Acclaimed in the design world as a ‘champion of the supernormal,’ Naoto Fukasawa once again proceeds to wow us – this time with his exciting lighting design for Swarovski , the all too well-known purveyor of crystals. Aptly dubbed Cosmos 1 and 2, Fukasawa’s electroluminescent lights generate the impression of illuminated ‘after-images” when one utilizes them to draw circles in the air. The effect was literally blinding when Fukasawa lit up the Swarovski Crystal Palace in London during Design Week last year by studding the route of the ‘after-images’ with, what else, a line of Swarovski crystals. Fukasawa, who was reportedly pleased with the results, said “It is as if the light comes from the stick of wizards.”
Based in Tokyo, Fukasawa is a long-time furniture and interior designer, lecturer in the product design department of Musashino Art University and Tama Art University, and a member of the Advisory Board for Quality Design and of the Strategic Design Research Society of the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
Naoto Fukasawa’s portable wall-hung CD player for Muji is widely regarded in design circles as a low-tech innovation.
my first impression was that of a digital onscreen wireframe model. I was really surprised to see it was actually a photo of a physical object.