A lot of interesting things are born on buses. Raymond Queneau's famous book Exercises in Style tells the same story about two gentlemen bumping into one another on a crowded city bus more than 100 times, each employing a distinct style. The bus as genesis point exists as well in the world of design. Take, for example, an idea for a "rest-on-floor" lamp that became Foscarini's Uto: "In 2002 an Italian and a Spanish designer in Barcelona drew a sketch while on the bus in Helsinki.

Uto. Designed by lagranja design in collaboration with Foscarini.

The following year they brought it to Venice and we said, "interesting...let's develop it." The resulting Uto, designed by lagranja design, emphasizes flexibility. The jumping point was "the desire to create a hanging lamp made up not of a body and a cable, but of a single flexible, colorful, fun form." In order to achieve this, the aforementioned Spaniard and Italian paired with Foscarini. Employing a material foreign to the lighting industry-a silicone rubber usually used in the car manufacturing business-lagranja/Foscarini were able to bring Uto to life.

"Pleasant to look at and to touch," Uto is available in white, yellow, and orange-all colors as playful as the idea of a lamp that can snake its way into existence anywhere, both inside and out. Virtually indestructible, Uto may be of particular interest to those with a penchant for destruction (you know who you are). The polycarbonate diffuser protects the accident-prone should they be inclined to stick their hands inside the trumpet-shaped head and burn themselves on the bulb. Anguine and anfractuous, Uto reminds me of a giant electric eel or a radioactive bugle. However you see it, Uto's appearance can be changed at the whim of its user: hang it, rest it, straighten or contort it. Here is an excellent example of interactive design. Get your Uto and manipulate it as you will–ideal for sulking teens, captive depressives, and anyone feeling out of control.