Hangman by Adam Goodrum

The brief for Hangman sought to meld designer Adam Goodrum’s affinity for narrative-driven design with Rakumba’s design ethos of “effortless complexity” and technical expertise - to design an iconic collection that resonates with people through a combination of nostalgia and playfulness. The collaboration was also strategically aligned to expand Rakumba’s portable luminaire range, with particular focus on table and floor lamp archetypes. The resulting concept was to have a strong decorative element in line with Rakumba’s mission of ‘Making Beauty’, while also carefully considering the lighting effects of the product to maximise practical application and use.

Drawing inspiration from memories of a childhood past-time, Goodrum distilled the gestural form of the ‘Hangman’ game into a collection of floor, table and pendant luminaires, each with stick-figure-like personality and typographic quality, which draws on the game’s word-based mechanic and analogue interaction. Comprising multiple articulated segments that swivel with an irresistible haptic action, each Hangman light is capable of a surprisingly acrobatic and intriguing range of positions. Pairing this directionality with the jewel-like polished glow of high performance LED optic tips, Hangman delivers unexpected functionality, channelling light to key points within a space while contributing its own iconic personality.

Hangman’s intentionally anthropomorphic personality instantly attracts emotional engagement. Intended to become a future icon, quality design, materials and manufacture puts the collection in the premium category. Pairing emotional engagement and iconic potential, Hangman's inherent value is immediate. Ability to manipulate Hangman’s articulated joints allows transformation and adaption to new spaces and uses over time, and formation of a straight line to minimise packaging and embodied shipping energy. Cutting edge LED provides for 20+ year life span with superior energy-efficiency. Use of quality materials that don’t degrade over time, Hangman is designed for maintenance, disassembly, and efficient recycling.

Hangman embodies the effortless complexity typified by Rakumba’s products and charms with a playful, mischievous edge; hiding below the surface is a rigorously considered product. The product strongly reflects it’s internationally resonating nostalgic narrative; the game “Hangman” is played by children across the globe, crossing boundaries of language and culture. And the pandemic-induced reversion to analogue games reflects this strong narrative in a positive and enduring way. Hangman channels light through a minimalist structure, while simultaneously allowing a high degree of functionality with numerous positions and light directions. Human interaction with a lighting product of this archetype is fresh and unusual - add to this the ability for the interaction to be playful and creative and you have something totally unique. Every aspect of Hangman has been designed from the ground up - this reflects the attention to detail for which Rakumba is well known. Almost every part of Hangman is custom designed and manufactured, including: - Lighting - custom LED and custom injection moulded optic - Swivel joint with haptic click - Elliptical extrusion - Tripod loft junction - Adjustable silicone suspension system - and even the pads under the lamp feet