The Marumado Desk Lamp updates the Angelpoise archetype, trading the exposed screws, wires, and springs for a simple articulating ring joint that makes use of the geometry of a ring and the tolerance of the material that surrounds it to provide smooth, yet supportive articulation with a more modern and clean aesthetic. Marumado means "round window" in Japanese.

I came up with the idea during an assignment I was given in class where I studied Shiro Kuramata and his work. I was inspired by the round metal cushion support he used in his Sofa with Arms piece designed for Cappellini in 1982. I wanted to see where this ring form could be used and started sketching it in different product categories including footwear, kitchen faucets, a portable audio player. Eventually I settled on using the ring as a joint for an articulating desk lamp.

To create this design, I first started sketching on paper to explore different proportions and materials that might best fit the lamp. Next I sketched out a profile view on a piece of card stock to try to understand how large each component needed to be. Then I moved into CAD (Luxology Modo 902) to create some quick sketch models from my sketches. This went back and forth between quick physical model and 3D model on the computer until the proportions and size felt right. Eventually I was ready to create a first functional prototype and I started slicing up my models, 3D printing them, and assembling it. All of the renderings were also done in Luxology Modo 902. It was a lot of fun to see this lamp come to life!

I got a lot of great, helpful feedback from my professor and classmates at University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Their feedback often challenged how I felt about a particular aspect of the design and it helped me push the design in much better directions that I could have on my own. I definitely learned how essential it is to have a team of designers behind a particular project. One takeaway is that a design project is never 100% done, it can continue to evolve, change, and become more refined.

Thanks for taking a look at this project! If you'd like to follow my day to day design work, drop by my Instagram feed @gmay3design and say hello! Before starting graduate school in 2017, I started learning industrial design on my own so if you're interested in industrial design and are just getting started I'd be happy to help share some great resources I've used on the web to start learning.

Best wishes and happy designing!
Gerry Mayer

Gerry Mayer

Hi! I'm Gerry, and I'm a Designer, Maker, and Engineer. My whole life, I have been curious about how things are made and how we use objects and technology to interact with our world and each other. Raised by an Artist and an Engineer, I grew up feeding my creativity by building things and taking things apart, turning ideas into real working objects and I just can’t get enough! I have a passion for learning and I’m always working on projects and hobbies in my free time.

I graduated from Villanova University in 2012 with a degree in Electrical Engineering and have been working full time in the aerospace industry ever since.

In 2013, I discovered the field of Industrial Design to be a perfect match for my interests and skills, a combination of creativity, inventing, hands on prototyping, and technical understanding. While intensely self-studying and refining the skills I would need to work towards a career in Industrial Design, I started GMAY3 Design, an Industrial Design consulting company that I actively run in my mornings, nights, and weekends. Since starting GMAY3 Design, I’ve gained a ton of valuable Industrial Design work experience designing for clients such as GCW-Zero, Hooke Audio, and Microsoft.

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