'A new designer fixture without concessions'

Famostar specializes in the development and production of emergency lighting. R&D director Frank Risseeuw: "We focus on two types here; the well-known green signs that indicate with an arrow the shortest way out in case of calamities and the lighting fixtures, which illuminate the escape route if the power suddenly fails. We develop and manufacture them and in addition we have a knowledge center where we train and inform our customers about current laws and regulations."

From July 2021, Famostar will have a new design luminaire in its product range called D-Sign. Project manager Arjan Leushuis: "The function, indicating the shortest way out, will of course be retained, but this design has a more luxurious look. It fits more into the environment and is small, compact and easy to install. Ideal for use in offices, theaters, museums and hotels."

Blending into the environment was a challenge, according to Risseeuw. "We asked a design agency to help us with that. It continues to meet all legal requirements in terms of color and functionality, but we designed it in such a way that it seems to float in space. The pictogram lights up and seems to go on forever because the edges light up. This makes the D-Sign truly unique in this market." 

Leushuis: "That's why we decided to enter the international design competition the Red Dot Award with this product. We are extremely happy to be able to say that we won it too. I like the fact that others appreciate what we are super proud of."

Famostar has existed for 65 years and has undergone tremendous development over all these years. Leushuis: "We started with a hand lamp containing a battery that you took with you into the building in case of an emergency. Nowadays we use LED as a light source in emergency lighting and intelligence has been added; the smart fixtures test themselves to see if they are still functioning properly and can communicate with each other. An administrator can now remotely see the status of his emergency lighting fixtures. We have also spent years replacing all large and small fixtures with fluorescent lights and Nicad batteries with LED lights with much more environmentally friendly NiMh batteries." 

Famostar develops different types of emergency lighting for a variety of sectors, and the environment partly determines the design requirements. Leushuis: "Think of the petrochemical industry where we have to deal with extremes such as heat or danger of explosion by working with hazardous substances, but we also make impact-resistant and waterproof fixtures for swimming pools and sports halls, for example. For use in office buildings, we make very different types again. These are functional, meet legal safety requirements and are beautifully designed." 

Risseeuw: "An architect prefers not to use emergency lighting in his design. He wants the building sleek and preferably without distracting elements, but finds ours acceptable. That's the best compliment we can get."