ZANDESIGN‘s BALANC Lamp design Go Beyond the Oriental aesthetic.

By The PDS Editorial

This article is part of our China Design agency report 2023

A young, cutting-edge design agency from China, is on a mission to revolutionize the traditional home living lamp market, by crafting pieces with a distinct Oriental aesthetic.

Shenzhen, Guangdong - where Asia traditional meets modern in China's home living scene. A youthful brand is taking the industry by storm with its disruptive approach to LED light designs and a commitment to infuse its products with a great deal of Eastern philosophy and Chinese aesthetics. This dynamite of creativity is none other than ZANdesign.

The brainchild of the celebrated industrial designer, Li Zanwen, in 2016,

ZANdesign is the epitome of Li's quest to find his unique niche in industrial design, particularly for his lighting brand. Over the years, Mr. Li has been an independent industrial designer for brands such as TP-Link.

In the heavily crowded design market, Mr. Li's belief is that his brand can stand out with its striking industrial design. He upholds a firm conviction: "Good industrial design might not necessarily change life, but bad design will surely ruin the joy of life." Such is the guiding principle of his unwavering commitment to superior industrial design.

Balance Light "LYBRA"

LYBRA, the "Balance LED Lamp," is ZANdesign's latest design debut for 2023. It's a rare example of Oriental aesthetic in industrial design, not just in China, but across the whole of East Asia.

The magnificence of this design is such that even when not illuminated, it resonates as an ever-present piece of industrial design brilliance.

The Lybra balance lamp takes its inspiration from traditional Chinese spinning toys. It's cleverly designed so that the two bulbs on either side lower its center of gravity below the support point.

Balance Light Chinese LED Lamp Industrial Design

Imagine a vertical line connecting these two points, creating a perfect balance! Thanks to the equal-weight sphere bulbs, this industrial design marvel basks in a lower center of gravity, meaning you can place it on any pivot point.

Give it a gentle tap and it will spin in a balanced manner, and it won't tumble down. And the best part? You can recharge it simply by popping LAMP into a tiny hole. Pretty nifty, isn't it?

With its top-like design and remarkable balance, it can stand and catch your eye in every corner. From the side of your bed to the corner of your table, atop your notebook, on your fingertip, or even a pen tip, this little masterpiece dares to go everywhere.

In its resting state, it stands straight at a point; when spun, it can spin for minutes. It switches between dynamic and static balance, offering a new visual appeal in everyone's dwelling, a delightful touch.

"In my view, good design shouldn't be restricted to functionality," said Mr. Li in an interview. "Good design is a manifestation of design thinking and a lifestyle, it bridges the psychological gap between people and products, gratifying and delighting individuals' lives, inclusive of the crucial, spiritual life."

Before the LYBRA lamp, Li Zanwen had already designed another famous pieces in the realm of industrial design.

HENG PRO Light

Often referred to as a professional lighting balance, the HENG PRO balance lamp is known for its unique balancing mechanism—employing two wooden spheres embedded with magnets.

"Balance," translating to "Heng" in Chinese, even in its native language carries a profound sense of Zen, hinting at Buddhist or metaphysical undertones.

The secret that slips by many is that the spinning Balance lamp, is actually a continuation of the renowned Balance lamp series, another prestigious Eastern creation in the world of industrial design and product design.

HENG pro Light

However, as the ingenious industrial designer behind it, Li Zanwen claims, the name is merely a straightforward representation of its functional operation. The rest is intentionally left for interpretation, allowing the product itself to tell a story, and inviting users to fathom its underlying philosophical essence. This, Li believes, stretches the limits of users' creativity and imagination about the product's potential!

Humorously, Li loosely translated "Heng" to its English phonetic equivalent, hoping to retain its Chinese charm and uniqueness in the realm of product design.<br data-mce-fragment="1"><br data-mce-fragment="1">Drawing inspiration from Chinese classical artifacts like "round fans" and "lattice windows," the basic form of the lamp came into being.

Unlike regular light fixtures, this creative gem does not adopt sharp angles and harsh lines. Instead, Li preferred to use smoother radii to juxtapose the hardness of the wood with the lamp's pleasant human touch. And thus it was born - a product that is not just revolutionary in design, but in how it enhances one’s fidelity with light in its most inspirational form!

The struggle in Chinese design patents

However, HENG PRO Light has been facing a maelstrom of rampant counterfeits and imitations from various other factory owners.

Since its inception on April 1, 1985, China's Patent Law has seen 38 years of continuous development and system building, marking a substantial increase in public and industrial understanding of intellectual property rights. But, there still exist gaping loopholes.

"How can a product avoid being pirated and adulterated in the Chinese market?” Li Zanwen jests when asked how to dodge plagiarism: "Simple, we say, keep the product QUIET from going viral!"

The inescapable truth is that the legal consequences of counterfeit operations, enmeshed within a tangled web of complex issues, fall short of meting out severe enough punishments that could bankrupt violators. This lenient penal climate further strengthens the misconception that plagiarism and counterfeiting are low-risk, high-return shortcut strategies, posing a significant hurdle to China's pursuit of high-quality, creative growth.

"I have inked more litigation contracts than I can count, nearly a hundred so far," reminisces Mr. Li, about his ordeal defending his patents. "My hand got numb from all that signing, and I felt like I was losing feeling in my fingerprints from all the thumbprints I had to provide."

Tong Huiming, the CEO of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts shares in an interview with BDDwatch, "The case of ZANdesign is emblematic of Chinese innovative designers' resolute stand to safeguard intellectual property rights, opposing the pervasive manufacturing industry’s burgeoning counterfeit culture.

Closing Thoughts

Beyond the enduring quest to protect his copyrights, Li Zanwen, with his iconic spinning lamp in tow, has once again embarked on his journey to innovatively push the boundaries of creativity in industrial and product design.

Despite enduring plagurism and copyright challenges, ZANdesign's products have found a resonating chord among global designers and consumers. The company has teamed up with several well-known consumer corporations in China, either commissioned for project collaborations or to showcase their range of creativity. "I am honored to represent the new generation of Chinese designers on the global stage," says Mr. Li. "We possess the local innovative ability and manufacturing prowess - the world needs to see it."

Aiming to amplify its presence in overseas markets, ZANdesign exemplifies that location is unimportant when it comes to original design; it can stem from any corner of the globe. The company stands as a testament to the vast potential far surpassing the realms of imitation, cloning, and replication in the world of industrial and product design.