Before Ilia Sergeevich Potemine was a lighting designer, he was an airline pilot. But as one of his recent designs shows, he’s still got his head in the clouds. The ISP lamp he created for the French manufacturer DCW Éditions loosely riffs on the assembly of an airplane.

At first glance, the lamp looks like a brass capsule perched on a marble plinth. But pop its top, and out slides a glowing LED cylinder. Like a plane’s fuselage, the lamp’s metal shell protects its contents. To turn it off, just push it back in. It’s a delightfully simple conceit that adds a little surprise to the simple act of flipping on a lamp.

Via fastcodesign.com