We had the distinct pleasure to interview award winning designer Hisham El Essawy about their original and creative Lighting Unit design work. Hisham El Essawy is an award-winning industrial designer, that makes our world a better place with their original lighting unit works.
Hisham El Essawy ("HEE") answered Design Interview ("DI") questions about their award-winning work Khepri Lighting Unit . Interview questions prepared by Frank Scott.
HEE : The Ancient Egyptians watched the scarab rolling dung into a ball and pushing it along the ground to its burrow, they made a connection between the movement of the sun across the sky and the movement of the dung ball pushed by the scarab. Egyptians believed that it pushes the sun every morning into the sky (light), then back to the underworld in the evening (Darkness). They named it Khepri: The scarab god of rising of morning sun and rebirth. Khepri is our inspiration for lighting units.
HEE : Presenting Ancient Egyptian design in its abstract form that would fit in contemporary 2021 designs.
HEE : To produce Khepri locally and export it worldwide, for the contemporary Egyptian design to reach the international audience.
HEE : It took me two months to reach the final design of Khepri.
HEE : It was an inspiration pursuit. I was intrigued and mentally challenged to integrate the Anicent Egyptian beliefs in the contemporary style, through developing a complex form (Scarab Beetle), to extract the outline of Khepri (Lighting Unit) to be functional and deliver the concept of Scarab Beetle God of Light and recreation that was believed by Ancient Egyptians.
HEE : I'm planning to partner with a prominent local lighting production company and co-produce Khepri with them, then sell it locally and worldwide.
HEE : The central belief surrounding Khepri was the god's ability to renew life, in the same way he restored the sun's existence every morning. Mummified scarab beetles and scarab amulets have been found in Pre-dynastic graves, indicating that Khepri was respected early on in the history of Ancient Egypt. Khepri was principally depicted as a scarab beetle and this is the form that i started to abstract it to it's minimal form showing the rebirth of light coming from the heart of the darkness of Khepri in a modern Lighting unit.
HEE : No, it was an individual process.
HEE : Anyone interested in contemporary lighting fixtures, from Class A individuals, FF&E, to showrooms and exhibitions.
HEE : There is no similar or resembling concepts in the market.
HEE : The name is based on the inspiration behind the design, which is Khepri. The Ancient Egyptians watched the scarab rolling dung into a ball and pushing it along the ground to its burrow, they made a connection between the movement of the sun across the sky and the movement of the dung ball pushed by the scarab. Egyptians believed that it pushes the sun every morning into the sky (light), then back to the underworld in the evening (Darkness). They named it Khepri: The scarab god of rising of morning sun and rebirth. Khepri is our inspiration for lighting units.
HEE : The idea was first started with freehand sketches, then it was further developed on AutoCad then shapr 3D, then rendered on Vray using 3DS max.
HEE : Khepri is a floor lamp and also a pendent that is designed based on ancient Egyptians Khepri concept. Just touch Khepri and light will be on: From the Darkness to the Light - as ancient Egyptians always believed. Developed from the evolution of Egyptian scarab shape, Khepri is equipped with a dimmable LED that is regulated by a touch sensor switch that provides three settings adjustable brightness by a touch.
HEE : No, it was an individual effort.
HEE : I used technology in every step. From design development using software applications - AutoCad, shapr 3D, 3DS max - to prototyping using 3D printers, and finally production method using CNC machines.
HEE : Khepri design was based on qualitative research on the concept. The central belief surrounding Khepri was the god's ability to renew life, in the same way he restored the sun's existence every morning. Mummified scarab beetles and scarab amulets have been found in Pre-dynastic graves, indicating that Khepri was respected early on in the history of Ancient Egypt. Khepri was principally depicted as a scarab beetle and this is the form that i started to abstract it to it's minimal form showing the rebirth of light coming from the heart of the darkness of Khepri in a modern Lighting unit.
HEE : The Integration of Anicent Egyptian believes and the Modern Style, as we worked on developing a complex form (Scarab Beetle), to extract the outline of khepri (Lighting Unit) to be functional and deliver the concept of Scarab Beetle God of Light and recreation that believed by Ancient Egyptian. Also, in the prototyping phase, I have faced some challenges when 3D printing the design, however I collaborated with my design team and 3D printing experts and we have managed to solve all the challenges together.
HEE : I've always wanted to submit my designs to A' Design Award, since it's the most prominent award in the field. As soon as I finalized Khepri, I was quite sure it's a winning design, so I decided to submit it right away, and I was right!
HEE : I learned how much the Ancient Egyptian designs were progressive and sophisticated, and it wasn't by any means primitive, hence, we found it very challenging to design our Khepri that is inspired from the Ancient Egyptian god Khepri.
HEE : No, thank you!
