Composing an Award-winning Tune

The Red Dot Design Award

23. 11. 2022

In June 2022, Preciosa Lighting brought music and light to Milan Design Week with our interactive installation, Composition in Crystal. It was a big hit with visitors and now it has been recognized with a global award.

The Red Dot Design Award is one of the world’s largest design competitions. Participants enter products, communication projects and brands as well as prototypes and concepts in three disciplines. The distinction “Red Dot” stands internationally for good design quality. Composition in Crystal was awarded for Spatial Communication in the Brands & Communication Design category. This is the 6th Red Dot Award Preciosa Lighting has won.

Composition in Crystal

Composition in Crystal brought rhythm and style to Milan Design Week through an interactive installation composed of light, crystal and music. It was a harmonious balance of art and design, enlightened by light and sound.

This large-scale exhibition consisted of outside ‘rings’ (reminiscent of sound waves) and an inner heart. This heart was divided into three playable sections. All the sounds were translated into light which traveled through the outer components surrounding the visitors.

The wonderful reactions of surprise and the happy smiles we saw when visitors experienced the installation in Milan reinforced our mission to connect people, and make memories, through light.

Michael Vasku Creative Director for Preciosa Lighting

Video gallery

The light made us smile, the music made us laugh. Composition in Crystal created a melody of memories at Milan Design Week 2022. Look back with us now and experience this interactive installation for yourself.

Launched during Salone del Mobile in Milan 2022, the installation is based on Preciosa's latest Signature Design called Crystal Spin. This design takes inspiration from icicles and the mystical beauty of the polar lights. It is created from handmade crystal rods, suspended from the top and each with an individually controlled light source inside.

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For Composition in Crystal, the glass components were tuned so precisely that when visitors hit them with a mallet, the vibration creates tuned notes. The activated tunes are also accompanied by light effects travelling through the entire structure. The heart of the installation was hiding an orchestra. By striking selected rods, the visitor unveiled single tracks played by different instruments.

15 activated instruments

When a rod is hit the music plays, and the light in the outer rings also reacts in tune to the music. By hitting more rods, the player activated more instruments which would build together to play an entire song. Up to 15 instruments could be activated, each one assigned to one specific crystal rod.

Like a conductor, the visitor can decide which instruments to play by selecting and hitting different rods. Everyone creates their own individual composition. Each rod stays lit for a few seconds before fading out.

Composition is Crystal was such a team effort, involving design, production, engineering and construction professionals, not to mention our R&D team and light and glass artisans. Winning the Red Dot Award is a testament to their expertise.

Michael Vasku Creative Director for Preciosa Lighting

Vasku and Klug — Creative Directors Michael Vasku and Andreas Klug

Designers of Crystal Spin

The installation was inspired by one of Preciosa’s Signature Designs, Crystal Spin. It was designed by our Creative Directors Michael Vasku and Andreas Klug, with the music design produced by award-winning sound designer, Juraj Mravec.