Glass and Light / Designing with Transparency, Tone & Interaction
Glass is defined by light. Without light, glass becomes invisible—silent in form, absent in colour. But as soon as light passes through it, refracts, reflects, and reacts, the material comes to life. At Utopia & Utility, light is as vital to our work as the glass itself.
The Transparent Nature of Glass
Glass is a material of contradiction—both solid and fluid, clear yet present, weightless in appearance but heavy to hold. Its transparency makes it receptive to its environment, constantly responding to light, background, and context.
Because of this, we see glass not just as a material to shape, but as a medium for light—a lens that transforms its surroundings.
Nani Stacking Vessel Smoke- Same piece in light and without light
Tone, Thickness, and Transition
We work with coloured glass, where pigments are melted directly into the material. The resulting tone is not applied—it’s fused within the body of the glass, making it:
Rich in depth
Permanent in hue
Responsive to light and thickness
A single colour of glass can shift dramatically depending on how thick it is. Thinner walls appear lighter, more luminous. Thicker parts hold shadows and density. This variation in tone is intentional, offering dynamic contrast within a single object.
In our work, especially in pieces like the Stacking Vessels, we use this tonal play to build volume, softness, and layering—letting light do some of the shaping for us.
Colour Meets Light: Creating Interaction
When light hits coloured glass, it activates the pigment. When colours overlap—whether optically or physically—a new shade is born. In some of our designs, two transparent colours are layered to create a third, as in the Rainbow Heiki, where red and blue meet to form amber.
This interaction is not painted or engineered—it’s an effect of the material and the light. Each viewing condition reveals something new.
Why We Work with Glass and Light
There’s a quiet magic in working with glass. It is a material that encourages contemplation and presence. Watching how sunlight moves through a coloured rim, how a shadow softens or sharpens through the curve of a vessel—these are moments we design for.
Glass offers more than form. It offers experience. It captures the in-between, the ephemeral, and the reflective—both literally and emotionally.