Designing a light fixture is an intrinsically material and hands-on process. Yet the A.I. images saturating the Internet — dreamlike lamps, interiors, houses and more — might have us believe otherwise. All are irrefutably magnificent but ignore a core element of what constitutes design: the ability to build it in real life. More often than not, these otherworldly creations will simply never exist in the physical realm. Polish-born, Amsterdam-based product designer Jaro Kose, however, is exploring a return to materiality in the form of table lamps, a chandelier and a large floor lamp handwoven from recycled PLA filaments. Constructed from fibres that are normally fed into a 3D printer, the up-and-comer’s new series, “I Am Not A Robot,” harnesses a process of discovery that centres the human spirit of play and creativity. “I don’t want to pretend to be a machine; I just want to take parts from the 3D printer and work like a sculptor,” says Kose. “I want to show how differently human designers and A.I. can use the same tools.”

Informed by his study of iconography while working under Dutch designer Marcel Wanders, “I Am Not A Robot” mobilizes the silhouette of a classic table light but subverts it with a new materiality. “People will immediately understand that this is a lamp, but looking closer, you see all the details and imperfections, like my fingerprints imprinted in the solidifying material. Those imperfections are unique qualities that only humans can bring to the design process,” says Kose. “You can make another one that may look alike, but it’s never the same. It’s not mass production — it’s playful design.”

While crafting fully functional and safe-to-use lamps through his free creation process was the biggest obstacle Jaro Kose had to overcome, finding the perfect temperature of heat was also a challenge. At 60 degrees, the filament-woven lamps begin to melt and become wobbly. This led the artist-designer to look for low-heat voltage options, like LEDs — although he still suggests keeping the fixtures indoors.

Unlike the formulaic experience of A.I. programming, Kose’s creative process does not infer a solution; it is the process itself that yields beauty. Although plugging in a design brief will immediately provide an answer to the proposal, there is something intangible that is lost without human intervention. “With my lamps, as with any product design, the brief is just the beginning. It’s not the end. Because you have to answer the brief, but it’s up to you and your skills, how you play with it and what will be your answer. Sometimes, you might get further than needed and create something beautiful.”