Featured

The Work Zone

The Simple Gift of Light #10 There is a part of me that wants lighting design to be so complicated, technical, and artistic that no one else tries it, leaving all of the opportunities to me. In this fantasy world- the one where lighting is too complex for ordinary citizens to grasp- I get to […]

Read More… from The Work Zone

What is Lighting Design?

On the left, there is a light switch connected to two light fixtures by a wire. All three items have a red tag with a white $ indicating that this is an affordable setup. On the right, there is the same setup with slight variations on details, making the items more elegant. The red tags on these show two and three $ indicating that it is more expensive. Below the left section, text reads in quotation marks "regular lighting." The text below the right section reads in quotation marks "lighting design."

“What do you do for a living?” inquired my seat mate on a recent flight. “I am a lighting designer,” I replied. [BLANK STARE] Explaining my job is, well, difficult at best. If people have any awareness of lighting design, it likely falls into the sentiments displayed in the image above. Our lighting plans, so […]

Read More… from What is Lighting Design?

GEAR TALK: COB Tape Light

An illustration of four different types of COB tape types and the wiring that goes inside them.

Just about two and a half years ago I saw my first sample of COB tape light and I bet my jaw literally dropped. Tape light- a generic name for flexible linear LED strips- is a key tool in our quest for good lighting. We use it just about everywhere, and that makes us a […]

Read More… from GEAR TALK: COB Tape Light

Exposure: A Better Bath

A photograph of small circular lighting fixtures in a shower stall.

  In the fourth and final SMART LIGHTING SERIES video from Wipliance, Lee and I take a quick bathroom break to explore the Light Can Help You approach to lighting. We push back against common trends like downlights over the sink and vanity lights over the mirror to deliver a better experience. We also use a […]

Read More… from Exposure: A Better Bath

THINK LIGHT: Color Temperature

An illustration of a camera recording a lightbulb on a monitor. The lightbulb is yellow, but is depicted as green on the monitor. Text below reads "Why Choosing Color Temperature is Hard"

A few years ago I wrote a pulp piece for Houzz.com on how to choose the “right” color temperature of light. At the time there were just a few choices homeowners faced with lighting: choose 2700°K warm white, 3000°K not-quite-as-warm light, or perhaps 3500°K “neutral” white or 4000°K cool light. I recommended 2700°K for traditional […]

Read More… from THINK LIGHT: Color Temperature

Exposure: The Dallas Kitchen

A photograph of an illuminated kitchen with a small island.

  Lee Travis and his team from Wipliance released their third video shot in the ProSource Lighting Technology and Learning Center in Dallas, Texas! Lee and I discuss layered lighting in kitchens in this short video. We designed the Learning Center to share good lighting with others, and I am thrilled with this shoot join […]

Read More… from Exposure: The Dallas Kitchen

Exposure: Dallas Part 2

A photograph of a well-lit living room

  Wipliance is rolling them out fast and furiously! Their second video in the series showcases the main interior living area of the ProSource Lighting Technology and Learning Center in Dallas, Texas. It was fun filming with Lee Travis of Wipliance, though I confess it does get a little embarrassing watching myself on camera. All […]

Read More… from Exposure: Dallas Part 2

GEAR TALK: LED Screw-In Bulbs

On the left, a NASA space shuttle attached to the rocket boosters. On the right, a screw-in LED lightbulb. An equal sign between them. A NASA Space Shutttle equals an LED Lightbulb

There is a popular story that ties the Space Shuttle technology to the width of Roman horse’s backside, and it just occurred to me that there is may be a parallel in lighting. The first story goes something like this: the booster rockets on the Space Shuttle were a certain diameter because they had to […]

Read More… from GEAR TALK: LED Screw-In Bulbs

1THING: New Build Baths

A CAD illustration of a bathroom featuring a large, circular bathtub in the middle of the room with sinks and vanities on the walls framing the tub. On the far wall is a shower stall.

In retrospect, perhaps I should have saved this post for Halloween. Why? Because I attempted to illustrate light on the human face and ended up creating ghosts. I was never very good at drawing faces, well, honestly, I was never ANY good at drawing faces. But since faces are the reason we have mirrors over […]

Read More… from 1THING: New Build Baths

Light Can Help You