Shaping light

Written by: Štěpánka Strouhalová
Photo by: Věroslav Sixt

	Ivo Zajíček

“Light is essentially so extraordinary; all you have to do is help it a little and present it in an interesting way – with an unusual material or shape combination.” This is the motto of Ivo Zajíček, a design graduate who studied light technology.

ZAJÍČEK began his design career when he was still in high school, during which time he designed several inflatable toys for Fatra Napajedla, and the firm still produces them to this day. This could have been the source of his healthy approach to his work. “The basis of a good design is playfulness; whether it’s intended for indoors or outdoors, it should always enchant with humor,” he opines.
He seeks out materials that are not typical for the type of products he creates. This led him to think of an entirely original lamp made of slide film. He introduced it at last year’s Designblok, calling it Filmopolis. “These objects are more or less decorative, and the darker the film, the less light emits. But depending on what’s on the film, it offers incredible variations. For example, frames with birds flying in the sky give off blue light, while a motorcycle rider going through the countryside gives off green light,” Zajíček explains.
However, a Filmopolis can also be made of unexposed film, which has a slight violet color and lights a room very well. Or you can ring your lamp several times with your own exposed slides. To construct a little chandelier of film the designer needs only ten meters of film, without any internal structure. In order to make the fixture more solid it should have two layers, and where the perforations are found it should be sewed using strips of film. Using Filmopolis in public areas is an obvious option, so Zajíček is currently preparing an installation of several lights in the Aero movie theater in Prague.
In his next project he wants to enclose a flame in a glass tube. “It’s a very difficult technology that no one has yet attempted, so it’s going to take some time. In a heat-resistant cylinder of Simax glass that is cut lengthwise a liquid will burn like in a hurricane lamp, but unlike it, this lamp will have a linear flame,” the designer explains. This capricious light is intended as a decorative item on a desk, or in combination with a sheet of stainless steel for hanging on a wall. Zajíček will present his surprising new creation at this year’s Designblok.

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