"The Edison bulb that has been a symbol of innovation is dead,'' declares industrial designer Ian Wong. ''This is a new frontier.''
Wong, director of design champions Melbourne Movement, has chosen three young designers to represent Australia at this year's massive Milan furniture fair, which opens this week. In his view, the Plus Pendant light, by industrial design graduate Andy Zhou, combines new technologies and design in a way that prompts a rethink of how we live.
''It's the beginning of our living spaces changing from a quite inert, hard-wired space to being managed by automation and tablet-based Wi-Fi.''
Wrapped in one complete piece of 3D knitting, the Plus Pendant's four flexing ''petals'' change shape and intensity using a computer tablet, rather than a light switch. Perhaps the brightest idea behind the lamp, however, is its new illumination technology. The Plus Pendant uses 36 OLEDs - organic light-emitting diodes - that are 95 per cent more efficient than Edison's bulb. Just 4mm thick, OLEDs were developed in the 1980s by Eastman Kodak. As patents and licences expire they are starting to enter the high-end markets in TVs and tablet devices by companies such as LG and Samsung.
The pendant will be shown during SaloneSatellite, an invitation-only section of the fair offering designers under 35 entree to the big names in furniture. Alongside Zhou's ''hero piece'' are Rebecca Crooke's Paperclip lamp, which has already won a Sydney award, and Nik James' ''flamboyant'' Popsi stool.
Since 1999, when MM began showing, European manufacturers such as Alessi, Moroso, Magis, Kartell and B&B Italia have picked up Australian designers Helen Kontouris, Adam Cornish and Tate Anson. Jim Hannon-Tan now works for Marcel Wanders' Moooi in the Netherlands. Last year Ed Linacre brought his Nest Pendant to Milan and was offered several contracts from major manufacturers.
''We mix it with the best,'' says Linacre, a winner of the prestigious James Dyson Award for international students and runner-up at Milan for the emerging design award. ''You're face to face with the biggest manufacturers in the world, whereas if an Australian designer tried to ring up a global manufacturer like Herman Miller it just doesn't happen. In Milan you can communicate personally.''
It's a long-term investment these companies are after, says Wong. ''Companies don't just want a youngster's design, they want the right person. So we're looking for people who are remarkable. We're putting them forward as people who can make a difference and a contribution.''
At just 23, Zhou has interned at Holden, designed his lamp with the help of CSIRO and is working with Apple in California as a ''CAD monkey''. He says the inspiration for his lamp came from seeing 3D knit Nike shoes and hearing about the OLED technology being experimented with at CSIRO. Zhou wanted to ''show the potential of the technology, give it purpose and add value to the project itself''.
Traditional lights are either point source (bulb) or linear source (fluoro), whereas OLED is a surface source light particularly useful in workplace applications because of their anti-glare properties. Zhou also wanted to create a product with character.
''The best designs are ones that allow you to have a product-human relationship,'' he believes. ''In the future OLEDs are going to be flexible, so I wanted to get that characteristic across in my product and have the frame flex to make the light appear like a flexible object.''
By supporting and showcasing this design thinking, CSIRO hopes it will stimulate other designers and manufacturers to see the potential in OLED technology.
''With the change in the auto industry and other manufacturing generally in Australia, more than ever there's a need to showcase the amazing talent that we produce in Australia and the unique attributes and qualities that living in Australia bring to design globally,'' says Wong.
