The Democratic Bulb Holder

Image: Bulb holder: Before & After

A batten/angle holder is a ceiling/wall accessory used to make the mounting and replacing of a bulb easy. It is found mostly in all middle income households and public places across the world. However, these generic bulb holders lacked the aesthetic quality offered by the slightly more expensive decorative luminaries. It was clear that these holders were not designed to adorn the walls but only engineered to function. Being a designer of everyday objects, I have always believed that good design should be democratic. It should be available to every one at an economic price. 

One of the best ways to achieve cost efficiency is by giving attention to production efficiency i.e. ease of mass manufacturing. Now that the lacuna was identified, I set out to design the spherical bulb holder set which hid the engineering clutter such as screw holes and made the product look aesthetically pleasing which increased the percieved value of the product manifolds compared to the generic bulb holders.

Angle & Batten prototypes were tested for ease of mounting and replacement.
Thereafter, engineered to perfection!

Originally manufactured by GM Modular Pvt. Ltd. in 2004, it has become the fastest moving product off the shelf and an identity product for the brand. Soon, it caught the attention of the entire Indian Electrical Product Industry. Now it has been adapted by almost all top Indian companies apart from a plethora of medium and small scale manufacturers. This design has changed a stereotype and is now a standard in the Indian electrical accessory trade. Also hugely exported to neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Philips has also included it in their product portfolio for the Indonesian market.

Several design improvisations have also happened around the basic idea of the spherical bulb holder such as introduction of coloured decorative elements and change in the shape of the outer shell. However, a few wild and wired looking avatars amuse me the most!

The most exciting thing is that technology intervention has also happened to make the product smarter. The latest is a remote controlled bulb holder!
The outer shell has been made transparent so that it does not hinder the performance of the IR sensor.

I surely can say this design of mine has become a democratic design as it is truly for the people and by the people!