The Signals collection was presented by British designers Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby at a solo exhibition at London’s Galerie Kreo. Barber Osgerby’s “Signals” are floor, wall, and pendant luminaires with aluminum bases and Venini glass diffusers.
“There is something about the cone that we often return to,” says Barber. “There is energy in his form,” adds Osgerby. – In technical drawing, orthographic projection uses a conic shape to determine the kind of object we are drawing. It is a code that is deeply rooted in our minds.”
Any signal luminaire consists of an aluminum box, which forms the basis of the structure, on which conical glass cones are attached. Each of the colored glass shades is blown by hand in the Venini workshops in Murano, Venice. “There is a contradiction between the industrial and craft elements of lamps, which we call engineering craft,” explains Osgerby. “We always try to work in that space between the sketch and the machine.”
The designers note that the shapes of the lamps are reminiscent of old-school audio equipment and Cold War dystopian sci-fi designs, while their austere construction is softened by the glass, color, and light. The elegant aesthetics of the luminaires are updated with details such as large buttons on an aluminum base and glass lampshades that can be moved to change the glow of the light.
