Banksia Oil Lamp

Nau Design, the Australian designed furniture brand is expanding their existing range to include outdoor furniture and accessories. Design to suit their range needs to be simple and cost effective to produce, fit with the current aesthetic of the brand and also withstanding exterior conditions.

Banksia was designed to complement Nau design’s new outdoor furniture range. It was conceived as an alternative to portable electronic lighting, as an oil lamp could be brought to market with a shorter timeline, and offer benefits such as the ability to burn citronella oils which is common to outdoor entertaining in the Australian context. The aesthetic references traditional oil lamps, with their wires cages and conical diffusers, but brings the treatment of these pieces in line with contemporary furniture, Nau’s range, and the scale of portable LED lamps. Banksia uses only two materials, allowing for ease of recycling.

Banksia is a simple answer to a product category that is dominated by very complex products, with batteries, chargers, wiring, globes, plastic and metal componentry. Constructing a traditional portable LED light requires a large amount of investment and a large range of components, each with their own issues in terms of sourcing materials and recycling at the end of life, especially with batteries. Banksia uses only two materials, steel and glass, both easily recyclable. The design of Banksia is incredibly simple, extending its life expectancy past that of more complicated counterparts.

Banksia was inspired by a very Australian childhood memory, of nights spent entertaining in backyards, surrounded by citronella tiki-torches. The idea was to update this product and move away from the tiki design language, to a contemporary take. The update of this product brings the functionality (insect repelling) and ambiance to a new and discerning set of customers.