Diana Lin was born in Taipei, Taiwan, graduated from the University of Colorado, and obtained her industrial design MFA at the Rochester Institute of Technology. At RIT, she fell in love with design. During her years at RIT, Lin also took on consulting jobs, and worked on several projects, including an international lighting design competition. Initially, she struggled with the design competition, as she was feeling overwhelmed and desperately needed to unwind. She ventured outside to lay on the grass under the warmth of the sun. Unfortunately, Rochester, NY is a place where sunshine is scarce, so Diana did not get the sunlight she desperately needed. This specific experience, though, inspired her to create her award-winning light design, the d°light Huggable.

Spotlight: It's a huggable Sun!

The inspiration for the d°light design is sunlight. The comforting rays of the sun not only represent warmth and light but also happiness, joy, playfulness, and life itself. People often take these qualities for granted, however, missing the sunlight only when it is unavailable. The concept embodied in the d°light Huggable is to create a light that captures the essence of sunlight, condensed into something tactile and personal.

The d°light Huggable is a furry pillow cover wrapped around a series of 12 LED lights embedded within silicone bubbles. The silicone material is translucent white and acts as a diffuser for the LED lights. When lit with LED lamps, the technology creates a warm and comforting glow that represents sunlight. The tactile quality of the silicone also mimics the feeling of a living creature, and d°light Huggable almost hugs back as you hold it, as the material absorbs body heat and warms up. The shape and material of the pillow cover encourages people to touch, hold and bond with d°light Huggable.

Award-winning designer, Diana Lin, has won the Koizumi International Lighting Design 18th Competition Bronze Award for this pillow. Read more about this design.