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Yea or Nay: The Light Bulb as a Design Object in Its Own Right

The Philips Ellipse (and domestic strife)

By Rain Noe - June 16, 2023

in Lighting

The reason that we have design classics like George Nelson's Saucer Bubble Pendant and Poul Henningsen's PH5 Pendant Lamp…

…is a function of, or rather reaction to, the technology of the 1950s. Incandescent bulbs cast a harsh glare that designers needed to mask.

Talented designers like Nelson and Henningsen made their utilitarian objects beautiful. However, bulb manufacturer Philips reckons LED technology can make the lampshade obsolete. Their Ellipse smart bulb is intended to be a design object in its own right.

The Ellipse has a 2,000-6,500 Kelvin range and is capable of producing millions of colors. It's dimmable from zero to 500 lumens.

"No, I DIDN'T hang them too low. If you don't want to bump your head into them, stop leaning over the table."

The couples therapist recommended Lucy stay on the blue side of the room, David on the purple side.

"Let go of the plate, Hunter. You know the rules—you can eat after you provide the correct answer to the math question we asked you."

The bulbs run a steep $90 a pop (though for scale, the Saucer Bubble and PH5 run $445 and $1,224 each) and bring a degree of technical complication: They're adjusted via a smartphone app. They can also be connected (though not color-adjusted) to a proprietary Philips Hue dimmer switch or motion sensor, or voice-controlled with the self-installed domestic spyware known as a smart home assistant.

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Richard Kuchinsky

a year ago

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IKEA has oversized bulbs like this for less than $20 that look great and don’t need an app or hub.
These seem a bit gimmicky.

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Benjamin S

a year ago

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The line between "bulb" and "fixture" gets blurry sometimes. Bulbs are generally replaceable commodity parts that simply produce light; fixtures distribute light for functional and aesthetic purposes, and may include the means to adjust that output. LED fixtures that don't use replaceable light sources or drivers are bulb-and-fixture in one indivisible package, providing the function of a fixture but eventually requiring complete replacement like a bulb. The good news is that LEDs and drivers can function for years without issue. The bad news is that they may outlive the commercial availability of the product they're in. The more specialized the product's function is, the less likely it is that an exact replacement will be around when that time comes.

The Philips Ellipse has nice aesthetics. Based on the photos, it looks like their internal optic sheds some light in all directions to give it a general glow, while directing most of its light underneath - a good distribution for lighting dining tables and the like. A screw-in replacement with similar aesthetics and indirect/direct distribution may not be around in 12 years when these start to fail. In contrast, I expect my grandparents' PH5 pendant to outlive me.

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