Who will be using the space? What are their lighting needs? What are the space characteristics? What business goals should the lighting support? What does the owner want the space to communicate? How important is energy efficiency and ease of maintenance? What restrictions apply, such as energy codes and budget? It begins with a conversation with the owner about organizational and user needs. Lighting design is the process of delivering lighting to spaces. Right: objects lighted by an area source. Middle: objects lighted by a linear source. Conversely, lower-intensity lighting at the task with a little perimeter lighting can create feelings of intimacy in a fine restaurant. For example, bright uniform lighting, with light placed on walls and even the ceiling, can make a space appear public and visually larger in a lobby. Space perception: The pattern of light in a space can stimulate a psychological response (see Table). For example, we could promote a key merchandise display by focusing a higher intensity of light on it.
By focusing a higher intensity of light on certain features in a space, we can make them focal points, directing attention to them, and establish a visual hierarchy. Changing CCT, CRI and saturation can have a big impact on how people, objects and spaces appear, enhancing or muting or even distorting their colors.įocus: The human eye is naturally attracted to the brightest area in the field of view. The lighting industry is now evaluating a proposed metric capturing saturation as well. Designers are concerned with color appearance (measured in correlated color temperature, or CCT) and color fidelity, or color rendering compared to an ideal source (measured on the color rendering index, or CRI). It also tells a story about the space, whether a given store is likely to be focused on discounts or high-end products, or whether a restaurant is selling fast food or a fine dining experience.Ĭolor perception: For an object to be perceived a certain color, that color must be present both in the object and the content of the light striking it. Lighting, therefore, can impact satisfaction, visibility, task performance, safety, security, sales, mood and atmosphere, aesthetic judgment and social interaction. Not just light, but the lighting equipment itself can also affect impressions of the space and its owner. Where the light is placed, at what relative intensities, and in what direction, can have a major impact not only on vision and visual comfort, but perception. “Lighting” is the application of light to spaces. Light is therefore the medium through which a majority of people perceive the world. The large majority of our impressions of the world come through our eyes, and light is necessary to vision. Light is a commodity that should be purchased at the lowest possible cost, but lighting is a business asset that should be carefully considered for investment with the right design and equipment. They can engage owners in a conversation that starts with application needs and ends with equipment sales.
By understanding these principles, electrical distributors demonstrate expertise and differentiate themselves.
#Stage lighting design icons series#
It’s often said that lighting is as much an art as it is engineering, but the art of design can be reduced to a series of guiding principles. Another contribution to the March issue of The Electrical Distributor provides a primer on lighting design.