Turning fleeting moments of nature into eternal acts: the story of the Yurameki lamp

by Margherita Bruni

Yurameki by Jingwen Gu is a lamp that recreates the ripples of water, transforming the simple act of switching on a light into a meditative and reconnecting experience.

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The second edition of Ideas for Business – the DesignWanted competition that invites designers to rethink timeless furniture – concluded on July 22. Once again, the call invited young designers to look to the past, but only to extract the wisdom necessary to embrace bold new ideas and propose projects that reflect aesthetic, functional, and technological evolution. While the first edition paid homage to the side table, the Call #2 focused on the table lamp, essential furnishings in our homes that are often confined to their purely functional purposes.

However, lamps are perhaps among the furnishings that offer the greatest freedom for creative expression, contributing to interior spaces not only on an aesthetic level but also emotionally. Table lamps, floor lamps, chandeliers: these are all elements of our homes that, whether on or off, play a key role in shaping character and creating atmosphere.

Three projects stood out to the jury for their courage in going beyond the traditional notion of this timeless furniture piece, embodying poetic vision, contemporary and unconventional aesthetics, and an intriguing redefinition of functionality.

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Yurameki table lamp by Jingwen GuYurameki table lamp by Jingwen GuYurameki table lamp by Jingwen GuYurameki table lamp by Jingwen GuYurameki table lamp by Jingwen Gu

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Yurameki is one of the three winning projects, a lamp whose story, aesthetics, and ingenious structure offer an emotional experience. Designed by Jingwen Gu – a young designer who believes that design holds the power to make our world more creative and a better place – it is inspired by the fleeting moment when a droplet falls from above to the water, piercing its surface and creating small concentric circles.

This ephemeral instant is captured and made eternal within an object that transforms the act of lighting into an evocative and poetic experience. The feeling of lightness and suspension is emphasized by a minimal metallic structure that allows the light to gently sway, casting shifting reflections and turning the lamp into a synthesis of design and kinetic art.

The dynamic aspect is closely tied to the participatory one, another key element of the project: the light emitted by Yurameki can be adjusted by sliding the handle up and down. This simple yet clever mechanism adds a layer of poetry —transforming the act of turning the light on or off into a meditative gesture—and, above all, introduces flexibility, allowing the brightness to adapt to different moods, contexts, and needs.

This movement also creates a play of light and shadow reminiscent of water ripples. The final effect was achieved after numerous experiments by Jingwen Gu, cutting and assembling acrylic slices while observing how different shapes influenced the light and shadow patterns they produced.

This strong connection to the element of water was born from a research trip to Yusai-Tei in Kyoto, where Jingwen Gu had the chance to immerse herself in environments and landscapes that deeply impressed and inspired her. That’s where the idea of designing a lamp that could capture and preserve the “dance” of ripples originated, embodied in an object meant to evoke a soothing, meditative, and welcoming presence.

Yurameki is ultimately an invitation to pause, take a deep breath, and reconnect with oneself for a moment. Through it, Jingwen Gu seeks to tell a story about the essential bond between humans and nature in the act of designing. In fact, it is destined to return to the very place that inspired its creation —Yusai-Tei — for an exhibition that, it is hoped, will share its unique story with the world.