13/Feb/2011 MUJI glass ball lamp

This is actually a lot harder than I imagined. Feels like I asked myself to write a short essay for Leslie everyday.

My table lamp is a MUJI glass ball lamp. Its name says it all, it’s a lamp made by glass shaped like a ball. Since it’s a MUJI product, its design is completely minimalist, nothing is extra, nothing is unnecessary and everything has function. It has no decoration, but the lamp itself can be used as a decoration.

The outside surface of this 20 cm diameter glass ball has a matt finish, to soften the light. There is a 10 cm diameter round open at the bottom so the lamp can be placed on a flat surface, and a human hand can easily go into it to change the bulb. The glass ball has a few functions, it’s a lampshade, it holds the screw cap light bulb holder, and I can call it a stand as well. In the winter, I use it as a very comfortable hand warmer. 

Inside the ball, the surface is glossy, it’s good for reflecting the light within the ball. There is a screw cap light bulb holder that holds a light bulb up to 40 watts. 

The wire comes out from the ball through a little hole. The designer used a transparent wire, I think it is to minimise the visual appearance of the wire hence to keep the design language of the lamp itself, which is minimalism. 

One disappointment is the switch. It seems like they’ve gone for the money saving option, even though the lamp costs a whopping £30. The reason I said that is because it is a very normal looking rocker switch. It has transparent plastic shells, but I can see that it’s not designed for the lamp. If I were the designer I would used a big fat round push button switch with very small damping, to match the style of the lamp itself and for a more elegant operation. 

The plug is also made from transparent plastic, all the fuses and the wiring can be clearly seen. 

Yes it is not adjustable in anyway- except I can move it around on my desk- but why does it need to be when it works efficiently? It’s cosy, it’s simple, it looks elegant, it can be placed anywhere in a room to create a warm and charming atmosphere. 

I think minimalist designs always work very well, it is a safe way of designing something because nothing can go wrong with it and they can match so many other styles. On the other hand, I think minimalist design is something very hard to achieve, it needs to be smart, it needs to be honest, the designer needs to strictly target at its function. When I was designing something, I keep worrying about what would happen if it doesn’t have something, but most of the times that ‘something’ is actually not necessary. 

By the way, I think MUJI is a very interesting topic, might use it in the future.

Tomorrow’s topic: Apple laptop computer power adaptor