Yes, it is an innocuous balloon floating near the ceiling of a child’s bedroom, but at night fall this apparent simplicity fades away in the brilliance of the light emitted by it. Japanese Designer Satoshi Itasaka constructs these balloons out of Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP), fitting them with an LED lamp inside and using three cleverly concealed anchors to hold it to the ceiling. These custom made lights come in two colours, white and red, and aim to work beyond being innovative cutesies for kids’ spaces by hoping to spread the message of environmental awareness and preservation.

A little mop of FRP bubbles rising on a trunk-like form from another mop of bubbles resting on a flat base – the Mushroom is a table lamp for a mantel or counter. Hailed as an amazing piece of design, there was a limited edition of these lamps being marketed before it found its place at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in San Francisco. Created by Satoshi Itasaka as part of the works of Japanese design firm h220430, various parts of this lamp can light up separately, creating a variety of lighting auras. But, probing beyond the obvious, one learns that the billowing shape as well as the sequence of lighting options when played out represents the nuclear mushroom – formed as a result of a nuclear explosion! The design was meant to raise awareness about and remind us of the deeply disturbing factor of ‘23,000 nuclear weapons in existence all over the world and their capacity to annihilate the world several times over’.

The ultra-sleek tall stem standing on an iron base spouts little branches that can be used to hang up accessories and also carries a sleek angled bulb (or two), mimicking birds perching on poles and trees. As it graces an entrance foyer, it functions as a coat-rack while creating a warm welcoming aura with its light. Having taken the designer 10 years to perfect after it was first introduced in 2006, this lamp comes with a touch sensitive, safe dimmer to modulate its brightness. Aptly named ‘Myna’, it is part of the ‘Bird’ series of lamps created by Shanghai based design house, GYRO.

GYRO’s ‘Bird’ is a fascinating series of lamps and lights that mimic various birds like Myna, Sparrow and Nightingale in their multifarious surroundings. ‘Sparrow’, for example, has a row of variously angled sleek lamps positioned along a horizontal tubular copper brazed member akin to a bunch of sparrows perching along a telephone cable or roof ridge. It can be extended by joining more such pieces for larger spaces and incorporates the latest technologies in lighting.

The Kumiko OLED Modular Light is much more than a mirror, or a lighting panel that becomes a mirror when turned off. New York based designer Michiru Tanaka has referenced traditional Japanese crafts like paper and wood Shoji screens with wooden Kumiko screens that involve assembling sculpted wooden modules arranged in various ways to create differing patterns. Combining the already popular modular wall panels and OLED lighting systems with the intricacy of these Japanese arts, Tanaka creates intricately carved modules that adhere to a mirrored panel  magnetically, with a facility to light up from the back. So, here you go, create a new wall art everyday by interchanging the modules, that can switch between mirror-backed and back lit!

Who doesn’t love illusions and pranks? And they most certainly would go a long way in putting up an eye-catching décor. That’s exactly what ‘Peel’ does – creates the illusion of a corner of wall finish having peeled off...only to reveal it as brightly lit-up! Created by another Japanese talent YOY using (obviously) OLED to create an extraordinarily thin light source and wiring concealed in the corner, Peel can be simply hung on a hook!

Named after the popular card game, this light fixture is a set of, not cards, but six steel and fibreglass wedge-like sticks standing in a cluster. Designed by Belgian Designer Pol Quadens, the slim light rays emitted by through sliced off elliptical diagonal fibreglass sections almost magically connect to cast a circular halo of light on the ceiling! Well, that’s seriously playful!

Designed by architect Max Gunawan, this chargeable, portable book opens up to reveal a lamp of 500 Lumen. The Lumio, as it is called, has been provided with magnets under its surface to enable fixing it to any surface or suspension at various angles. Its portability allows it to be used at any location, indoors or outdoors. So, you need light? All you have to do is open a book!