silent butler or assertive guest ?

“according to design philosophy, functional objects such as lighting should be either ’invisible’ or ’assertive’ – ’silent butlers’ or ’assertive guests’.
The idea is that functional design should either embody discreet elegance – resembling a silent butler, an unseen servant, present only when required – or alternatively, take on the role of an assertive guest, a commanding presence that demands attention.
my lighting design tends to adopt one or the other of these seemingly opposing approaches – ’surf’, ’talo’, ’rea’ are silent butlers; ’alambicco’, ’calipso’, ’scopas’ assertive guests.
the discretion of the ’silent butler’ allows the necessary space for the ’assertive guest’ to shine”.
– neil poulton

lead photo : calipso, design by neil poulton for artemide. amazing photo courtesy of laura zalenga.
referencing ’symbolic objects’ an essay by charles jencks. respect.

lighting design by neil poulton.

neil poulton has designed lamps & lighting fixtures for over 30 years for companies incuding castaldi lighting, martinelli luce, danese milano, atelier-sedap, vertigo bird, habitat, forestier, mito, megalit & vianne-domec, but is probably best known for his many best-selling ranges for leading italian brand, artemide.

artemide, ’calipso’ & ’calipso linear’, design by neil poulton.

“a product positioned perfectly half-way between home and professional use, calipso delivers high performance lighting with a unique and emotional expressiveness” —artemide press release.

see more calipso

martinelli luce, ’toggle’, design by neil poulton.

’toggle’ was designed to be a versatile little nightime reading lamp – a tactile product for an increasingly contactless world.

see more toggle

artemide, ’ipparco’, design by neil poulton.

“the magnetic ’ipparco’ led table lamp is a halo of light you can grasp in your hand, a light which is both ambient and directional. ipparco invites you to play and interact, to position the light in any orientation or position” —artemide press release.

a reduced, delicate and unfamiliar yet also clear language of form

“one’s first impressionis is that of a reduced, delicate and unfamiliar yet also clear language of form”
– peter zec, red dot design yearbook.

artemide, ’talak’, design by neil poulton, 2005
(‘talak pro’ all metal re-edition, 2018).

talak wins red dot “best of the best”  award 2006,
observeur du design award, recommendation compasso d’oro.

red dot best of the best

artemide ’talo’ range, design by neil poulton, 2001 to present

neil poulton designed the first ’talo’ lamp in 2001. intemporal, ’physically and emotionally durable’, the ’talo’ lighting range is designed to last a lifetime.
awards : apci “étoile de design”, if product design award, red dot award, augusto morello/intel design prize, recommendation compasso d’oro.

see more talo

 

artemide – unproduced, design by neil poulton.

’samo’, ’glauce’ & ’gear’, design by neil poulton for artemide. photos by the great gio pini.

artemide ’surf’ range, design by neil poulton, 1996 – 1999.

best selling modular lighting system.
awards : “janus de l’industrie” award , if product design award, red dot award,  “design plus” lighting+building prize, batimat “parcours design” prize.

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artemide owned photos ©artemide s.p.a.

neil poulton on artemide.com

atelier sedap, design by neil poulton 1992 – 2009.

atelier sedap owned photos ©atelier sedap.

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’you bring light in’ – underworld, 2 months off, 2002.