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After more than 10 years of success
We’re updating FollowMe
by Inma Bermúdez
When we introduced FollowMe by Inma Bermúdez to the world, we knew we were doing something new. Freeing design from cables meant changing the way people relate to light.
The experience of carrying light with you opened up new possibilities, multiplying ways to transform a space and offering the freedom to move and experiment.
Today, we’ve updated this pioneering portable design with significant improvements:
A more sophisticated, glossy finish.
Three colour temperatures (2200K, 2700K, and 3000K) adaptable to any situation or space.
Full spectrum dimmer for precise light control.
USB-C charging system.
Optional charging base (single or for up to six lamps)
Longer-lasting battery
We also wanted to take this special occasion to sit down with Inma and talk about what FollowMe has meant and everything that has happened over the past ten years.
In 2014, when you launched FollowMe, portable lamps barely existed. Where did the idea come from?
IBOriginally, the idea came from a table lamp I found while reviewing old Marset catalogues from the 1970s. One of them featured a lamp called Flass. I was struck by the way the shade was supported by a tubular structure. There was something very special about the relationship between the pieces. From there, I began developing what, in my digital folders, I called New Flass.
Was there a specific moment or need that inspired you?
IBWhen I presented the idea to Javier Marset, it had an incandescent bulb and was designed to be plugged into the mains. It was Javier who suggested taking it a step further and incorporating technology that was just emerging at the time: LEDs and rechargeable batteries. The idea of a cordless lamp you could carry with you felt incredibly exciting.
Did you realize at that moment that you were creating something so groundbreaking? Or was it simply a natural response to how you wanted to experience light yourself?
IBIn the months that followed, as we tested the first prototypes, we became aware that we were very close to something new. A different, freer, more human way of interacting with light.
“FollowMe” is such an evocative name, almost an invitation. Who or what do you follow?
IBTo find a name worthy of the design, I invited some French architecture and artist friends, RoWin Atelier, to help me with the naming process. It was Christmas 2013 and, during one of our conversations, the song Follow Me by Amanda Lear, Dalí’s muse, came up. There was something about that title that was a perfect fit. An invitation to be guided, to follow the light, almost like a poetic gesture.
Years later, that same song was chosen by CHANEL for the Coco Mademoiselle campaign in 2023. I found it fascinating that such an iconic and century-old brand, with such refined aesthetic sensibility, chose that distinctive song in particular.
FollowMe has become a contemporary design icon and has won prizes such as the Red Dot Award. How does it feel to see your design become a benchmark, a lamp that has accompanied so many people in so many moments?
IBFollowMe has brought me so much joy. Over the years, I’ve received messages and anecdotes from users telling me how it has become part of their daily lives. It’s one of the products where I feel the strongest connection between designer and user.
Beyond professional recognition, has there been any comment or story from users that particularly touched you?
IBThere’s one particular use that fills me with tenderness: several women told me it was the perfect lamp to illuminate their night-time breastfeeding sessions, not only because of its adjustable light intensity but also because it’s portable and can be carried with you during such a loving, intimate moment. That story feels very special to me.
Is there something you’d like people to know about FollowMe that might not be obvious at first glance? Something about its design, process or purpose?
IBPerhaps that its origin is linked to an old Marset piece, to a design story that already existed and which we reinterpreted from a contemporary perspective. It didn’t come from nothing but from the desire to give new life to a previous idea.
If you could speak to the Inma from 2014, what would you tell her about these last ten years?
IBI’d tell her to trust herself more. That what she was doing made sense, even if she couldn’t see it yet. I’d tell her to keep following her intuition, because that’s where her strength lies. And to enjoy the journey, because those ten years would be full of learning, collaborations and shared emotions.
Apart from FollowMe, what makes you feel free?
IBBesides FollowMe, what makes me feel most free today is being able to keep designing with purpose, surrounded by a team and companies that believe in the value of well-crafted ideas that improve people’s lives.
