Robert Dudley Best

Best known for his Bestlite design, Robert Dudley Best was originally the heir to his fathers lighting manufacturing company - Best & Lloyd. Despite the company's proud history of providing traditional lamps to a prestigious clientele, he decided he wanted to pursue new and exciting developments, and was heavily inspired by Le Corbusier; Dudley Best favoured simple and functional designs, with a clean style.

Robert Dudley Best studied Industrial Design in Germany, where he became good friends with Walter Gropius, the founder of the Bauhaus movement. Dudley Best's ideals were shared by his friend, and during this time he designed Bestlite. He had both commercial and domestic use in mind and believed that lighting should be functional and practical as well as elegant. Upon graduating Dudley Best requested that his fathers company manufacture it. After some thought, his father agreed and upon release the Bestlite became an iconic task light.

Winston Churchill even favoured the lamp for his own desk, creating huge demand for the product. It was labelled as the first manifestation of the Bauhaus in Britain by Architect's Journal.