Born in Tokyo in 1947 Shoichi Uchiyama worked for Yamagiwa between 1972 and 1977, before he founded his own Shoichi Uchiyama Design Office in 1977. As a designer he specialises in the design of luminaries with glare-free, indirect light: he tries to create the ideal light distribution in order to avoid unpleasant glare by controlling light by means of a precise understanding of the characteristics of the light source. To this end when creating a new lamp he works with original size models, examining the colour and intensity of the light, the shadows on objects as well as the aesthetic appearance of the lamp. This rigorous design process leads to the creation of simple, functional forms and gives Shoichi Uchiyama's products the minimalist beauty of Japanese designs. One of his best known designs is the Enigma 425 lamp for the Danish manufacturer Louis Poulsen. For his unique creations, he has received the iF Award three times (1985, 2004 and 2007) and in 1984 the Good Design Award in Japan.