Product news: Berlin-based designer Uli Budde placed a flat disc above the bulb of this lamp so that it looks like a hot air balloon taking flight.

Balloon, which was created by Uli Budde for Slovenian lighting brand Vertigo Bird, consists of a bulb in a cylindrical base with a thin aluminium disc leaning over it.

Inspired by antique oil lamps and candle holders, Budde used the disc as a circular reflector to diffuse the light from below, producing a warm glow.

The resulting shape leaves room for our own associations, according to Budde. "Is it a balloon soaring into the air, a small glowing sun or an oversized light bulb?" he asks.

The lamp is made from lacquered aluminium and plastic and is available in white or yellow.

Balloon was shown in Copenhagen last week and will appear in Zurich from 23-25 November as part of the international design fair Blickfang.

Other designs inspired by balloons we've featured on Dezeen include a desk supported by giant Jenga blocks at one end and balloons at the other and a light that looks like a helium balloon stuck to the ceiling.

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Here's some more information from the designer:

Balloon is a table lamp generating diffused, ambient lighting.

Balloon owes elements of its forms to the typical antique oil lamps and candle holders with a reflector placed behind the flame to reflect and direct the light. Besides, the idea that we often consider the moon to be a light source (next to fire and the sun, for example) although it is just enlightened by the sun, gave the stimulus to work with indirect light.

The lamp's light source is situated inside a cylindrical base. Light shines upwards and lights the reflector, which tilts forwards, re-directing and reflecting a diffused glimmer of light. Through its simplicity and figurative character, the lamp leaves room for associations and fantasy – is it a balloon soaring into the air, a small glowing sun or an oversized light bulb?

For the special exhibition format called ‘blickfang selected’, five renowned personalities from the design scene have chosen young talents involved in furniture design. Uli Budde has been invited as one of them by Philipp Mainzer - architect, designer and co-founder of furniture brand e15 - to present his work at blickfang Copenhagen in Øksnehallen from 9-11 November, 
blickfang Zürich in Kongresshaus from 23-25 November and 
blickfang Basel in Messe Basel from 8-10 March 2013.

The lamp is available in White and Yellow.

Design: Uli Budde
Producer: Vertigo Bird
Year: 2010/11
Light source: 9W energy-saving fluorescent light
Material: lacquered aluminium, plastic parts
Size: 280x425x135mm
Colors: matte white/matte yellow