The Leaf Light is an LED desk lamp designed by Yves Behar for Herman Miller. Developed to meet Herman Miller’s “Design for the Environment” protocol, Leaf is both operationally and physically sustainable. Its 20 LEDs use 8 to 9 watts of power, which is about 40% less than compact fluorescent lights. One can expect a minimum of 60,000 hours of light from the Leaf, or about eight times that of conventional light sources. Leaf is made from 37% recycled materials and is 95% recyclable at the end of its life.

Leaf Light. Designed by Yves Béhar for Herman Miller.

LED Personal Desk Light Makes Environmental Friendliness Modern

Aside from its leafy green sustainable qualities, the Leaf has some interesting design features. LED lights typically become too hot to touch, making adjustments difficult. A proprietary, continuous heat-dissipation system keeps Leaf cool, allowing users to take advantage of its extensive adjustment capabilities. Leaf lets you choose warm mood light or cool work light, along with the level of illumination desired with a simple, intuitive touch sensitive control system. The adjustability makes Leaf appropriate for task lighting, ambient light, or wall lighting.

As a design piece, Leaf is unusual. The only reference to a literal leaf that I see in the object is an echoing of a falling leaf as it turns. There is a kind of spine, and almost viral bulbs where the LEDs are mounted. The three color choices available, (red, which and aluminum) don’t suggest a strong connection to nature or leaves except in the height of fall. When folded on itself, the Leaf is delicate and minimal and works well with a variety of design aesthetics.

About the Designer: Yves Béhar attributes his design sense to his childhood in Switzerland with an East German mother and a Turkish father. “In Europe, it is double nature to evaluate objects based on how they work and how they look.” As for his parents, “One is functional and modernist and the other, expressive and poetic, I always try to marry the two in my projects.” Béhar graduated from the Art Center College of Design, he proceeded to work in Silicon Valley with companies such as Apple and Hewlett Packard, and later diversifying into sport, apparel, technology and furniture design. His work with Herman Miller has generated the Leaf lamp, SAYL chairs and more. “Leaf is designed to give the user a full spectrum of choices to express light’s magical and sensory variations,” says designer Yves Béhar. “It allows the human senses to become engaged by allowing the user to choose the intensity and color of light which best suits a functional need, mood or location.”

via Design Milk