Japanese-made lamp is a Stroke of design genius

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In his book Makers, Chris Anderson says that we are all makers in one way or another. With the right tools and technologies, we can create not just software but physical products too. Keita Yagi is one such maker who does exactly that, manufacturing a beautifully designed minimalist desk lamp called Stroke.

Since its initial release in December of 2011, Stroke became wildly popular and has received several design awards including Japan’s prestigious Good Design Award 2011 as well as the reddot design award 2012 in France.

“Best light, minimal structure” is the concept behind Stroke and it does not dissapoint. The Stroke’s body consists of a single thin pipe only 15mm in diameter, and the light covers a wide area so that users don’t need to adjust the height or angle of the light themselves. The pipe is curved so that the body of the lamp doesn’t get in the way of computer monitors which might also be on your desk.

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The light that comes from Stroke feels almost like natural light. A microcomputer within the lamp triggers the light to gradually get brighter instead of all at once. Stroke is also pretty affordable in terms of the electricity consumption, costing only 40 yen per month for an average of six hours of daily use, and its LED light can last as long as 27 years.

Keita Yagi studied electronic engineering in grad school where he received several awards including the James Dyson Award in 2006. Upon graduating, he went on to work at Fuji Film and at age 29 founded his own one man company, Bsize, in order to build Stroke. Besides the actual shaping and color coating, Yagi does everything from design to testing and even packaging!

Stroke can be purchased for 39,900 yen (about $416) and is available over on the Bsize website. Check out the video below to see how the Stroke lamp is lovingly produced.