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 […]
Giving the Simple Gift of Light #8 Lighting design is at once quite simple and quite challenging, and the concept of viewing angle is a perfect example of this paradox. Simply put, light travels in a straight line and so does our vision, which makes predicting glare and comfort easy. Easy, that is, so long […]
One of the perennially difficult aspects of the role of lighting designer is the struggle over budget allocation. Lighting is most often viewed as a utility or commodity, something to be installed as cheaply as possible, but that too often robs the homeowners of comfort, relaxation, energy, and more. So how do we help homeowners […]
Giving the Simple Gift of Light #7 Here’s a tough truth of lighting design: most rooms will be better served with more lights than you might think. If you are sitting in your living room, look around. Count how many light fixtures (or ceiling fan lights) you have in your room. If it is less […]
The Simple Gift of Light #6 Light is an incredible gift, a powerful tool and beautiful natural phenomenon we can both use and enjoy. As I lighting design professional, I spend most of my working hours figuring out how to help people enjoy the benefits of light but seldom invest much energy (no pun intended) […]
Giving the Simple Gift of Light #6 Welcome to the capital city of relaxation, also known as your Living Room. In my own home, the living room is notable as the location of The Couch. Yes, I capitalized it and no, I do not really refer to our couch that way. In fact, it is […]
Think Light Series A few weeks ago, I had the privilege to attend a presentation by Prem Kumar at the IES Maritime Annual Conference on Prince Edward Island. As is the case with good presentations on lighting, Prem got me thinking. If you have lighting on the outside of your home (or business), you are […]
Giving the Simple Gift of Light #5 “Yes, but…” Back when I was a teenager, my dad regularly teased me by saying, before I could, “yes, but….” Apparently, I had developed quite the habit of contradicting him, so he went on the offensive. Of course, as a fifteen-year-old, I did have all the answers to […]
The Simple Gift of Light #4 You can skip reading this post if the stress of the workday falls off your shoulders and you find relaxation easily when you return home. This post is for the rest of us. Perhaps you work at home or away and juggle responsibilities or push your body physically all […]
A special thanks to Tony Esposito for inspiring this post with his excellent presentation at the IES Maritime conference on Prince Edward Island recently. Everyone loves talking about lighting acronyms, right? Ah, what a joy to discuss CRI, the Color Rendering Index, the gold standard of lighting quality for decades. Five of them, in fact, […]
Giving the Simple Gift of Light #4 When I was much younger, I looked at box full of chocolates with a mix of excitement and trepidation. I knew, somewhere in the box, would be a delicious chocolate with a creamy caramel center, but I was deathly afraid that I would bite through a cherry, or […]