“They are the ideal shape to transmit and receive information,” notes Barber. “They invite engagement.”

The colours of the Venini glass offer complex, tertiary shades, which shift into brighter tones once light passes through them — a continuation of the studio’s ongoing research into colour. While the exaggerated cone forms that emerge from the strict aluminium box sections recall audio equipment and sci-fi inflected product design developed during the Cold War, the effect is tempered by the delicacy of the blown glass and colour work. As the lamps are lit, the shades illuminate like beacons, creating gentler fields of colour that juxtapose against the rigour of the construction. “These are technical objects and we haven’t tried to soften them by adding curves or further refinement,” says Osgerby. “They’re bold, monolithic objects, but those qualities then contrast against the more crafted forms that emit light.”

Signals unites these different elements of Barber and Osgerby’s work, bringing together research and making techniques from across the studio’s practice. “Signals is a continuation of themes that have been evolving in the background of our work for some time,” says Osgerby. “It encompasses engineered craft, our love of Venini glass and colour, and our enjoyment of working with light to change a space.” Uniting these threads and helping to bind them together, however, is the motif of the cone and the role that it has played throughout the designers’ careers. “There is a perfection in its geometry,” notes Barber. The eye is drawn across the shape’s surface and towards its apex — the point at which information is both transmitted and received.