Artek: White Collection by Ville Kokkonen

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