list does not exhaust the uses. Inevitably, any selection is going to be limited. But here are a few:

For Home Use

The Issey Miyake Collection

As you might expect, Issey Miyake has produced some designs for Artemide that go beyond any superlatives. The Mendori Table Lamp just may be the most attention-holding conversation piece you ever buy – of any kind, from anyone. Except, of course, that it would have to compete with the Hoshigame Table Light and the Mogura Table Light. Nor is it only on the table that Miyake designs thrill – the Tatsuno Otoshigo is only one of a series of pendant and floor lamps that will have any true lighting afficianado trembling: “But which should I have? Which?”

The Logico Collection

Designed by Michele De Lucchi and Gerhard Reichert, Logico began with an idea and grew into a whole range. The idea was rooted in the way light could be diffused by a particular blown glass diffuser, an organic shape used in various ways in the Logico range. Here are some examples:

Logico soffitto

Soffitto means ceiling, and this fitting comes in painted metal with a blown glass diffuser and a polished silk finish. Also comes in a triple-nested version, and the wall-mounted Logico Parete – a most versatile and pleasing design.

Logico Triple Linear Suspension Light

Three hand-blown diffusers on a frame in die-cast, pale grey matte finish aluminum. Comes in a choice of three sizes.

Logico Tavolo

The same Logico theme of painted metal frame, blown glass diffuser and polished silk finish but this time for sitting on a table. Which must mean, of course, that there’s also the:

Logico Terra

The Logico Tavolo, but this time floor mounted. Comes with a touch-controlled dimmer and – like the rest of the Logico collection – features three layers of glass (crystal/silk/crystal) blown in an upside-down mold for a quality of light that’s just stunning.

For Office Use

Cadmo Wall Fitting

A folded steel panel in a choice of three color combinations sends indirect light upwards and a diffused light forwards and downwards. Conceived by American designer Karim Rashid and a surefire winner.

Skydro

A ceiling lamp for boardrooms, conference rooms and similar spaces. Conceived by British designer and visionary Ross Lovegrove as a series of pebbles bouncing light like a bright sky from biomorphic surfaces. Diecast aluminum on painted steel.

We could go on, but we’d never reach the end. What remains is:

Artemide and The Human Light

Everyone at Artemide talks about “The Human Light.” You could say it’s what makes Artemide Artemide – the guiding principle, the raison d’être, the thing that marks Artemide out from ordinary lamp-makers. But what do they mean? What IS The Human Light?

The Human Light is a way of looking at lighting from the human perspective – asking (and answering) the question: If we wanted to design and make a lamp or a system of lighting that catered for human well-being, what would it look like? Not just great design – that goes without saying. Not just outstanding technical performance – at Artemide, that’s a given. But a way of meeting human needs out of human experience.

Carlotta de Bevilacqua is Artemide Vice President for innovation in product design. Her biggest innovation has been in how Artemide conceptualizes a new product and then takes it from artist’s easel (now, in fact, more often a screen) to factory floor. Question 1 is always: What do people need the light to be and to do? And, when we say “the light,” we don’t mean the lamp – we mean the light – the lucency – that flows from it into the space around. What do these people in this space need light to do? How should it look? How should it feel? (A designer who doesn’t know that light has a feel, and doesn’t experience that feel personally, has no place at Artemide).

It isn’t just the space – it’s the people who will use that space, and what they will use it for. That’s what Artemide means by The Human Light.

Buying Artemide

Now that you understand the Artemide concept of The Human Light, you will also know how to look at – and for – our products. These ae the stages:

The Space

How big is this room that you wish to light? How high are the ceilings? How many windows are there, how much light do they admit and where ae they situated?

The People

Who is going to use this space? And for what? What are their ages? What do they look for and what do they need?

The Feel

We could say, instead of “The Feel”, “The Human Experience.” The people in the room will be the most important factor; how will they occupy it? Will it be for companionship, for solitude or for business? Should the light that envelops them be soft or firm, diffuse or certain, white or something other than plain white?

Once you know the answer to those questions – once you have understood them, internalized them, felt them – you are ready to move into our product selections and start making your choice. Take your time. The results of these decisions will be with you a very long time.

Similar to another of our world renowned lighting designers – our Artemide lighting section gives you direct access to the gorgeous creations of one of Europe’s most famous and artistic lighting design companies. Widely recognized as some of the most gorgeous and effective light sources in Europe, Artemide has been producing world class light fixtures and appliances for decades. They take a more humanistic approach in their design than most lighting designers, and their stated aim is to create more effective “human light” – or light sources that are designed to create a sense of peace and well-being in the people who use them.

Artemide is an exceptionally popular designer, and it’s easy to see why – their lighting is both elegant and efficient, casting light that is perfectly suited to nearly any application or environment. Their lighting is featured in publications and periodicals throughout the lighting industry, and has been used in upper scale restaurants, hotels, and museums the world over. If you’re searching for the perfect way to bring your living room or den to life, be sure to browse through our lighting online store to find the perfect addition to your favorite room or office.