Empty Light by Amanda Buckley is a table lamp that encourages viewers to look directly into the shade by creating a surprising and beautiful optical illusion. Empty Light can adapt quickly and easily to the need at hand, the shade pivots and swivels on a hinge allowing it to be used in any position. With a gentle pivot it can transform from a reading or task light to an up light, or it can be angled towards a wall to provide reflected, ambient light.

Empty Light won the Bronze Award in the 2017 European Product Design Awards in the category Illumination/ Table Lamps. Other awards include 2013 Disrupting Design competition by Fab and The Conran Shop, London, UK.

A unique perspective

Unlike most lamps, Empty Light encourages viewers to look directly into it. It features an empty concave shade coated in a soft wash of white that reflects a hidden array of LEDs. While the shade is concave, it gives the appearance of being a flat diffused surface, creating a beautiful and surprising optical illusion.

Inspiration

Lighting is a ubiquitous part of our everyday environments, and often when we look at a lamp or a beautiful shade we are faced with a bare light bulb. Empty Light was inspired by this and was designed to encouraging viewers to look directly into the light.

Design and finishes

Empty Light features a conical design, a shape that is iconic within lighting design and creates an expectation of what you will find inside. This was used as an element of surprise to delight viewers when they look inside and find it empty. The overall design is simple with subtle details as to keep the emphasis on the interior of the shade and the lighting effect. Empty Light is made of aluminum and comes in a new range of colors, Light Grey, Blue and Black, and is coated with a soft-coat finish.

About Amanda Buckley

Amanda Buckley is an American product designer based in Zürich, Switzerland. She has experience across domestic and contract furniture design, systems design, lighting design, and interactive installations. Amanda is fascinated with materials and intrigued by how things are made. Through her work she brings an acute rational to design and aims to explore the frequencies between the lines.

Details

Name of Product: Empty Light

Designer: Amanda Buckley

Dimensions: 51cm H x 13cm W

Materials: Aluminum

Light Source: LED

Colors & Finishes: Light Grey, Blue, Black  with a soft-coat finish

Awards

2017 European Product Design Awards, Bronze, in Illumination, Table Lamps category.

2013 Disrupting Design Competition hosted by Fab and The Conran Shop, London, UK.

Empty Light table lamp is part of a developing collection that includes a floor lamp and ceiling lamp.