serien.lighting:40 Years of Lighting Design in Book Form

To understand the history of serien.lighting, one must look to Rodgau. It was there that Jean-Marc da Costa and Manfred Wolf established their business in 1983, at a time when designers rarely produced and marketed their own work under their own names. Now, more than 40 years later, the luminaire manufacturer is looking back on its history with a comprehensive book. The book,  ‘serien.book: Over Four Decades of Luminaire Design from Rodgau, Germany’, is an extensive catalogue raisonné that traces the history of the company's products and its approach to design. Alongside photographs, texts and sketches, the publication brings together previously unpublished archive material. More than 45 product families from serien.lighting are presented alongside technical specifications, design histories, and accompanying texts. These include the legendary 'Pan Am' floor lamp and the 'Reef' pendant lamp.  The publication also contains extensive photo spreads, taking readers on a journey through time from the founders' shared student days at the HfG Offenbach to the early days in the Wolf family's metal workshop in Rodgau and on to international trade fairs and architectural projects. The texts are by design researcher and design historian Prof. Markus Frenzl.

The Stiftung Buchkunst has now awarded the “serien.book” a prize in the “The Most Beautiful German Books” non-fiction category. The book was published in March.

The 'serien.book' impresses not only with its content, but also with its design, for which the Frankfurt-based 'Bureau Sandra Doeller' is responsible. Black paper and silver printing give the book a striking physical presence. The cover features a relief varnish that creates a subtle interplay of light, visually echoing the theme of lighting design. Extensive photo spreads complement the publication, charting a journey through time from the founders' shared student days at the HfG Offenbach to the early days in the Wolf family's metal workshop in Rodgau and on to international trade fairs and architectural projects.

Jean-Marc da Costa describes the book as an expression of the company’s philosophy: “We recommend this book to anyone who wants to know what makes our brand and us tick.”