Designer Samuel Wilkinson has introduced working prototypes for his latest LED lighting project, Beem, which aims to “change the expectation of what you consider to be a lightbulb” from a design perspective. He produces the twisting shapes, described by FastCoDesign’s Mark Wilson as “spindly sculptures of light,” by threading a new variety of micro-LEDs that are semi-flexible inside a silicon outer tube.
The inaugural Beem designs are certainly fresh: Some bend into curves and U shapes, almost like neon-rendered emoji smiles. Others make it looks as if a trail of light is dancing around a central ceramic point, like the orbit of a moon around a planet. And in the most ambitious design, Wilkinson drills through the light tube with a wooden rod, like a lamp with no lampshade necessary. Yet as wild as these designs are, many are still compatible with the same old screw-in bulb sockets we have in our homes.
Wilkinson’s startup plans to introduce buyable editions of its concepts within the next few months.
Read More
