A young Japanese designer (or “design thinker” as he calls himself on his Medium blog) named Yuichiro Morimoto has created a lamp that doesn’t require electricity. It lights up gradually by absorbing light from the surrounding space with a special surface covered with acrylic, and then releasing it at the edges.

As the lamp is illuminated, it begins to resemble the picture you see during a solar eclipse. The milky white opalescent acrylic diffuses the light gently, making the object minimalist yet memorable. Translated from Japanese, its name (“nisshoku”) just translates as “eclipse”.

Nisshoku lamp
Photo: Yuichiro Morimoto

Nisshoku lamp
Photo: Yuichiro Morimoto

Nisshoku lamp
Photo: Yuichiro Morimoto
The designer was inspired by a special acrylic plate that can collect light and release it at the edges, and decided to emphasize its natural properties with a form. Because it picks up light from the environment, the light intensity depends on the conditions around.