There’s something deeply satisfying about watching a designer take a basic shape and completely reimagine it. That’s exactly what Jisu Park has done with the Corte Lamp, a lighting design that proves sometimes the boldest move is a single, decisive cut.
At first glance, the Corte Lamp looks like a straightforward cylindrical floor lamp. Clean lines, matte finish, minimalist aesthetic. But then you notice the slash, a sweeping diagonal incision that slices through the form like someone took a giant blade to it. This isn’t just a decorative flourish. That cut becomes the lamp’s defining feature, transforming a simple tube into something that feels more like a sculptural installation than a functional light source.
Designer: Jisu Park
The genius here is in the restraint. Park didn’t overcomplicate things with multiple cutouts or elaborate patterns. Instead, there’s just one bold, confident gesture that creates an elliptical opening through the cylinder. When the lamp is off, you see the architectural drama of negative space. When it’s on, that void becomes a window into warm, glowing light that spills out at unexpected angles.
What makes the Corte Lamp particularly clever is how it plays with our expectations of what a lamp should be. We’re used to light coming from the top of a floor lamp, filtered through a shade or diffuser. But this design disrupts that convention. The cut section exposes the light source in the middle of the form, creating multiple lighting effects simultaneously. You get ambient uplight from the top, focused illumination from the opening, and subtle downlight at the base.
The color palette adds another layer of appeal. While the lamp comes in practical neutrals like black, white, and beige, it’s the pastel options that really shine. That peachy coral tone, in particular, transforms the lamp into something that feels current and Instagram-ready without trying too hard. The mint green offers a retro-futuristic vibe, while the soft pink brings a gentle warmth to any space. These aren’t just lamps. They’re statement pieces that happen to provide light.
From a technical perspective, the execution looks flawless. The matte finish gives each color depth and sophistication, while the precision of that diagonal cut suggests careful engineering. The edges are clean, the proportions are balanced, and despite its dramatic gesture, the lamp maintains stability with a circular base that echoes the cylindrical form. There’s also something intriguing about how the lamp changes depending on your viewing angle. Walk around it and the elliptical opening shifts in appearance, sometimes looking like a narrow slit, other times revealing the full depth of the cut. This kinetic quality, where the object seems to transform as you move through space, adds an interactive element that static lighting typically lacks.
The Corte Lamp fits into a larger trend we’re seeing in contemporary design where the line between furniture and art continues to blur. Young designers are increasingly rejecting the idea that functional objects need to disappear into the background. Instead, they’re creating pieces that demand attention, spark conversation, and challenge our assumptions about everyday items. Park’s design also reflects a particular aesthetic moment where maximalism isn’t about adding more, but about making more impact with less. One cut. One form. Multiple colors. That’s the entire concept, and it works because it’s executed with conviction and technical skill.
For anyone furnishing a space, the Corte Lamp offers versatility that’s hard to find in statement lighting. It’s bold enough to anchor a minimal room with dramatic flair, but simple enough not to clash with existing decor. It works in a modern apartment, a creative studio, or even a retail space looking for sculptural accents that serve a purpose.
The beauty of designs like this is they remind us that innovation doesn’t always mean reinventing everything from scratch. Sometimes it’s about looking at something familiar, like a cylindrical lamp, and asking what happens if you just take something away. In Park’s case, that subtraction became an addition, creating a lighting design that’s as much about shadow and void as it is about illumination. The Corte Lamp proves that great design can be a single idea executed perfectly.
