On October 16th, 2012 the winner of this year´s belektro-competition for students has been announced during the opening event of the „belektro“ – a trade fair for electrical engineering, electronics and lighting. The winner of the competition „coOLED“ is Fabian Schleyerbach from the Academy for Interior- and Objectdesign in Cham/Bavaria, who presented a design table lamp. For the design of this lamp Mr. Schleyerbach used OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diodes) of the Fraunhofer COMEDD, which are known by the brand name TABOLA^® and can be purchased e. g. as transparent samples in standard sizes.

Fabian Schleyerbach about his decision to design a table lamp: „My idea was to develop a luminaire, which combines regenerative and natural materials with the high-tech illuminant OLED in a traditional and handcrafted way with minimalistic modern shape. This enables optimal desktop illumination and the OLED is put in the limelight as best as possible. Furthermore the advantages of the OLED as an extremely flat and glare free light source at direct eye contact can be highlighted in comparison to other illuminants.”

The third ideas competition of the LICHT magazine and the Trade Fair Berlin confronted the students with the task to create a portable lighting solution using OLED, which meets the requirements and parameters of the OLED. The students of the branches lighting-, product-, industrial- and communication design, architecture, interior design and lighting engineering had to present distinctive designs, which are lighting object and functional lamp together and can be a »must have« for innovative technology and design loving people. It should be possible to manufacture the design by reasonable means so that the lighting solution should not be expensive to buy.

The lighting of Fabian Schleyerbach consists of an oak batten, four TABOLA^®-OLED and a sewn felt strip on the back. A tin element, which is integrated in the base of the lamp, provides the necessary stability for erecting the oak bar via flexure and serves as a touch dimmer.

The jury states that the winning design model is a successful combination of the innovative OLED technology with traditional materials like wood and felt. Britta Hölzemann from the magazine LICHT, who organizes the competition on behalf of the Trade Fair Berlin,  explains: „The model is a perfect example for sustainability: only renewable materials have been used and it does not have any glueings, which helps to simplify recycling. The simplicity of the design underlines the aesthetics of the OLED: The luminaire is flat, narrow and rectangular. This shape could be packaged and dispatched with low material costs and highlights the aspect of sustainability again. Furthermore the shaping enables universal application – the lighting can be erected but can also be used in lying or hanging position.“

Of course Jan Hesse, OLED designer at Fraunhofer COMEDD and speaker of the jury, is delighted:„As a fan of the OLED technology it was a really great pleasure for me to see how professional and imaginative the students dealt with the various possibilities of OLED. Great designs resulted from this and I am especially proud that the lighting with our TABOLA^® won the competition - congratulations to Fabian Schleyerbach!“

Although he abstained from the final voting, Jan Hesse explains that it was not an easy decision for the jury to select from the ten best designs. 121 students from nine universities all throughout Germany applied for the competition. The top-class jury selected the ten best designs out of 87 submissions. Finally eight students decided to build a model and were supported generously with material sponsoring from Philips Lumiblade and Fraunhofer COMEDD.

About Fabian Schleyerbach:

After he completed an apprenticeship as  carpenter in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Fabian Schleyerbach  studied at the Academy for Interior- and Objectdesign in Cham and graduated as a certified interior designer and designer of objects in August 2012. Although he - as a master carpenter - has expert knowledge in the field of wooden material Fabian Schleyerbach is very open-minded about other materials like e. g. steel or beton. This can be often recognized in his designs. The handwriting of the designer and master carpenter from the Oberpfalz in Bavaria is a minimalistic and clear use of forms and technically perfect workmanship. When asking him about his wishes for the future, he answers: „Regarding the lamp I would be pleased to launch it to the market, maybe also together with a manufacturer for lightings. Concerning my occupational career, I would like to work in a team, where I can bring in my skills and knowledge for the design of products.“

About the design prize of the belektro:

The third belektro ideas competition was meant for students in the fields of lighting, product, industrial and communication design, architecture, interior design and lighting engineering. The task of the competition was to design a portable/mobile lighting solution by using Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs). The jury was looking for distinctive designs that are tailored to the specific parameters of OLEDs. The lighting solution should not only have a function, for instance to illuminate a workplace or living room, but should also be a »cool lighting object«, a »must have« for innovative technology and design loving  people. It should be possible to manufacture the design by reasonable means, so that the lighting solution should not be expensive to buy. Apart from the spokesman Jan Hesse from Fraunhofer COMEDD, the jury consisted of Gisela Cakir - Ergonomic Institut für Arbeit- und Sozialforschung, Regina Welk - magazine LICHT, IDZ Berlin represented by Ingrid Krauss, Professor Falk Höhn from Hannover/Stralsund, professor Peter von Maydell from Bremen, the designer André Baschlakow from Berlin, federal guild master for electrical engineering in Berlin-Brandenburg Carsten Joschko and Rayko Piwarz of the Berlin Lighting House Piwarz Licht. They honored the high quality of the submitted ideas. The winners of the competition can now look forward to the prize money of altogether 3250 €, which is provided by the Trade Fair Berlin and two more companies.