WHAT IT IS?
In 2017 Austrian designer, Klemens Schillinger created a lamp that only lights up once the user is willing to surrender his or her smartphone. Based on the saying “out of sight, out of mind”, Schillinger’s ‘Offline Lamp’ urges users to direct their attention away from their mobile phones and towards more worthwhile activities, like reading a book or starting a conversation. Although the lamp appears as a standard household light, it features a drawer integrated into its pedestal that recognizes the weight of the object placed inside. Once it has been shut with the smartphone inside, the switch is triggered and the light turns on. The designer says that he has drawn inspiration for the project from hotel key cards, which turn on the electricity in hotel rooms once they are entered in a slot near the entrance.
WHY IT´S COOL?
This lamp features a minimalistic design style, which fits with the simple idea it aims to give out. It is a nudge for people to get away from the information overloaded internet and spend their times in more meaningful ways. With books, conversations, other humans.
WHY IT HAS FUTURE GROWTH POTENTIAL?
This lamp is a good example to promote ‘phone-free’ lifestyles. Its potential for the hospitality industry is big. It gently invites guests to interact with each other, enjoying their actual surroundings more — instead of spending every minute of their free time on their phone, browsing the same screen eternally. It invites guests to enjoy their vacations more uniquely by escaping from their online voluntary prisons.
For further information about Schillinger’s Offline Lamp please visit https://www.dezeen.com/2017/11/23/klemens-schillingers-lamps-illuminates-in-exchange-for-users-smartphone-design/