Poul Henningsen designed the three-shade system in 1925–1926. The first luminaires using this system were designed by Henningsen in collaboration with Louis Poulsen for an exhibition in Paris. This partnership continued until his death in 1967. Throughout his life, Henningsen sought to create glare-free light, direct light where it was most needed, and soft shadows, using incandescent bulbs as his light source. The PH 2/1 Table belongs to the 3-shade family, which currently numbers 30 lamps, three of them for outdoor use.