Back in the olden days of the late 1980’s and early 1990’s I still occasionally worked on a light table, with the ancient implement known as a “Triangle”. One of the things I loved about plastic triangles and other drafting tools was the way the light would pass through the flat surface and pass out the side, like light bending through a prism.

These lamps reminded me of that very visual when I saw them. Designed by Tokujin Yoshioka, the ToFU lamp, is a block of clear Methacrylate acrylic that allows an aluminum clad lamp housing to be inserted into its side. The lamp is a standard halogen bulb, and when it is turned on, light passes through the acrylic slab and illuminates the edges of the clear square. The ToFU lamp is beautifully minimalist in its design, fading completely into the surrounding space leaving you with a glowing square of light.

Yoskioka was born in Saga, Japan. He worked under Shiro Kuramata starting in 1987 and for Issey Miyake from 1988 until establishing his own studio, Tokujin Yoshioka Design in 2000. He has worked on many projects with Issey Miyake for the last 20 years including shop design and installation for A-POC and ISSEY MIYAKE. In addition he has collaborated with various companies in and outside Japan such as HERMES, TOYOTA, BMW, KDDI and other noted ones. With SWAROVSKI, the project of designing all the shops in the world is in progress, including the one in London and the new flagship shop in Ginza, Tokyo.