Custom Lighting Provider: Introvert Extrovert · Lighting Pendant, Nordic Art Pendant Lamps

A family of frosted glass pendant lights - Introvert Extrovert explores what it means to be one, or the other. With a dimmer switch, the user affects a transition between the two states. Muted light shines inwards during introversion, but gradually radiates outward to highlight the elliptical edges with a blush of colour, through the Extrovert transformation.

Introvert Extrovert is a decorative pendant that was created as physical manifestation of abstract. The two personalities exist in contrast to each other, and are realised differently in each persons motion, interaction and way of expressing themselves. Each of these elements were used to inform the design direction of the piece, resulting in a pendant that expresses the essence of each state.

Made from two sheets of etched glass, a circular form is held central and off axis to a larger elliptical shape - the two suspended somewhat weightlessly in space. As the pendant is illuminated from off, the circular ‘Introvert’ glows with white light, shinning inwards from the edge. 

Whilst the brightness is increased, a transition between the two personalities is affected as light gently drains from the Introvert and into the ‘Extroverted’ elliptical form. Now shining outwards, a gentle blush of colour washes across the piece and its personality is transformed. The gentle hues of pinks, peach and tan now illuminate the space, whilst white light that remains in the Introvert shines down - the two personalities coexisting contrary but in harmony.

By visualising the Introvert and the Extrovert at a party, I found a starting point for this project. The form came directly from the doodling of how these two characters might move around a space - and how an introvert may remain central, moving between a few people in small circles, whilst the extrovert extends to all corners of the room, creating an expanding elliptical shape. By taking the circular introvert and expansive elliptical extrovert, I placed them literally off axis to one another reaffirm the contrasts of the two personalities.

In further exploring how the two may exist in the same room and how that may apply itself to illumination, I thought about how each person may project themselves a conversation. An extrovert is likely to express themselves confidently and openly, whilst an introvert might be more inward looking and somewhat closed to others.

I took these themes and projected an extrovert as someone who would literally shine ‘outward’, whilst the introvert would shine ‘inwards’ in opposition to the extrovert. By edge lighting the two forms to shine in different directions, the etched surfaces also illuminate with their own subtlety. The circular ‘introvert’ at the centre glows evenly with a soft light, whilst the ‘extrovert’ has a gentle gradient in the direction of the outside edge. I frosted this edge so that it would also illuminate, further highlighting the elliptical movement of the extrovert.

As a final physical realisation of the abstract ideas of personality and how one may express themselves - the introvert is a neutral white, whilst I wanted the extrovert introduce a different energy to the room, illuminating itself and the room beyond with expressive hues of colour.

Introvert Extrovert is fully dimmable, controlled with a standard dimming system. As we did with Dawn To Dusk, however, we wanted to continue to ask questions of how we interact with lighting and what impact that can have on a space. Rather than using a dimmer switch to simply control brightness, rotation of a dimmer smoothly controls the gradual transition between Introvert and Extrovert states as brightness also increases. Illumination smoothly floods from one personality to the other, whilst each remains gently illuminated to illustrate how the two coexist.

Material and Finish - Etched low-iron glass with matte white painted aluminium edging.

Illumination - LED strip lighting, 2700K with colour hues.