middlesex university students design shades for the plumen 001

middlesex university students design shades for the plumen 001
above: designer lamp shade by alejandro cabello martin
all images courtesy of plumen

students enrolled in a product design course at middlesex university in england were briefed to create an environmentally friendly lamp shade that would complement the plumen 001 bulb, winner of the brit insurance design of the year award in 2011, designed by hulger & samuel wilkinson. the innovative plumen 001 uses 80% less energy and lasts about 8 times longer than a traditional incandescent light bulb, so a significant aspect of the undergraduate project became the development of an accessory that would sync with energy efficient technologies. using responsible materials and processes, the student collaboration produced a diverse range of ideas and realizations that varied in medium application and technique; a fully retractable, wooden shade, a woven paper covering, and a wax-dipped bulb.

maroun jawiche

of the partnership between young minds and professional designers, wyn griffiths, product design senior lecturer at middlesex university says ‘we design the world around us and the responsibilities of ensuring that we best equip the future generation of designers to understand the complex ecology in which they work and exist, and how respond to, and lead thinking and practice towards better ways of designing are critical and can only be attempted through dialogue between academia, industry and wider society’. 

bernhard eiser

‘during the project, we had constant feedback sessions and those really helped not to stop developing a product further even if i was already satisfied with the results. I [also] learned that inventing a new process is one of the most exiting aspects of product design.’ — bernhard eiser, design student

johnathan joanes

seyhan kekec

ibrahim mohammed

janet tam

kastriot hasani

megan harley

‘working with hulger has benefited me immensely by making me realize it’s ok to not get things right straight away, and the key to good design is to not get too precious with an idea but create many prototypes and keep trying until you find the solution/outcome whilst having fun along the way‘ — megan harley, design student

luxmi aggarwal

risha parmar

sonia ginestar gomez