I have been employed as a design consultant by Mathmos for over 10 years. In this time I have been directly involved in their transition from lava lamps to more design based LED lighting products. Projects include; Bubble, Tumbler, Aduki, Spin City, Blimp, Mini lamp, Tuba, Airswitch and Eclipse
The Airswitch 1 uses Mathmos’s innovative Air Switch technology to enable you to control light levels with simple hand motions. Intuitive interaction with the lamp using you hand allows you to turn the lamp on and off as well as dim the lamp.
Spin City was a collection of lighting designs from 9 of London’s leading designers. The project aimed to develop new ideas and concepts for lighting utilizing Mathmos metal spinning and manufacturing facilities. The designers included el ultimo grito, Gitta Gschwendtner, Hugo Eccles and Michael Marriott.
Tuba uses intelligent chip-controlled LED colour phasing. Its two illumination modes, ‘Faze’ and ‘Music’, allow you to choose between colourful ambient morphing and intelligent sound-reactive colour changing. Mode changes are achieved through motion sensors within the lamp and hand interaction.
Simon Maidment: design & research 