10 minutes with architect-turned-designer Max Gunawan of Lumio fame

Designer and entrepreneur Max Gunawan launched the Lumio – a portable lamp that folds into a compact book – on Kickstarter two years ago and pulled in almost US$580,000. Now his book lamps are available at New York’s MOMA, Fondation Louis Vuitton and Lane Crawford. We caught up with Gunawan in Hong Kong as he launched a cool min version of the original book lamp.

Q: Why did you choose books as your creative vessel?

A: The reason is that books are much more practical. Books were something that I always carried around when I was an architect. If not books, I always had a sketchbook with me. I realised it’s the most compact way of packaging this. I wanted the lamp to be in a form that people are used to carrying around – it’s compact. 

Q: You started the crowd funding on Kickstarter. Did you expect the immediate takeoff?

A: Not at all. First I was like ok, gotta get funding and then boom, I got almost 10 times more than what I expected. The big challenge then was that I didn’t want to disappoint people who supported me. So I lived in the manufacture for four months to work out the production.

Q: Have you always been a product designer?

A: I’m not trained professionally as an industrial designer. I was trained as an architect. I have a different way of thinking when I’m building something. But at the same time, it's also an advantage because I’m able to look at things from a different perspective.