At Philip Johnson’s Wolf House, Onibi enters the architecture as early summer gathers its force.
Set within a house of unusual transparency, Ramulus appears almost continuous with the landscape beyond. Its slight movements meeting the fullness of trees, light, and air at their most abundant.
Filmed by @leandercapuozzo1
Onibi - NYCxDESIGN
ICFF Lookbook
May 17–19
Booth W1256
Javits Center
429 11th Ave
New York, NY 10001
NYCxDESIGN: SHINE
May 14–20
20 Fulton Street
New York, NY 10038
We hope to see you there.
This lamp captivated my curiosity the moment I saw it. The designer drew inspiration from stick insects and its fitting name, Ramulus, means “small branch” or “twig.” The lamp is a joy to use, featuring precisely machined materials like stainless steel and aluminum.
The Ramulus. Design by Kebei Li from @oni.bi
Big thanks to Onibi for providing the lamp!
In our second Dark Mode entry, The Tendency of Things, we reflect on micro-movement and vitality. Moving from early perception experiments to modern interfaces, we investigate how the perception of life can be triggered by so little. If vitality is contingent only on a minimal set of cues, then those cues can also be engineered and consumed.
Full text on Substack, link in bio.
Ramulus’ double-fin structures are made from anodized aluminum extrusions. Aluminum billets are heated near their melting point until they reach a plastic, dough-like state, then forced through a precision die to form one continuous profile—much like pasta through a bronze die.
The extrusions are cut to size, post-machined, and then anodized. These fins not only modulate and direct light but also quietly handle the critical task of dissipating heat, ensuring long-term LED reliability.
Explore Ramulus on our site.
Onibi approaches lighting as a historical formation, inseparable from the social, cultural, technological, and political forces that shaped it as a category of design. Alongside our product line, we publish editorial work on the conditions that shape illumination, and periodically share our findings and thoughts on Substack.
In our inaugural post, we reflect on the politics of dimming. Turning to Jun’ichirō Tanizaki and Walter Benjamin, we reconsider the resurgent turn toward luminous modesty in Silicon Valley design as exemplified by Apple’s Dark Mode, the iOS feature introduced in 2019.
Full text on Substack, link in bio.
Join us next Friday evening on the 13th as we welcome the introduction of the Ramulus lamps by @oni.bi here at our showroom in both color options.
Beverages will be provided, no rsvp necessary.
Doors 6pm/9pm
Hope to see you then!
Last week, we visited the Onibi studio (@oni.bi ) to check out their latest lighting design in person. Kebei Li (@kebei.li ) walked us through the mechanics and intricacies behind the creation of Ramulus, developed thoughtfully from the ground up. While we’ve carried articulating lamps for years, Ramulus brings a new level of expression to the category. Every detail has been precisely considered and refined over the past three years — so much so that the final piece remains remarkably close to its original prototype.
Named after the Latin word for “small branch” or “twig,” Ramulus draws inspiration from an Asian genus of stick-like insects, reflected in its slender form and gentle, deliberate movement.
Join us next Friday the 13th as we celebrate the launch of Ramulus with an in-store event and installation at our Ridgewood showroom.
More details to come.
Photo: @carbonstories@alisterkruizenga
