Each year, the Hamburg, Germany–based International Forum (IF) Design puts the spotlight on the latest advances in product design across categories from automobiles to medical devices to homewares with its IF Design Awards. Among the product categories addressed, of course, is lighting. A total of 1,626 products were submitted to this year’s competition, with 66 in the lighting category. Of the full roster of entries, 75 were named Gold Award winners, the competition’s top honor, and among them, four belonged to the lighting group. Products eligible for submission must have been on the market for three or fewer years, or have plans to be produced this year. The lighting entries were judged by an international panel that included designer Danny Venlet of Venlet Interior Architecture in Brussels; designer Isabel Hamm of Isabel Hamm Gestaltung in Cologne, Germany; and lighting designer Ulrike Brandi of Ulrike Brandi Licht in Hamburg.
Learn more about the winning lamps and fixtures below, and remember to contact the manufacturer regarding availability in specific geographic regions.
Oviso Pendelleuchte, Ribag
From Swiss manufacturer Ribag, this slender direct-indirect suspension fixture gets its floating form from the use of OLED technology. With a 7mm-thick profile, the Oviso family also includes a wall-mounted version and a table luminaire. In their comments, the judges noted that they awarded the fixture a gold designation for its “modest, subtle design” and “homogenous, glare-free light.”
Lightscan, Erco
Erco’s Lightscan LED outdoor floodlights feature a minimal, contemporary housing and the ability to illuminate tall buildings and walls. The fixture is offered in a range of beam distributions—narrow spot, spot, flood, wide flood, oval flood, and wallwash—and in warm and neutral color temperatures. The judges cited Lightscan for its combination of “clean design and highly efficient lighting technology” and overall “great competence in the handling of light.”
Luminária Ani, Pascali Semerdjian Arquitetos
Mounted on a wooden base, this simple spotlight can be adjusted from a perpendicular to a horizontal position. Designed by Pascali Semerdjian Arquitetos in Sao Paolo, Luminária Ani was recognized for being at once “humorous, clever, useful, [and] sustainable,” while offering a “simple design which includes an equally simple handling.”
Swivel PAR38 Lamp, Samsung Electronics
The head of the Swivel PAR38 lamp by Samsung Electronics—which last fall announced the closure of its LED lighting operations outside of South Korea—connects to its base with a ball-and-socket hinge that lets users readily redirect the positioning of the light. “The lamp delighted us with its ‘twist,’” the jury said. “Its design captivates with a high-tech look but its elegance and finesse [are] similarly convincing.”
