Fern desk lamp
A one-joint desk lamp for Oakline Office (sample): five models, 19 weeks.

The brief
A desk lamp with one friction joint, no springs and no glare on a laptop screen, made from 80 percent recycled aluminium.
Client
Oakline Office, workplace furniture (sample)
My part
Concept to factory sample
Models
5 in 19 weeks
Status
Launching next season (sample)
Fern desk lamp
A desk lamp with one friction joint, no springs and no glare on a laptop screen, made from 80 percent recycled aluminium.
Client
Oakline Office, workplace furniture (sample)
My part
Concept to factory sample
Models
5 in 19 weeks
Status
Launching next season (sample)
cm
M1 Card and wire
Reach over a desk
Week 1
M2 Foam
Head and base size
Week 2
M3 Print
The friction joint
Week 5
M4 Rig
Heat and glare
Week 8
M5 Sample
Shipped
Week 19
Fern desk lamp for Oakline Office (sample): five models in 19 weeks. All models drawn to the same scale, ruler in centimetres.
What each model changed
Model by model, in the order they were made. Test figures are samples.
M1
A wire arm and a card shade showed the reach: 45 cm covers a desk without the base getting in the way.
M2
Foam heads in three sizes; the smallest that hid the LED from a seated eye won.
M3
Five printed joints before one held the head at any angle without a spring.
M4
The rig ran for eight hours; the head stayed below 40 °C and the glare test passed (sample test).
M5
The factory sample’s aluminium finish was too shiny; the second sample is bead-blasted.
See the other projects
Every case study is drawn as its line-up, model by model.