what we do counts: the comical lighting design of ingo maurer

what we do counts: the comical lighting design of ingo maurer
photo by tom vack / courtesy of ingo maurer

ingo maurer has been developing lamps, lighting systems and illuminated objects since the mid-1960s. over the past four decades, the german-born industrial designer has become known for his production of humorous lighting pieces which can be seen equally as works of art and functional objects. each year maurer surprises with new creations. for 2015 he has brought forth a comical series of luminaires including: ‘what we do counts’; ‘i ricchi poveri – monument for a bulb’; ‘lucellino’; and ‘walking bulb’.

‘what we do counts’ transforms a speech bubble into a table lamp
2 x 6 W LED, 1040 lm, 3000 K, CRI 90, not dimmable
230 F /125 V/ 18,5 V prototype
height max. 85 cm, width max. 90 cm.
image © designboom

‘what we do counts’ really is a joke. it provides a good light, can easily be moved around, and is functional, and most uplifting. made from aluminium, the speech bubble lamp features an integrated LED that can be rotated 360°, with an arm that can be adjusted into a higher position.

‘comics have become an important part of our lives. witty and cheerful, humorous and last but not least very inspiring. I love speech bubbles. so I thought, why not turn a speech bubble into a desk lamp? but with a strong message which concerns us all: ‘what we do counts’.’ – ingo maurer

ingo maurer draws on the humorous and influential world of comics to inform his lighting design
image © designboom

the designer adds some seriousness to the lamp by including the important phrase: ‘what we do counts’
image © designboom

the LED lighting is sandwiched between two sheets of cut aluminium
image © designboom

the speech bubble’s height can be adjusted accordingly
photo by tom vack / courtesy of ingo maurer

‘what we do counts’ by ingo maurer
photo by tom vack / courtesy of ingo maurer

view of the range of movement the lamp expresses
photo by tom vack / courtesy of ingo maurer

‘i ricchi poveri – monument for a bulb’
low-voltage halogen bulb
35 W, 600 lm, 2000 h, EEC C
230 V/125 V/24 V, socket E27, with electronic trans- former with dimmer
height approx. 12 cm, width approx. 25 cm.
photo by tom vack / courtesy of ingo maurer

part of the larger ‘i ricchi poveri’ series, ‘monument for a bulb’ is an intriguing, small lighting object that looks like a tiny maquette for a huge monument. on its dark metal base plate, eight small human figures have been placed around the greater ‘monument’ — the light bulb — that hovers horizontally, held up by a simple piece of brass. each of the figures are cast in nickel silver.

the ‘i ricchi poveri’ series ‘monumentalizes’ the light bulb
photo by tom vack / courtesy of ingo maurer

‘i ricchi poveri – mounement for a bulb’ and ‘i ricchi poveri – fly’
image © designboom

‘lucellino LED’
glass, brass, plastic, hand-crafted goose-feather wings
the LED TRI-R bulb is produced exclusively for ingo maurer gmbh, it is only usable in ‘lucellino LED’
comes with a plug-in transformer
3 W, 120 lm, 2500-2900 k, CRI 95, EEC A
110-240 V/19 V
height approx. 45 cm, width approx. 35 cm, cable length 250 cm

at first glance, ‘lucellino LED’ seems to be nothing more than ingo maurer’s trademark ‘lucellino’ presented in 1992. that’s because in creating the LED version, the goal was to change as little as possible about the original design, except for the light source. not a particularly easy task when its main elements are only a frosted bulb and a pair of white wings!

the new sophisticated LED technology has been developed by maurer in collaboration with japanese company toshiba materials. named ‘TRI-R’, the bulb changes color, just as halogen ones do, with the bright spot on the bulb becoming reddish. when defining the color rendering, toshiba materials used the solar spectrum as a reference standard. additionally, the base plate of ‘lucellino LED’ is now equipped with a touch sensor for switching and continuous dimming.

‘lucellino LED’ is simple in form, comprised of a light bulb and a pair of white wings

‘lucellino LED’ in (f)light

‘walking bulb’ designed by michel sempels for ingo maurer
stainless steel, brass, aluminium, plastic, the LED spot swivels through 360° on an horizontal axis
LED spot 24°, 4 W, 350 lm, 2700 k, CRI>90
prototype

the ‘walking bulb’ combines the unique, magical beauty of the incandescent bulb with cutting-edge LED technology. this is evidenced through its slender and light profile made of a stainless steel wire. the ‘walking bulb’ seems to stride forward, carrying the light bulb into the future, with the LED spot swiveling through 360° on an horizontal axis.