Shedding light on organic design

A number of designers are producing light fixtures and shades which are beautiful, original and inspired by natural forms. Here's a non-exhaustive overview:

Renowned architect Zaha Hadid and Patrik Schumacher have collaborated on the design for Vortexx, which looks a bit like a spiraling neon vortex, yet deserved a better name.

New Zealander Jeremy Cole is producing a range called Aloe, inspired by the succulent of the same name.

Ingo Maurer's Birdie's Nest doesn't necessarily reflect his general esthetic, but is eye-catchingly kookie-krazy-kurvy.

Brits Jason and Lucy Boatswain, working under the name Diffuse, produce a range of translucent porcelain lighting which is friendly, pretty, and more reserved than some of their contemporaries' designs.

Compatriot Paul Cocksedge makes huge ceramic tube sponges and then puts lights in them. Weird and fascinating.

Something was wrong with the Glofab website when I visited, but I can tell you that apart from being a lighting fixture which looks like a microscopic piece of plankton under a microscope, it is also made in Sweden.

Finland's Janne Kyttanen and Jiri Evenhuis from the Netherlands have teamed up as Freedom of Creation. They, like many other organic, yet modern designers, use computer-controled lasers to craft their products. Their lighting units are often based on the patterns of seeds in the centre of flowers or the arrangement of plant leaves.