The Hourglass Lantern works like traditional hourglasses but turns the thousand year old tech upside down (literally) by using LEDs instead of sand. You can even adjust how long it takes for the light to flow from top to bottom by twisting the two halves like a dial. As time passes, luminance decreases on top as it increases on bottom.

I like the idea but there’s something more accurate about the sand based version since I can precisely see how much sand is left where as with the Hourglass Lantern, there’s no gauge when both top/bottom are lit.

Designer: Young Bok Kim

In a similar vein as the Melting Light from last week, Charles Kalpakian’s RainLight re-imagines falling water as a source of light.  When prodded by observers, the neon tubes come alive and illuminate whatever sad room you’ve placed a glass rain cloud in.  I’d say it would be the perfect lamp for a good depressing book, like The Bell Jar or Flowers for Algernon.

Designer: Charles Kalpakian

When I think of light bulbs, I think of how hot they are, how they give me light at night, and how easy they are to break! From Joonhuyn Kim, displayed at the 2008 100% Design Tokyo, here is “Flat Bulb.” Better for stacking and shipping, no rolling away on you, and the best: aesthetically ironic. Simply fantastic!

But why not make a bulb with a whacky new shape, you may ask? Well, let me tell you, we discussed this sort of thing way back a few weeks ago when we spoke about the [LED Light Bulb]; at length. The truth of the matter is: light bulbs that are innovative, cheap, energy efficient, and every wonderful thing you can imagine, still sells less units than the bulbs with the classic light bulb shape, by a lot!

So, lets see if a certain blue-and-yellow Swedish “home products retailer” picks this design up so I can just hop on over to the Mall of America and pick one up! Or better yet, a bunch.

    EDIT: Originally this post was titled “Flat Lightbulb Solves all Benjamin Franklin’s Problems with Two Cuts” until our friendly Jason told me that it makes much more sense to use the inventor of the light bulb for the title, not the harnesser of electricity. Thus Thomas Edison replaces ol’ Ben.

Designer: Joonhuyn Kim

Ah wind chimes. They can be so relaxing or excruciatingly irritating. It wouldn’t be so bad if they served a functional purpose but thanks to some innovative Korean designers, tomorrow’s wind chimes will ring for a purpose. It’s called Tinkling,  an slick ultra-modern wind chime that rings whenever you receive a digital message (email, voicemail, text).

The idea is quite simple. Nobody wants to stand around their computer all day waiting for would be important messages. RELAX, kick off your shoes and go enjoy a glass of wine on your balcony or deck. Whenever you do receive a message, the Tinkling rings, its blowing tail changes color, and a message is displayed across the embedded screen.

Designer: Lufdesign

Well the French have taken their love of video games to the next level. So strong was the response to the virtual racer dubbed “GTbyCITROËN” in the hit Playstation 3 game Gran Turismo 5, that one of France’s oldest auto manufacturers decided to explore the future of design and make the jump to reality. Reminiscent of Mazda’s “Nagare” design movement, this sleek concept features bold design initiatives. Take for example the oversized rear-end “made exaggeratedly long in order to create an effect of retinal persistence. The idea is to make the concept car even faster visually. The white-to-grey gradation on the body side further underlines this impression of continuous movement.” Did you all catch that term “retinal persistence”? Can I say that referring to a large butt? Damn, that girls got some retinal persistence out back! Co-designed with Gran Turismo game designers POLYPHONY, the design exercise does a masterful job of getting us closer to “Form Beyond Fuction” - courtesy Takashi Yamada.

Via: AutoBlog

Perfect for cocktail party atmosphere or your late-night horror-movie versions of Mario cosplay, the possibilities are endless for Cube Lamp, aka Lámpara Cubo. The designer of this box of wonders is Ricardo Garza Marcos, a man of good taste and real minimalistic design sense.

Ricardo Garza Marcos, designer of the Cube Lamp, explains: “Lámpara Cubo gives an amazing intricate geometric pattern of Light creating the sensation of depth. The light patterns can be changed depending on the array the user chooses to just by de-centralizing the light bulb inside. Available in all kinds of wood finishes and color as well as aluminum composite or alucobond.”

I’d like 9 please, all white, placed in threes along each of the three walls of my living room. They will match my radical Billy May [Torn Lighting] setup. Or perhaps some terrifying puzzle-box configuration in etched gold on solid black would be more appropriate?

Designer: Ricardo Garza Marcos

There are a great many lights and chandeliers out there that emulate an explosion of light through glass and lines of refraction.  The Constellation Chandelier from Studio 1 Thousand however, accomplishes this feat through the simple use of LED’s and bent copper stems that array downward from a wrapped base.  Upon closer inspection, the clamps securing the LED clusters might even bring to mind Ingo Mauer’s Zettelz lamps, although this is anything but derivative.

From a tech standpoint, the chandelier uses 91 separate arms, each having 4 energy efficient LED’s attached, something which makes the prospect of owning a chandelier in the first place, more palatable.  <UPDATE> The studio is apparently trying to bring this piece into production, so please email the studio if you’ve an interest in purchasing.

Designer: Studio 1 Thousand

The SENZ Umbrella is the most unique umbrella I’ve ever seen and used and that’s saying a lot because how “designed” can an umbrella be? What makes the SENZ different is its aerodynamic shape which keeps rain off your back and withstands up to 70 mph winds. I tried it out and found a couple other unique features that make this umbrella a must have for any rain drenched area.

It’s solid but still lightweight - the first two things I look for in any umbrella. The handle is foamed and rubberized to keep your grip from slipping which leads me to the next unique feature. To open the umbrella, you pull down. Yes the mechanism is reversed but it makes sense. The mechanism you’re pulling on actually becomes a part of your grip. As long as you hold steadfast, the umbrella refuses to invert.

At first glance the shape looks odd but again makes so much sense; I’m amazed no one’s thought of it before. The cab forward aerodynamic shape does two things. Firstly it keeps rain off your back, an issue I find prevalent with traditional umbrellas. This shape also channels high winds across the surface and behind you. I’m almost positive the drag coefficient is significantly less which helps in resisting gale force winds.

At almost 3-4x the cost of a traditional umbrella, you better live in an area where rain is more than a seasonal visitor. Unlike me, conducting this review was difficult since I live in L.A. but I’m resourceful enough to see how well it holds up against a hose and beach winds. I’m happy to report it aced both events.

The SENZ Umbrella comes in 3 sizes. The one is the review is the XL.