Beneath the Surface Blog

Being in the lighting design industry, we here at GPI, just can’t resist when we discover a cool, new product that embodies light and a little original innovation. That being said, we thought we would share these cool new light fixtures that look more like celestial planets than pendant lights. Made from layers upon layers of upcycled cardboard, these pendants, called Jupiter Scrap lights, are functional works of art.

The way in which the cardboard filters the light creates interesting, dream-like patterns. The corrugation of the cardboard allows light to penetrate in random variations, creating softly undulating waves of light and shadow on nearby surfaces; you almost think you are in the Milky Way. Even the exterior of the fixture itself glows with a surreal watercolor-esque aesthetic that embodies the fluid nature of the planet Jupiter in both light and material form. Such simple, commonplace materials, yet so dynamically beautiful. Bravo!

Image credit: Graypants

With Turkey Day just hours away, the team here at GPI decided to get together and have our own pre-Thanksgiving feast. While we were sitting around the conference table enjoying our meal, the talk of design came about (surprise, right?). But this conversation was a little different than our normal meeting dialogue. Instead of discussing shop drawings or lighting specs, today, we turned to a new topic of conversation: design within our food.

Through our conversation (and after we paused long enough from stuffing our faces to actually look at our meal), we realized that a lot of the materials we work with on a daily basis actually closely mimic elements found in our food. The veins in a slab of onyx, the undulating grains in a slice of wood, or the texture of concrete, are all things that make those particular materials desirable; qualities that add beauty and visual interest to the piece. But veins, grains, and texture can all be found directly on our dinner plate as well. And while taste is usually the main criteria upon which food is judged, there is so much inherent beauty within these foods that often go unnoticed.

Armed with this new-found design inspiration, what did we do? The only logical thing of course…we took our Thanksgiving meal and backlit it.

Above: Thanksgiving meal transferred onto our LED panel

Above: fun with cranberry sauce and snow peas

Above: Snow peas with LED backlighting (fine details emerge)

Above: whole grain bread with LED backlighting (warm color)

Above: cranberry sauce with LED backlighting (a mess to clean up!)

While we’re pretty sure the Pilgrims and Native Americans never meant for their Thanksgiving meal to glow, it just goes to show that inspiration can come from anywhere…even on your own dinner plate. What inspiration will you find in your Thanksgiving meal?

Though it’s not a brand new emerging movement, the idea of facets has really caught on in all aspects of design. We have been and still are seeing a strong shift towards geometric prism motifs through all different media, a lot of which we find very inspiring and intriguing. This phenomena, while not necessarily cutting edge, is on trend so we think it’s worth noting.  Here are a few favorite faceted images that get our creative juices flowing.

The geometry and materiality of these pieces, along with the potential for voids, create infinite possibilities for interactions with light.  What themes are inspiring you today?

Images compiled by GPI Design, individual image credits: Design Milk, Design Stores, TrendHunter, Dezeen, ApartmentTherapy, Trendir, TheCoolHunter

If you thought stone, wood, and clay were the only media available to make a sculpture, think again. Bananas might just be the new craze catching on in the world of sculpture. Yes, bananas.

Japanese artist, Keisuke Yamada, prefers to use peeled bananas as the canvas for creating his intricate figures. Using toothpicks and a small spoon, Yamada meticulously carves away areas of the delicate fruit to reveal detailed sculptures. With the fruit itself and other pop culture references serving as inspiration for the forms, he has created everything from comical cartoons to fire breathing dragons.

Unfortunately, bananas aren’t the most permanent of materials. After about 30 minutes, the fruit starts to brown and discolor, leaving only that small window of time for Yamada to compete his works of art. And after they start to spoil, he doesn’t let the fruit just go to waste. He eats the banana, leaving no evidence of the sculpture behind. What a peculiar, nutritious, and fleeting work of art!

Image credits: ObviousWinner

This image on anArchitecture initially caught our eye on because of the elements of translucency, color, and light.  Upon meditation, we find it spurring broader design thoughts: interior vs. exterior, communal vs. private, closed vs. open, looking out vs. looking in, whole vs. part.... the interpretations are endless.

Image credit: Anne-Laure Masion

A playground is one of the most fundamental places solely dedicated to childhood. With slides, monkey bars, and swings, the qualities of excitement, adventure, and imagination are exuded from every corner. We all can all recall those great playground memories, but we’re willing to bet that you never imagined those things in your home, much less as a part of your dinner table. Here’s one designer who hasn’t lost her childhood imagination.

Marleen Jansen, a designer from the Netherlands, decided to take the fun of a playground and mix it with the joy of eating. Instead of just creating a standard table with complementary chairs, she decided to take dining to a whole new level by integrating a seesaw as the seat. A play on the basic table manner of “not playing with your food”, the Tafelwip (aka “Seesaw Table”) encourages, almost requires, diners to have fun while eating. Adding a childhood staple directly to the dining experience takes away some of the seriousness of manners, and interjects the bliss of being a child.

But aside from creating fun, the Seesaw Table also cultivates dining together. Today, schedules are so hectic and rushed, that eating alone or in front of the TV has become commonplace. Many people have lost or forgotten the importance of a family meal. The Tafelwip brings to light the fundamentally social aspect of eating. Physically prohibiting one from eating alone, two people must sit at the same time in order to be able to eat at the table. The design forces human interaction while dining, while bringing a lighthearted playfulness to the ritual of dinner.

While were not entirely sold on the idea of swapping out our own dining tables for the Tafelwip just yet, we certainly appreciate the way in which it fuses childhood whimsy and the often forgotten social dynamic of dining. Can’t wait to see what her imagination will create next!

Image credit: Design Taxi

We’ve all seen optical illusions. They are a fun and interesting way to really get your brain ticking. But we’re willing to bet you haven’t seen any quite like this. No computer alterations here, just amazing talent and an intriguingly original point of view. The question is, is it a 2D artistic painting, a 3D scene, or both?

Alexa Meade, an American installation artist, has made quite a name for herself with her unique artistic expression and point of view. Instead of using paint to depict reality, Meade uses reality to depict expressionist art. Achieved by painting directly on her subject matter, essentially using her models and surroundings as living canvases, an amazing trompe l’oeil is achieved. Her innovative technique compresses the entire scene into a matte 2D plane that reads as an expressionist painting, not a physical reality with spatial relationships.

The strokes, movement, and color variances of the paint disguise the depth, contours, shadows, and highlights of the three dimensional space, and fool the eye into believing they are viewing an artistic representation of reality on canvas, not reality itself.

Meade uses this technique in both her photography and live installations. The distortion of space through both mediums is apparent and visually stunning. Whether looking at a photo or physically experiencing the live scene, it is easy to be fooled by her unique talent.

Meade’s ability to deconstruct reality in its three dimensional form and turn it into a flat surface offers a new appreciation for both the 2D and 3D artistic expressions. Her refreshing approach to this dichotomy makes her artwork truly noteworthy and one that ultimately alters our perception of reality and physical space.

Image credits:MyModernMet