Material.frames with side light fibres
Materials.cologne, an interdisciplinary dialogue platform and collaborative conference for design and innovation, took place in Cologne (both physically and digitally) at the end of October 2020. We were delighted to have the opportunity to install light into the exhibition furniture for the conference, known as materials.frames. To do so, we used our new M-Fibre side light fibre system, which has thin, flexible, light-emitting fibres that could be integrated easily into the displays’ delicate vertical struts. The exhibition furniture, which was otherwise kept deliberately minimalist by the designer in a neutral anthracite colour, was perfectly tailored to the event’s corporate design through the use of cyan LEDs. At the same time, the brightness of the light fibres was adjusted to suit the environment.
Coloured light added another aesthetic accent, elegantly and subtly drawing attention to the conference furniture and the exhibits displayed within. In addition to the decorative, yet functional benefits that lighting solutions lend to furniture such as materials.frames, the possibilities for customising products in general – and conference furniture in particular – are remarkable.
Products can of course already be customised by using LEDs in a preferred colour. But using modern RGB coloured LEDs makes things even more interesting. The same piece of hardware can have a whole range of different product versions with this type of solution – controlled purely by software, while the light can be changed according to the situation, too. The ability to adapt products such as rented or exhibition furniture, which are used time and again at new events, to each environment and to meet the customer’s or event organiser’s particular corporate design requirements is a major advantage.
Particularly in the context of the “sharing economy”, where suitable products are no longer purchased, but rather rented or shared (simultaneously or at different times) by different users, situation-based product customisation through light is an exciting design option.
Impressions
