The light bulb began as a relatively simple design but has since evolved to become an advanced piece of technology. But how?

How did the humble Edison bulbs transform into the elegant and energy-efficient GE LEDs we use today? Through tons of innovation and trial and error. This illustrated GIF depicts this process, from the archaic-seeming arc lamp to GE’s Energy Smart bulbs.

Nandita Raghuram is a Senior Writer at Studio@Gizmodo. She tweets here.

This post is a sponsored collaboration between GE Lighting and Studio@Gizmodo.