Billa, how a lamp acts as a symbol of unconventional design
Bologna-based Egoundesign is a young studio with an odd approach, creating products that go beyond traditional design practices.
In the lively town of Bologna, Italy, a young design studio is reimagining how we think of our everyday objects. Founded in 2020 by four entrepreneurs under 35, Egoundesign operates as a hybrid between a design studio, a manufacturing company, and a modern bottega.
The studio’s philosophy is rooted in unconventional design, believing in their ability to subvert traditional design paths. This particular approach has earned them impressive recognitions in the past five years, including the SaloneSatellite Award 2024, the Archiproduct Design Award 2021, and selection for the ADI Index 2022 for the prestigious Compasso d’Oro.
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This September, Egoundesign marked another significant milestone through its debut at Maison&Objet Paris, with its first independent international booth. As the team explains, “Maison&Objet represents a moment for us to look back in order to move forward. A moment to pause, connect all that we’ve done over these past five years and restart with new energy and awareness. We’re not just bringing objects: we’re bringing our idea of design as an accessible, curious and meaningful gesture for everyday life.”
The booth itself serves as a three-dimensional narrative of the studio’s journey, showcasing collections created throughout their five years of activity. Among the latest launches, one product particularly embodies the studio’s vision for accessible, thoughtful design: Billa, their new portable lamp. The product was successfully funded through Kickstarter and is now entering production.
After two years of dedicated research and development, Billa is a portable lamp that reimagines what a lighting solution can be: compact enough to fit in your palm, yet versatile and adaptable to countless situations. The lamp’s ergonomic silhouette is its defining feature, designed to nestle naturally between the fingers. Lightweight and compact, Billa is designed to act as an extension of your hand.
The lamp features integrated magnets at both ends of the product, so that it can attach effortlessly to any metallic surface without additional supports. Additionally, inside its body, Billa conceals a storage compartment for small everyday items like keys or earbuds. This dual functionality is a great example of Egoundesign’s philosophy around unconventional design, surprising the user with every detail.
Billa operates through a twist dynamic, offering an immediate tactile response simply by rotating the base to turn an LED on or off, with no clunky buttons or complex controls. The light adjusts between cool and warm, allowing users to set the right mood for each context. Designed for fast-paced lifestyles, Billa delivers up to six hours of battery life and recharges through a simple USB-C cord.
The Egoundesign team launched a crowdfunding campaign for the lamp in fall 2024, accompanied by “Billa, a short film”, a poetic movie they wrote, directed, filmed, and performed themselves. This curious and quirky approach resonated globally, attracting over 100 supporters who made pre-production possible. This story is of inspiration to many young designers, as proof that putting yourself out there with no fear can really pay back.
Billa is just one example of the studio’s innovative approaches, as they consistently push boundaries in materials and manufacturing, as in Voronoi, which is the first product in the world to experiment with 3D-printed brass. In a market full of increasingly complex products, Billa offers an incredible simplicity, as a model of good design. We remain curious to see what the studio’s unconventional design praxis will create next.
