“Form follows function” is one of design’s guiding principles. Louis Sullivan’s enduring mantra remains relevant, yet designers have repeatedly shown that experimentation and creative freedom can coexist with usability and practicality. Within the world of lighting design, irony has often proven to be a successful approach. The most commonly used strategies to create playful lamps include assemblage, shifts in scale, and cultural references.
A taxonomy of playful lamps
If freedom of thought and fluid creative processes are at the core of playful lighting design, these objects can still be grouped into a few recurring categories.
There are pieces clearly rooted in pop culture, referencing classical art—such as the David head lamp by Slide, a plastic reinterpretation of Michelangelo’s sculpture—or transforming contemporary cultural icons into lighting objects, like the Eclisse Squid Game edition recently launched by Artemide. Another recurring approach involves altering the scale and function of everyday objects, such as Seletti’s oversized glowing BIC pen, or chandeliers inspired by beaded necklaces, like those in the Ferroluce catalog. Finally, there are ready-made lamps. Two stand out above all: the iconic Toio by the Castiglioni brothers and Campari Light, a lighting piece that elevates Fortunato Depero’s iconic bottle design, produced by Ingo Maurer.
BumBum, Ferroluce
Glossy ceramic elements resemble a row of oversized beads. Designer and art director Giorgio Biscaro plays with color to create decorative pieces designed to hang above a table or in the center of a living space.
Kuore, Karman
Matteo Ugolini for Karman designs a heart that emits light. It is both ironic and refined. It is made of resin and is available in white, red, and blue. It is dimmable, allowing you to adjust the “amount of love” to suit the moment.
BIC Lamp, Seletti
A BIC® Cristal—but oversized. Seletti, in collaboration with designer Mario Paroli, plays with the emotional value of everyday objects by turning a ballpoint pen into a lamp at a 12:1 scale (178 cm long). It can be placed on the floor, mounted on the wall, or suspended from the ceiling, and—needless to say—is available in black, blue, and red.
Eclisse Squid Game, Artemide
The iconic Eclisse by Vico Magistretti, reinterpreted in a special edition. Created by Artemide in collaboration with Netflix, it references some of the most unsettling characters from the Korean series: the Player, the Pink Guard, and the Black Officer. A collectible piece, it includes a removable magnetic mask inspired by those seen in Squid Game, without altering the lamp’s original form or its mechanical dimming system.
Exit, 6:AM
It looks like an emergency light—but it’s actually a refined wall lamp made of screen-printed opaline glass. Subtly ironic and highly decorative, it is handcrafted by 6:AM Glasswork.
Davide, Slide
Immediately recognizable, this table lamp by Slide takes the form of Michelangelo’s David, one of the most iconic works of the Italian Renaissance. With a distinctly pop spirit, it is rotationally molded in recycled polyethylene and also available in colored versions.
Campari Light, Ingo Maurer
In 2002, Raffaele Celentano designed this pendant, which perfectly embodies Ingo Maurer’s fascination with the ready-made. The chandelier is made from ten original Campari Soda bottles arranged radially on a plastic and metal structure. The cable suspension system includes a pulley that allows the height to be adjusted.
Toio, Flos
An indirect floor lamp, Toio is a design classic created in 1962 by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni for Flos. Originally, the light source was an actual 300-watt car headlamp imported from the United States in the 1960s. Today, the form remains unchanged, while all components are custom-produced by the Italian company.
