Here, we ask designers to take a selfie and give us an inside look at their life.
Age: 37
Occupation: Lighting designer.
Instagram: @nader_gammas
Hometown: Born in Olney, IL, but I’ve been a nomad for the past 15 years.
Studio location: An office in Dubai, and currently Boston.
Describe what you make: I’m an architectural lighting designer, and I design and make lighting fixtures. My fixtures are derived from a narrative-based approach, combining certain aspects of lighting performance with sculptural qualities, allowing each to influence each other to reach the final form.
The most important thing you’ve designed to date: My fixtures. They’re all important to me.
Describe the problem your work solves: Illuminating spaces.
Describe the project you are working on now: I’m working on a large villa for a client in Dubai with an interesting architectural language and lots of artwork to light. We wanted to create a dramatic experience by focusing on lighting points of interest. Taking advantage of the architectural elements (bridges, courtyards, water features, transparencies, wood screens), the client’s attention is grabbed by the surrounding spaces.
A new or forthcoming project we should know about: I’m working on a new lighting fixture called Wall of Light. It’s quite intricate because it involves experimenting with different types of plaster applications versus positioning multiple points of light. I’m looking to reveal it in mid-September.
What you absolutely must have in your studio: Lots of snacks. There are never enough almonds, tortilla chips, bagels with cream cheese, red licorice, coffee, oatmeal cookies, and peanut butter and jelly.
What you do when you’re not working: Spending time with family, and hunting for a Flat White coffee. In Dubai, there’s a Japanese coffee shop called Arabia I go to for the ultimate cup. In Boston, it’s 1369 in Cambridge.
Sources of creative envy: Nacho Carbonell, Maarten Baas, Isamu Noguchi, Alexander Calder, French Art Deco, anything from Southern Guild Gallery.
The distraction you want to eliminate: Getting in my own head.
Concrete or marble? Marble.
High-rise or townhouse? High-rise with a terrace.
Remember or forget? Remember, then quickly forget.
Aliens or ghosts? Aliens.
Dark or light? Dark.
