14 brilliant new lighting designs that will inspire you

It’s no secret that <a href="http://inhabitat.com/?s=lighting">lighting</a> affects our moods, our sleep cycles and even our creativity - and we’ve certainly come a long way since Edison’s early lightbulb design. Lighting plays an integral role in everyday life, and designers are constantly pushing boundaries with bright new designs that are much more inspiring than the basic <a href="http://inhabitat.com/?s=light+bulb">light bulb</a>. Curious about how far lighting has evolved? Look no further; we’ve rounded up 14 brand new designs from the luminaries of the lighting world.

Atelier <a href="http://www.marksturkenboom.com/Works/overgrown-2">Mark Sturkenboom</a> explores “hyperevolution” in Overgrown, a series of crystallized chandeliers and candlesticks that imagine an abandoned, flooded world thousands of years in the future. A unique fluid was developed to facilitate crystal growth on reclaimed antique lighting fixtures, producing a collection of one-of-a-kind relics that recall a different time and place.

Biomimicry meets natural fibers in <a href="http://www.riktenvelden.com/">Rik Ten Velden</a>’s Sea Urchin Wall Lamp. The removable wool shades are stretched over steel frames, and the textile covering can be easily swapped out.

This LED Democratic Table by <a href="http://novozhilovam.weebly.com/">Maria Novozhilova</a> for <a href="http://www.nextdesigninnovation.it/projects/a-democratic-table/?lang=en">Next Design Innovation</a> blurs the line between furniture and lighting and is savvy enough to interact with its surroundings. The playfully lit table consists of an isosceles triangle surface with an integrated touch responsive device, which allows users to dim and change its color. Multiple tables in the same space will also change color in response to one another.

The knitted lamps by <a href="http://www.riktenvelden.com/">Rik Ten Velden</a> were inspired by experimentation with a knitting machine. The Dutch furniture and product design studio aims to express the beauty of natural materials through their work.

<a href="http://miekemeijer.com/#/space-frames/">Mieke Meijer</a>’s series of LED “Space Frames” explore physics, light and space by interpreting architectural archetypes such as arcs, columns, trusses, and plates. These thought-provoking light sculptures consist of polyester fabric stretched over a plywood frame, making them lightweight enough to be assembled into a variety of compositions. Through rearrangement, the collection incorporates the room surrounding it, placing equal emphasis on positive and negative space.

Look closer: <a href="http://www.lascialascia.com/">Lascia La Scia</a>'s Hang lamp is made from simple wire hangers. That's some elegant repurposing!

This lamp in <a href="http://www.riktenvelden.com/">Rik Ten Velden</a>’s Knitted Collection of lighting has a chunky texture that results in interesting shadows. Developed in collaboration with the textile lab at <a href="http://www.textielmuseum.nl/en/">Textielmuseum</a>, Tilburg, the Knitted Collection offers flexibility in swapping out the wool shades.

<a href="http://mmozolewska.com/projects/">Malgorzata Mozolewska</a> molds metal fabric into expressive lampshades in her “eye of the light” series. The light-reflecting material can be formed into a variety of shapes and, when galvanized, expresses a range of glimmering colors.

The LED “All around lamp” designed by <a href="http://novozhilovam.weebly.com/">Maria Novozhilova</a> in collaboration with <a href="http://www.localdesign.com.au/">Local Design Australia</a> is a lounge lamp that creates a warm and comfortable atmosphere. Each lamp's clear plastic panels are engraved with abstract drawings that appear suspended in the air. The engravings recall silhouettes of world capitals (Milan and Sydney), although the lamps can also be personalized upon request. Having no top nor bottom, these playful pyramidal lights can assume any position.

<a href="http://www.localdesign.com.au/products/lightgarden/">Local Design</a>'s modular LED wall panels can be combined to create patterns and “gardens of light” on any surface. The personalized experience can consist of any number of luminaires, allowing creativity and inspiration to blossom both indoors and out. Shown here, the LightGarden Brass panels pop against a raw slate finish, referencing gold ore contained within rock.

The LED Perch Lamp by <a href="http://www.umutyamac.com/perch-light">Umut Yamac</a> turns the unlikely duo of paper and brass into a delicate and playful sculpture inspired by nature and the elegant beauty of birds. Available as both a floor and wall-mounted model, the Perch Lamp both illuminates and balances the carefully weighted bird, which can be spring to life upon gentle wind or touch. This balancing act relies on zero cables or restraints, emphasizing the beauty of the “animal’s” freedom.

<a href="http://www.piekebergmans.com/light-blubs/">Pieke Bergmans</a> infected ordinary light bulbs with the so-called “Design Virus” to create jaw-dropping “Light Blubs” that play to every surrealist’s dreams. The series of crystal lamps are handcrafted and feature LED lights. Bergmans first introduced the collection in Milan in 2008, and he shows no signs of slowing down. According to his <a href="http://www.piekebergmans.com/light-blubs/">website</a>, the “infection” is spreading, taking average light bulbs hostage and mutating them into otherworldly versions of themselves.

<a href="http://www.catellanismith.com/mobile/news/105">Hallucinations</a> is a collaboration between designer Enzo Catellani and glassmaker Giuliano Gaigher. The jaw-dropping installation evokes a journey through the cosmos with its refined craftsmanship and explosions of colors.

Designer <a href="http://www.leebroom.com/">Lee Broom</a> created a mini palazzo inside a delivery van, which he drove from London to Milan for his Salone del Automobile exhibition to exhibit his new “Optical” lighting collection. The spherical lamps come in both floor and pendant models and display optical-illusion inducing black stripes against an illuminated background.

It’s no secret that <a href="http://inhabitat.com/?s=lighting">lighting</a> affects our moods, our sleep cycles and even our creativity - and we’ve certainly come a long way since Edison’s early lightbulb design. Lighting plays an integral role in everyday life, and designers are constantly pushing boundaries with bright new designs that are much more inspiring than the basic <a href="http://inhabitat.com/?s=light+bulb">light bulb</a>. Curious about how far lighting has evolved? Look no further; we’ve rounded up 14 brand new designs from the luminaries of the lighting world.

Atelier <a href="http://www.marksturkenboom.com/Works/overgrown-2">Mark Sturkenboom</a> explores “hyperevolution” in Overgrown, a series of crystallized chandeliers and candlesticks that imagine an abandoned, flooded world thousands of years in the future. A unique fluid was developed to facilitate crystal growth on reclaimed antique lighting fixtures, producing a collection of one-of-a-kind relics that recall a different time and place.