Press Release
X897 Pl1 Lighting by Maurice Taylor Is Granted the Silver A' Design Award in Lighting Products and Fixtures Design
Maurice Taylor honored for lighting products and fixtures design by the international grand jury of the 2020 - 2021 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 23, 2021 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Silver A' Design Award in the Lighting Products and Fixtures Design category for X897 Pl1 Lighting by Maurice Taylor, designed for X897 Furniture Limited. The recognition forms part of the 2020 - 2021 A' Design Award & Competition and was reached through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who evaluated anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
About the Silver A' Design Award
The Silver A' Design Award celebrates top-tier designs that embody excellence and innovation. This award acknowledges creations that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional, reflecting the designer's deep understanding and skill. Silver A' Design Award recipients are recognized for their contribution to raising industry standards and advancing the practice of design. Their work often incorporates original innovations and elicits a strong emotional response, making a notable impact on the improvement of everyday life.
More About X897 Pl1 Lighting
X897 PL1 is a limited-edition pendant light for interior spaces. The design is inspired by the cherry blossom. The pendant is made of laser-cut, bent and powder-coated aluminum layers that wrap around the light bulb like petals and direct glare-free light downward. A removable light filter tints the layers with a subtle color, while the light below remains uncolored. The pendant measures 200 mm in width, 200 mm in depth and 300 mm in height. Each light is paired with a numbered digital certificate held on a blockchain.
About Maurice Taylor
X897 is the brainchild of the creative duo Julia Muszynski and Maurice Taylor. Julia has a background in big-tech and fashion marketing, whereas industrial designer Maurice Taylor is a former Design Lead at one of the biggest lifestyle and sportswear brands in the world. Having both witnessed mass consumption up close, the couple shared a goal to move away from fashion. The result was influenced by Maurice Taylor's time in streetwear, tapping into Japanese design aesthetics: Minimalistic, functional, and beautiful at the same time. And so, they founded X897 in 2021 (the X897 - part is actually taken from their postcode), with a vision to encourage more conscious consumption. How?
Award Record
This recognition makes Maurice Taylor a winner of 1 A' Design Award.
About the A' Lighting Products and Fixtures Design Award
The A' Lighting Design Award is an international lighting design competition recognizing good lighting designs by best lighting designers and brands worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to lighting designers, lighting architects, industrial design studios and lighting product manufacturers from all countries. Entries typically include chandeliers, pendant lights, wall sconces, table lamps, floor lamps and outdoor lights. Awarded lighting designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/lighting
About A' Design Award & Competition
A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission to advance society through good design by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, the upload of a work and the preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://designers.org/118269
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/118269
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!118269
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/293892
- Further Information from the Laureate: http://www.instagram.com/x897furniture/
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- X897 Pl1 Lighting
- Function
- Lighting
- Category
- Lighting Products and Fixtures Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Furniture & Home and Electronics & Appliances
- Colors
- Gainsboro, Light Gray, Dark Gray, Silver and Rosy Brown
- Images
- 5
- Client
- X897 Furniture Limited
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Maurice Taylor
- Country
- Ireland
- Recognition
- Silver A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2020 - 2021
- Design ID
- #118269
Credits
- Team
- Maurice Taylor, Julia Muszynski
- Image Credits
- photo/ Lutz Wolf photo/ stock.adobe.com
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- The limited-edition X897 Pendant Light, X897 Furniture's first product was created as a new approach to furniture. By combining physical pendants and blockchain technology the product can be seen more as a collectible or an art object than just another light. This new approach represents a more personal connection between owner and product and opens up the conversation should furniture be approached less seasonal and timeless.
- Inspiration
- In Japanese, "Mono no aware" stands for beauty, optimism, departure, and hope, represented by the cherry blossom. The X897 Pendant Light transcends this traditional meaning to our digital age by existing physically as a lighting object and digitally on the blockchain as an NFT. The physical pendant comprises folded aluminum layers that wrap around the light bulb like petals and direct the glare-free light downward. A light filter taints the structure for a subtle coloration that links back to its traditional meaning.
- Research
- Since this has been the first project that X897 Furniture launched the learning curve for the small team has been steep. The aim from the start has been to create a timeless product that should create value for the user beyond its primary function. Since this combination of product and the digital world allows for a different approach, the research has been divided into two streams - physical: design, electrical regulations, electrical safety, supply chain, manufacturing - and digital: Blockchain, NFT's, digital art.
- Challenge
- Translating an initial prototype assembled out of hand-molded Polystyrol into lasered high-precision parts which create an aluminum pendant took a lot of adjustments. From the initial prototype to the finished product all development steps were done in-house. Since X897 is aiming for ecologically responsible manufacturing (short supply distances, parts sourced and produced in Europe), biodegradable packaging, use of as little as possible virgin plastics, socially responsible and inclusive manufacturing in Germany. This added to the overall complexity but has been embraced as a challenge.
- Realization and Technology
- Aluminum, lasercut, bent, powder-coated
- Operation and Interaction
- You can change the mood via light filters. This allows for a subtle color reflection on the wings and an uncolored spotlight down.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in March 2020 in Germany and was finished in Ireland.
- Specifications
- Width 200 mm x Depth 200 mm x Height 300 mm
- Keywords
- Pendant, Light, Lighting, Design, Interior, Furniture, X897, Home
