Sebastian Hepting is a German designer based in Munich who has specialized in lighting design during the last two decades. His career started as an assistant to the renowned American furniture designer Vladimir Kagan in 2000, developing his furniture collection alternately in his studio in New York City and the manufacturing company in Italy. His desire to learn about new cultures, languages and materials led him to Japan in 2006 where he worked with Toshiyuki Kita in his Osaka-based Design Laboratory gaining new insights into traditional Japanese arts and crafts. In 2003 Hepting started his collaboration with Ingo Maurer & Team in Munich where his enthusiasm for light took on a new dimension. Not only did he contribute his own designs to the collection for more than 20 years, but he also developed many of the technically challenging and innovative luminaires & special objects. Furthermore, he has followed installations and exhibition setups all over the world in close exchange with Ingo Maurer but also clients, architects, engineers and craftsman. His luminaire MOODMOON, which combines natural materials with digital elements, received the New York City Design Award in 2021.
CANDLELIGHT, in collaboration with KAIA Lighting, was awarded the German Design Award 2023.


Related activities:
Speaker at IALD Enlighten Europe, Valencia, 2025
Presentation and discussion at Cult Lab Torino, Turin 2024
German Design Award 2023 “Best in Design Special” for CandeLight by KAIA Lighting.
Presentation and designtalk with Stefan Dietz, Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Munich, 2023
Guest professorship with Prof. Dr. Alexander Wiethoff, Ludwig-Maximilian-Universität Munich, 2023
Designworkshop „Intelligente Leuchten“, LMU-Munich, 2023
Lecture “Poetry in Lighting”, Casa de la Luz, Madrid, 2023
Panel discussion at DETAIL Magazin event, Munich, 2022
NYCxDESIGN Award 2021 for MOODMOON by Ingo Maurer GmbH
Panel discussion “Shaping the Light”, Protopixel HQ, Barcelona, 2021
Lecture at LMU, chair of space art and lighting design, Munich, 2017
Invited speaker at Trends in Lighting, Bregenz, 2017
Keynote speaker at Lighting Congress Munich, 2016
Lecture and discussion at Deutscher Innovationsgipfel Munich, 2016
Presentation at Kunstverein Munich, 2015
Lecture and discussion at Instituto Europeo di Design, Milan, 2014


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