UMI • NO • HI is a brand of handcrafted jellyfish lamps made from recycled plastic, created for those who seek calm, wonder, and soft light in everyday life. Inspired by the ocean and the Japanese Day of the Sea, we combine sustainability, craft, and poetic form.
Reflection on the course material. Communication Theory in Sustainable Design
Design is fundamentally a relational process of creating and interpreting messages that elicit a response. In the context of the UMI NO HI project, we posit that the physical object—the lamp—serves as the primary communicative medium. Drawing upon the Semiotic Tradition, the lamp functions as a complex signifier. Its form (the jellyfish) and material (recycled plastic) engage in a dialectical relationship, transforming the "noise" of marine pollution into the "signal" of sustainable beauty.
Our approach integrates Robert Craig’s Seven Traditions of Communication Theory, specifically leveraging:
- The Socio-Cultural Tradition: By anchoring the brand in the Japanese holiday of Marine Day (Umi no Hi), we tap into an existing cultural ritual of gratitude towards the ocean. This contextualisation allows the product to participate in the reproduction of social values related to nature conservation.
- The Rhetorical Tradition: We utilise visual rhetoric to persuade the audience. The "re • jelly • f" lamp employs the Peripheral Route of the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), where aesthetic appeal and the emotional narrative of childhood crafts serve as cues to generate positive attitudes towards recycled materials.
- Media Ecology: Following Marshall McLuhan’s axiom "The medium is the message," we analyze how the lamp, as a "cool medium," alters the sensory balance of an interior space, inviting user participation through the diffusion of soft, ambient light.
The project demonstrates that effective design does not merely solve a functional problem but constructs a «rhetorical vision» (Bormann) where the user becomes an active participant in the narrative of ecological redemption.
Presentation of a brand for General Audience
Respect the Sea. Reveal the Light.
re • jelly • f is a sculptural lamp made from 100% recycled thermoplastic. Its organic jellyfish-inspired form and crinkled texture softly diffuse light, creating a calm, underwater glow reminiscent of bioluminescence. More than a functional object, it is an atmospheric presence that slows time and brings a sense of quiet into everyday life. UMI NO HI is created for people who value conscious design, emotional experience, and a deeper connection with nature. By choosing this lamp, you take part in a cycle of renewal — turning waste into wonder and light into responsibility.
UMI NO HI is a lighting brand inspired by the Japanese Marine Day — a celebration of gratitude to the ocean and its life-giving power. We see the sea not as a resource, but as a living presence that deserves care and respect. The brand reimagines a traditional Marine Day symbol — delicate paper jellyfish — through a contemporary lens. Today, drifting forms in the ocean are often plastic waste. UMI NO HI transforms this problem into a new kind of beauty.
paper jellyfish
By choosing UMI NO HI, you are not just buying a design object. You are participating in a cycle of renewal. You are honoring the spirit of Marine Day every time you switch on the light.
Presentation of a brand for a professional audience
logo
UMI NO HI is conceived as an integrated brand ecosystem in which product design, material choice, and visual identity operate as a unified semiotic system. The project explores how recycled plastic can shift from a utilitarian, low-value material into a carrier of aesthetic, emotional, and cultural meaning. The conceptual foundation of the brand is rooted in the cultural symbolism of the Japanese Marine Day. Visual research revealed a contrast between the rigid geometry of industrial maritime infrastructure and the fluid, organic forms of marine life. This opposition became central to the project’s formal language. The traditional practice of creating paper jellyfish serves as a morphological and semantic reference, linking translucency, folding, and fragility to both childhood memory and material transformation.
Materiality functions as a key narrative element. The re • jelly • f lamp is produced from recycled thermoplastic (HDPE or PET) using a heat-forming technique that creates non-repetitive, organic textures. These surfaces softly diffuse light, evoking underwater bioluminescence and reinforcing the association between plastic, water, and living organisms. Each object is intentionally unique, emphasizing biological diversity over industrial uniformity.
To support the organic, asymmetric form, a custom structural component was engineered, allowing the “jellyfish” lampshade to securely balance on the stand. This construction resolves issues of stability and center of gravity while preserving the visual lightness and floating effect of the object.
The visual identity emerges directly from the product itself. Arranged and “disciplined” lamp forms generate a closed, self-sufficient graphic system based on repetition, rhythm, and translucency. This hermetic visual language references recycling as a process of circulation and transformation, where the same material continuously changes state while remaining within a closed loop. Rather than relying on illustrative symbolism, the brand’s graphics are constructed from the lamps’ silhouettes, textures, and light behavior, allowing the object to function simultaneously as product and visual sign.
