Saif Faisal: EDIDA India Lighting joint winner

Saif Faisal, a product designer from Bengaluru, introduced us to the brighter side of life. It’s easy to fall in love with the Poise lamp that throws illumination on intelligent design. It serves a dual purpose – a task light and a floor lamp. Sleek in shape, it combines aluminium or brass and wood and is available in two sizes.

We recently caught up with the EDIDA 2016 winning creative who spoke to us about receiving the accolade and his precious product that is both stunning and a great lesson in sustainability.

ELLE DECOR: What is the best part about winning an EDIDA?

Saif Faisal: Like they say, EDIDA is like the Oscars of design. My team and I feel blessed and proud to have won this for the second time – last year we won for our product Blub Vide Poche.

ED: The best way to describe your EDIDA winning product…

SF: It reflects a versatile design and was made using natural materials. The specialty of the Poise lamp is that it is flexible even though it was crafted using a simple material like wood. Apart from all the practical features, it is quite poetic as it seamlessly transforms its shape and purpose and has certain “poise” to it.

ED: Take us through the process of creating your EDIDA winning product.

SF: We wanted to explore a design that was sustainable and functional in different ways – one that could be a floor lamp as well as an ambient light. With our idea to reduce the material processions, we wanted a versatile object, which could adapt and transform to suit different needs of the user. Wood was the first material of choice in terms of its beauty and that it can be paired with various metals. For material efficiency, the concept was to make the whole lamp in just a single round shaft of wood. We explored the sculptural qualities of this material when it was placed in several orientations. The combinations are endless, but we had restricted it to two variants. Combining the LED light source, the whole product is quite ecological – a lamp that has great longevity.

ED: Is there a recent product or collection you admire in the lighting category?

SF: I love the poetry in Flow(t) for Wonder-Glass by Japanese designer and artist Nao Tamura. I also admire the uniqueness, originality and innovativeness of Candela by Francisco Gomez Paz for the brand Astep. It’s splendid!

ED: Two characteristics lighting products of the future will have…

SF: I believe lighting design will move towards sustainability with inclusion of new technologies. The other explorations would be in terms of poetic designs, pushing the boundaries of craft and technology.

Website: www.saif-faisal.com

Also read: Suneet Varma: EDIDA India 2016 Kitchen winner