Anglepoise Lamp Infographic: the Story of a Design Classic

We’ve always had a soft spot for the Anglepoise lamp at Pickle. It has personality, character and that wonderfully simple bit of engineering that makes you wonder why nobody thought of it sooner. Our Anglepoise lamp infographic takes a look at the story behind George Carwardine’s design – along with some of the stranger places it has turned up since.

We’ve actually been banging on about the Anglepoise for quite a while. Back in 2015 we chose it as one of our Design Classics, and ten years later it turned up again as the July illustration in our 2025 Design Classics calendar. Some designs really do refuse to go away – quite rightly in this case.

A very clever spring

Automotive engineer George Carwardine developed a spring mechanism that could move freely while holding its position, rather like a human arm. Teaming up with spring makers Herbert Terry & Sons, he first marketed the idea to industry before the public rather enthusiastically claimed it for themselves. The Anglepoise lamp was born in 1932.

It is one of those pieces of design that has become so familiar it is easy to stop noticing how clever it is. We have two in the studio ourselves, quietly peering over our shoulders and pointing light exactly where it is needed.

A design classic with some curious stories

The Anglepoise has gathered some brilliant stories over the years. In 1948 the BBC’s Head of Variety apparently had the lamps banned from BBC offices, fearing that their low light might encourage ‘degenerate programme making’. Thankfully that particular design critique didn’t last.

There have been giant versions too. The Roald Dahl Museum commissioned one based on the writer’s favourite lamp, while sculptor David Mach created The Giant Hand Sculpture using 360 black Anglepoise lamps.

Perhaps my favourite tale involves a Wellington bomber recovered from the mud during a search for the Loch Ness Monster. After around 40 years underwater, its Anglepoise lamp was apparently still working. Built to last indeed.

Still evolving

The original Anglepoise was George Carwardine’s creation, but its design story didn’t stop there. Decades later Kenneth Grange became Design Director at Anglepoise and developed new interpretations including the Type 75. We’ve recently been looking at Kenneth Grange and his extraordinary contribution to British design.

And if the lamp seems oddly human, you’re not alone. It inevitably brings Pixar’s Luxo Jr. to mind, although that animated lamp was actually based on a Luxo L-1 rather than an Anglepoise. Either way, there is something friendly about a lamp that bends over your desk as though it is taking an interest in what you’re doing.

Not bad for a clever arrangement of springs dreamed up more than 90 years ago.