Visa Lighting has launched Hellen, a new hand-spun bowl pendant for commercial interiors. Hellen features several finish combinations, a unique inner contour, and a flat, luminous lens over the light source rather than the typical screw-in bulb.

As LED technology evolves, luminaire manufacturers have more freedom to play with shape and detail. To conceptualize the new Hellen pendant, our designers and engineers took the familiar dome shape and refreshed it. “The dome finds itself at home in a variety of spaces and in a range of scales, so we saw an opportunity to explore,” says Product Designer Hans Nielsen. “We wanted to experiment with materials and subtle design details.”

The team paid close attention to Hellen’s profile, its materials, and how designers might combine different finish types on the outer shade and inner reflector to achieve their desired aesthetic.

One not-so-subtle detail in Hellen’s design is the choice to implement a flat acrylic diffuser over the LED sources, rather than exposed lamping. This was optimized to reduce visual clutter and create the most comfortable light. “We built a test setup where we could keep moving the LEDs back until they lit up the acrylic evenly,” says lead Product Engineer Alex Murray. This distributes functional light over a larger surface area, preventing glare.

Hellen is designed to produce downlight exclusively, which lends itself well to both large, open spaces (like office and retail floors) as well as cozy environments like dining areas, hospitality, conference rooms, and other intimate spaces. The collection will soon feature smaller and larger models, which will help make Hellen a versatile choice for a greater variety of interiors.