Dover Street Market explores the benefits of light in its latest window installment by Ville Kokkonen of Artek STUDIO. Known as one of today’s most innovative design firms, Artek STUDIO specializes in furniture and lighting pieces, both of which are at play in this installation. Labeled “The White Collection,” the art piece embraces theory of light used as a tool in photobiological stimulation which is believed to enhance your mood and decrease cravings.

Source: ASVOF

Celebrating its 75th anniversary, Finnish design company Artek introduces its latest project, “White,” designed Ville Kokkonen, the company’s design director. A collection of lighting solutions, “White” is anchored by four different fittings, all the outcome of Artek’s study revolving around the use of light in domestic, office and public spaces. Kokkonen breaks the collection down in the excerpt below:

Every year, thousands of new lamps are created around the world. Some of them manage to introduce a new, unique form; others bring new technical solutions to the market. What these fittings usually have in common, however, is that they concentrate on making a spectacle of themselves and leave the light itself to play a supporting role. Form and colour are the stars, and light gets sidelined. This was the starting point for the new Artek lighting collection. White brings a new perspective on how we perceive lighting. It is time for white light to take centre stage.

The design was influenced by the effects of conceptual spatial installations on enclosed light, and it has also shown the path that lighting might take in the future. Unlike many of its peers, white stays in the background and concentrates on providing the perfect frame for light itself. In visually overcrowded environments, white provides a fresh alternative. It neither shouts nor overburdens the space in which it is placed. For too long, light has been overshadowed by the fitting. Right from the beginning of the design process we felt that there would be room for a lamp that allows light to rule. The biggest tribute for white would be that people remember its soft light but have no idea how the lamp itself looked.

Source: designboom

Furniture maker Artek team up with Dover Street Market for an installation in salute to Artek’s recent project alongside COMME des GARCONS for the duo’s STANDARD Fragrance. Entitled “10-Unit System” the furniture concept stands in the front window of Dover Street Market in London, created by Shigeru Ban. A further look into the project can be seen below.

Artek and COMME des GARCONS announce the launch of their joint creation, the STANDARD fragrance. The name derives from Artek’s standard thinking, based on Alvar Aalto’s original idea of systems and standards in furniture design. The unisex fragrance was created in line with Artek STUDIO’s brief on combining synthetic and natural elements, with the final scent being developed by Christian Astuguevieille, perfume creator at COMME des GARCONS. The result is a blend of Finnish Labrador Tea, Twinflower Linnea Borealis, metal and rust in the base notes and fennel, ginger, lemon, musk, saffron and cedarwood in the top notes. The visual aesthetics of the STANDARD fragrance were developed to stand along with Artek’s ideology and existing products. In line with Artek’s design ideology, the scent is created with the ambition to nourish physical and emotional wellbeing.

STANDARD will be launched in London at Dover Street Market on October 15th, 2009. The fragrance will be distributed through Artek’s and COMME des GARCONS’ own stores as well as COMME des GARCONS resellers.

Source: designboom