French designer Erwan Bouroullec is worried that a world hooked on screen time has lost its sense of real-world touch — and thinks it might just be up to the lighting industry to fix that. “I made this as a way to show people how to engage again,” he said while standing in front of Maap, his new Flos fixture that resembles a crumpled sheet of paper.

In the architecture industry, early project sketches drawn on sheets of foolscap (or, yes, even napkins) often gain mythical status. Bouroullec’s design, which hangs on a wall like a work of art, nods to this tradition but also subverts it, encouraging anyone to scrunch it into a new shape of their own. (Magnetic pucks clamp onto a backing frame to secure each composition in place.) 

The rest of the 2025 edition of Euroluce, Salone del Mobile’s biennial lighting exhibition continued this oscillation between expressive artistry and playful experimentation. Lasvit’s sculptural glass installation and Foscarini’s artisanal beadwork showcased the beauty of craft, while fixtures that recreate arresting sunsets (on view at both Artemide and Vibia) offer a way to bring Olafur Eliasson and James Turrell home. Sure enough, the real fun of lighting lies in our ability to turn a switch and feel, for a moment, like we possess some kind of superpower.

In that spirit, designs that invited visitors to look and touch included race car–like track lights that could be repositioned along Davide Groppi’s wall-mounted roadway, Luceplan’s bouquet featuring removable glowing flowers and Martinelli Luce’s Lycra-topped fishbowl that glows brighter based on the weight of the orbs that are placed on top of it. Gaze closely into the wave inside Ingo Maurer’s cylindrical suspension light and you’ll spot tiny surfer action figures who can be repositioned at will. For the young at heart, these designs are a welcome reminder that museum-worthy pieces are great — but nothing beats a hands-on experience.

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Dusk by BIG for Artemide

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“Soaked in Light” by Lasvit

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Habitus by Andrea Anastasio for Foscarini

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Maap by Erwan Bouroullec for Flos

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La Bella Durmiente by Nina Masó and Gabriel Ordeig Cole for Santa & Cole

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Grammoluce by Min Dong and Habits Design Studio for Martinelli Luce

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Nalum by Ingo Maurer

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Race of Lights by Davide Groppi

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Posi by Studio Umut Yamac for Luceplan