More and more LED task lights are being invented that actually look good—and produce good light. After the success of Brazo, the San Francisco-based lighting firm Pablo Designs created Link in concert with office furniture magnate Allsteel. Link “modernizes the classic pantograph task lamp,” using 15 LEDs in a circular arrangement. A pantograph is any jointed framework, such as the criss-cross design used in extendible telephone arms (or in those unexpected cartoon arms that end with boxing gloves).

Link Task Lamp. Designed by Pablo Designs for Allsteel.

Designer Peter Stathis of Virtual Studio developed the pantographic inspiration into Link “by simplifying its mechanical complexity without sacrificing performance.” Available in a single or double arm lamp, Link features the wonderful flexibility of mechanical joints (as opposed to human joints, which always leave something to be desired). Offering 360 degree adjustment, Link is lightweight (about 8 lbs shipping weight) yet sturdy: constructed of stamped aluminum arms, a polycarbonate lens, and a die-cast zinc base.

According to Allsteel, the light emitted by this Pablo task lamp is measurably warmer than most LED task lights—another obvious plus. Link also creates shadowless light, so you can work without being tormented by shifting patterns on your desk’s surface (something that entertains me when I’m procrastinating but that drives me to the brink of insanity when I’m truly busy). If that’s not enough to make you fall in love with Link, the task light also includes automatic tension control, a hi/low switch, a detachable plug adaptor, and various mountings. Besides black and white, Link comes in grey, orange, and green. Pablo Designs seems to be collecting awards—and Link is no exception to this trend. Awarded Best lighting at ICFF 2008 and Silver from IDEA in 2009, Link was also an Honoree in ID Magazine’s 2009 Annual Design Review.

Pablo Designs, formed by Venezuelan-born industrial designer Pablo Pardo in 1993, is located in San Francisco, where geeks are surely influencing the company’s techno-savvy lighting. Offering “the interpretation of light in its many forms,” Pablo Designs “exemplifies an uncompromising devotion to simplicity and usefulness, fusing the highest technical sensibilities with the most appropriate material pallet to create unique and precious designs that transform any environment.” To wit: Link is “a fully sustainable, cradle-to-cradle design.” Recyclable materials make this already handsome lamp virtually irresistible.