Balance. In many ways, 2017 represented a year of reinvigoration and reinvention to find the perfect balance. How do we find a harmonious balance between design, performance and accessibility? This is the question that was endlessly debated internally - in relation to our product offering, our brand and our support systems. Our engineering team needed to develop luminaires that continued our design philosophy but also presented a compelling value proposition. Our brand team needed to reimagine our brand to more purposefully express our ethos. Our operations team needed to streamline our internal systems and procedures to better support our clients.

As a result, 2017 began with a palpable sense of anticipation and ends with an appreciation of complete transformation. We have tirelessly worked to transform our brand, our product offering and our support structures to find that balance in quality and accessibility. In recent years, countless industries have been transformed by a universal accessibility to a level of quality that was previously unattainable. Lighting is beginning to bear witness to a similar shift in thinking. Each step we take is moving us forward to bringing a more universal light to the industry.

The seed was planted in 2016 when we asked ourselves what was the essence of our brand. This kickstarted an audit of our brand that touched on every aspect of our organisation. The result of the audit was an action plan to realign the essence of our brand with our visual identity. The brand strategy was as comprehensive as it was daring – renaming our brand wasn't a decision taken lightly.

Over 300 names later, Unios was born. Unios represents a distillation of our vision for restoring balance in design, performance and accessibility to a fast evolving industry. We call it universal light. It is a light for every project, every application, every function. This represented the most significant change in the recent history of our company. It needed a launch befitting the significance of the occasion.

After the official launch of Unios in May, we set our sights on setting the foundation for a new platform and physical presence to better support distributors, architects, designers and consultants in New South Wales. In Sydney, we have set up a showroom to demonstrate our expansive range and provide an on-brand display and exhibition space.

Our inaugural Sydney showroom is located in the heart of Alexandria. Situated inside the historic Slazenger factory that opened in 1938, the Unios showroom blends a piece of Sydney history with the latest innovations in architectural lighting. The grand and distinctly industrial interior is fitting for our minimalist approach to product and lighting design. With soaring glass in every direction, the openness of the building carries through to a web of wall displays and floating ceilings that is an open invitation for interaction and play.

With 2018 only just around the corner, there are more plans to extend our reach across Australia and advocate our universal light philosophy to all areas of the country.

The flexibility and extensibility of our approach to lighting is nowhere more evident than in the projects we have collaborated on in 2017. Whether the project involves a comprehensive schedule of luminaires across a complex design or a limited budget with a tight timeframe – our diverse range and level of customisation is designed to accomodate each individual situation. The outcomes of each of these projects speak for themselves in their creativity and design thinking.

With the introduction of Unios, 2017 presented many challenges to design and engineer a range of new products to match the occasion. The concept was to strip back to what Unios truly stands for as a brand – Universal Light. The goal was to develop a range of products that was not only innovative, but flexible in functionality. Movement was one of the key focuses with our new range, which saw the introduction of a number of adjustable luminaires - Switch, Shift (In and Out), Kinetic and the Helix series.

How do we streamline the specification process? How can architects, consultants and distributors collaborate together to build a luminaire schedule? Our team are working steadfastly in answering these questions – building processes and tools to improve efficiency and product selection.

On a product development front, lens technology and modularity continues to be a focus for our engineers. The team is looking at innovative ways to bring a more precise light and configurable systems to our products. Unios are already looking at what the next chapter holds, with details being revealed in the coming months.

2017 has been one of the most exciting years with the launch of Unios – encapsulating our vision of restoring balance in design, performance and accessibility to a fast evolving industry. With the year coming to a close, we are excited to continue to work with our distributors and collaborate with designers, architects and consultants across a spectrum of projects in the upcoming year.