Pablo Designs

For the past twenty five years, Pablo Designs has been making products that remain trendy yet elegant… and always unique and functional. The company’s first product was designed in 1993 by the founder, Pablo Pardo. The Venezuelan-born designer established Pablo Designs in San Francisco as a way to translate his philosophy that contemporary lighting can help harness a relationship between people and the environments in which they reside. Pardo’s interesting background allowed him to search out designers that share his philosophy and vision; that “diverse ideas and perspectives inform a higher sense of purpose.”

Pardo graduated from the University of Cincinnati’s well-regarded industrial design program. Prior to founding Pablo Designs, he was tasked with making children’s roller skates for Fisher Price and an automobile concept design for Chrysler.

Some of Pardo’s inspiration can be attributed to his upbringing spent in a family of artists and engineers. His early life spent establishing relationships with designers he admires allowed the young designer to form a special creative process that is the backbone of his studio.

Together with Pardo, Pablo Studio is comprised of a small group of designers and inventors who have a wonderful understanding of manufacturing, materials, and technology. In addition, a background in industrial design and craft is essential for those making up this well-rounded group.

Pablo Designs employs 35 people and is housed in a 32,000-square-foot space in San Francisco. Each piece is completed under the same roof… from design prototype to product fulfillment. Individual designers have the creative freedom to explore new ideas prior to pursuing their viability. Throughout everything, the company’s philosophy of “less is more” rings true as everyone remains committed to offering (courtesy of the Pablo Designs), “people unique experiences and broaden the field of lighting design.”

The commonality among the individual designs is the value of sustainability. Pablo Designs stays away from today’s common “disposable” mentality; Pardo works to ensure that the designs coming from his studio “deepen the relationship between objects, their users, and their environments.”

One of our favorite Pablo Designs pieces is the UMA collection. The lantern’s versatility rests on the basic fact that this is a portable piece that can be used both indoors and outdoors. Recently, for the lantern’s 25th anniversary, UMA was transformed to also work as a portable light and a speaker. Employing a soft Warm Dim LED technology with 360 degree high fidelity surround-sound, UMA combines touch sensitive volume control with a full-range control dial. In addition, it features Bluetooth connectivity to enable streaming high-quality audio from any Smart device.

Another one of Pablo’s designs that we adore is the Bola Felt Collection. Felt is not a material normally associated with lights; however that did not stop Pardo. The pendants resemble a sunhat’s pliability in movement and versatility in offering shade. Bola pendants are soft and constructed in a pliable conical structure with two colored layers of undulating wool inside and out.

Innovation is at the heart of everything Pablo Designs makes. For several years, they have included USB charging ports in all their lanterns. Next up is how to eliminate wires so that lights can be charged via induction. Newest on the horizon is most applicable to offices. Working with Haworth, the collaboration includes figuring out a way to use light as a “signaling device.” Today’s open office layouts require the ability to seamlessly communicate. In such, inventing a way for colleagues to signal whether or not they are busy via their lights would be paramount. It appears as though the sky is the limit and Pablo Designs is just the company to keep reaching higher and higher.