Not long ago, we shared an article called What You Must Know About Lighting Design, based on insights from our teammates at Yiqi Industrial Design. Many readers said it opened up new ways of thinking and left them wanting more.

So, in this issue, our team is diving deeper into creative thinking with product design—pulling out 8 creative methods from over 30 design techniques. Let's explore them together!

1. Theme-Based Design

Before jumping straight into the design phase, we often start by picking a few broad, abstract keywords—like "fashion," "elegance," "bold," or "minimal." These give us a direction for brainstorming or building a mind map. It really helps expand creative thinking.

Take our "Bamboo Copter" lighting series for ING by Huayi Lighting as an example. We chose keywords like "sky," "flying," "childhood," and "wind." This immediately made us think of Doraemon, the beloved anime packed with childhood dreams.

Remember how Doraemon would pull out a bamboo-copter from his magic pouch? Once strapped on, it let kids fly freely through the sky. It was also a nostalgic toy from many of our childhoods—and you can still see kids playing with it at amusement parks today.

So, we turned that emotional memory into a lighting product. While keeping a high-end material finish, we also added a touch of childhood wonder and emotion. And that's how the Bamboo Copter series was born.

2. Emotional Design

Emotional design aims to stir up a user's feelings—through the product's function, look, or even the way it works. If the user feels a personal emotional connection, the product will leave a lasting impression.

A classic example is the IC Lights floor lamp designed by Michael Anastassiades for FLOS. It's made of just two simple parts—a metal rod and a glowing white sphere. But the symbolism behind it is poetic.

The thin stand holds what looks like a full moon, glowing softly in a vast universe. It brings to mind the romance of a starry sky. FLOS used this subtle symbolism to add warmth to open spaces and blend architecture with nature.

3. Attribute Mutation

This method plays with the form, color, texture, material, proportion, or detail of a product to make it pop.

Take the Xiaomi 1s desk lamp. What stands out the most? That bright red power cord popping out of the all-white body! It creates strong visual contrast and becomes an instant eye-catcher.

Xiaomi also innovated the controls—you can turn it on/off and adjust brightness and color temperature just by pressing or rotating a single dial. It's way more tactile than basic touch controls.

Another example is FLOS's BELT lamp, unveiled in Milan. The entire light is supported by real leather belts. These belts not only hold up the light but also carry electricity and house the light source. Super original!

4. Problem-Driven Design

A great way to innovate is to find annoying problems in everyday products and solve them creatively.

Think about venetian blinds. They collect a ton of dust, and cleaning each slat one by one is frustrating. But blinds have a pattern—they're all the same size and evenly spaced. So, why not design a tool that cleans multiple slats at once?

By cloning the single cleaning brush head into multiple aligned brushes, we can make dusting way more efficient and satisfying.

5. Interactive Features

Adding interactive elements makes products more dynamic and fun to use.

A good example is the Eclisse lamp designed in 1965 by Vico Magistretti. The lamp looks like a little astronaut helmet. It uses two spheres—one fixed outer shell and one inner rotating shade. You can spin the inner shade to adjust brightness, mimicking the natural movement of a lunar eclipse. This balance of function and visual storytelling won it the prestigious Compasso d'Oro award in 1967.

There's also the ECLIPSE lamp, shaped like a seashell. Its white petals open and close freely to change the light's direction and shape. You can even rearrange the metal stands to create different setups and moods.

6. Intuitive Feedback

Feedback makes a design feel alive. It helps users sense how the product is working.

Look at this futuristic sink. It has a little ball controller that adjusts the water temperature. When the water's cold, it's blue. When hot, it turns red. That's instant visual feedback—so simple and effective!

7. Material Experimentation

Good design sometimes means going beyond traditional materials and exploring new textures and possibilities.

Most lamp shades are made from glass, acrylic, or metal—materials that feel solid and hard. But what if we tried something softer?

One lamp in our collection uses paper for the shade. It feels light and poetic. Another one uses heat-resistant fiber cloth, giving it a soft, fabric-like touch. These designs take full advantage of each material's personality—and add an artistic feel to the final product.

8. Reverse Thinking

Let's break the rules for a moment. What if we rethink what a "desk lamp" really is?

Traditionally, a desk lamp has a base, an arm, and a light. But if we forget that for a second, we can focus on the core purpose: a desk lamp is just something that provides light.

That shift opens up new ideas—like using flexible OLED panels to create lamps that bend, roll, or fold. This gives users freedom to shape the light however they want, from brightness to beam direction.

Want to try one of these design tricks yourself?

Lykkers, which of the 8 ideas inspired you the most? Would you try a theme-based brainstorm or go wild with reverse thinking? Let's chat about it!

If you'd like me to help translate the rest of the article or prepare a new design topic, just say the word!