Known for “self-explanatory” creations, Danish designer Ole Jensen has found an excellent outlet for this philosophy by working with Louis Poulsen. The result of this collaboration is OJ, a trio of lamps—table, floor, and wall—that use a basic lamp form to provide light: “they literally enlighten us.”

OJ Table Lamp. Designed by Ole Jensen. Manufactured by Louis Poulsen.

Self-explanatory Lighting Simplifies Form

The OJ Table Lamp takes all the separate lamp parts—base, stem, and shade—and joins them together “in a close and functional whole.” Constructed of steel and cast aluminium, OJ’s smooth, round shade diffuses light. With a height of approximately 19 inches and a diameter of 11, Jensen’s table lamp is a modest piece—and its scale also reinforces its lampness. It looks as if a child’s drawing of a lamp had simply walked off the page, grown a bit, and become three-dimensional.

One interesting feature of the OJ Table Lamp is its cord, which does not impede the base in any way. Instead, the cord attaches to the stem of the lamp, where it simply grows from the form like an umbilical cord. The simplicity is deceiving: OJ succeeds in “redefining the concept of a fixture” by breaking it down to its most essential parts.

About the Manufacturer: Louis Poulsen has been designing and manufacturing innovative lighting for over 80 years. Known for collaborating with renowned architects and designers, Louis Poulsen believes in creating “products that provide ambience to people and architecture.” Among their more famous fixtures is the PH Artichoke Lamp, which was recently reincarnated in Gold.