British-Canadian Philippe Malouin set up his studio in 2008 after working for English designer Tom Dixon. His diverse portfolio includes furniture, lighting, art objects, and installations. As wide-ranging as Philippe’s work is, there is undoubtedly a common design language throughout his products and interiors. A language that speaks of soft minimalism, playfulness, vibrancy, and comfort.

One project we feel strikes a particularly minimal note is the sleek LED Line Lamp designed for Chinese furniture brand ZaoZuo. A thin, space-saving frame is complimented by curved edges and base. And it is within the base that a surprising feature is found. Philippe explains:

The line lamp was designed out of necessity, working on a much smaller desktop at home. I only had a depth of 450mm. Therefore, I needed a thin solution to be able to use the light as a task lamp, or bounce the light on the wall right behind it. I also needed to free my desktop from other electronics, so I included a USB connection port on the front of the lamp. It was an exercise in balance for the weight and dimensions as well as making it tip-proof.

Line Lamp features touch stepless dimming and a two-axis rotation mechanism allowing the light to be rotated freely. The light can be rotated by 350° clockwise + counterclockwise to expand the lighting range, without having to move the desktop working area. In addition, the lamp’s arm is also adjustable, enabling the user to position it at 45º angles making the light source more concentrated, and providing clearer lighting for fine work.

A clever element of this lamp is the touch dimming; whatever level the user has set the brightness to, it will be remembered and the same setting will be restored when the light is turned on again. The highest brightness is used as a dedicated reading light, and the lowest brightness is used as an atmospheric light.

The purpose-built task light has been selected as the winner of the 2021 Red Dot Product Design award.