Plumen 001 Wins British Design Award For Energy Saving Sculptured Lighting

by Toby

Whoever thought that light bulbs could be fun, both for the designer and the consumer? Fun and functional; that's the motto of Hulger design, the British design house that brought out the cool, crazy phones for Skype and other VoIP services. The new sculptured bulbs, Plumen 001, just won the top product category and the overall best British Insurance Design Award.

Plumen 001 may cost 20£ (roughly $35), but the bulb is a design piece, much more interesting as a focus of attention than standard low energy light bulbs, ones that you want to cover with some type of shade. Still, the Plumen maintains the integrity of an energy saving bulb, using 80 percent less energy than a florescent bulb, with a lifetime of eight years.

Plumen 001 by Hulgar design: ©Hulgar via plumen.com Plumen 001 by Hulgar design: ©Hulgar via plumen.com

Plumen 001 by Hulgar design.: ©Hulgar, image via core77.com

Plumen 001 for your desk, by Hulgar design.: ©Hulgar, image via core77.com

Plumen 001 cafe lamps, by Hulgar design: ©Hulgar via plumen.com

The Plumen adds a bit of surprise to these elegant table lamps.

Plumen 001 by Hulgar design: ©Hulgar via plumen.com Plumen 001 by Hulgar design: ©Hulgar via plumen.com

The Plumen 001 was three years in the making, made it into MoMA's (Museum of Modern Art) permanent collection, and was just released to the public in Britain and Europe last September. Shortly, a U.S. version will be available.

In case you can't wait for the next version, here's a glimpse of the Plumen 2 concept bulb, which was shown at the Victoria and Albert's Jones Gallery in London during the London Design Festival, 2010.

Plumen 2 prototype by Hulgar design: ©Hulgar