New year, new lighting?

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"If there’s one small tweak that can totally transform a room in one easy move, it’s overhauling your lighting.

Strategically placed and stylish lamps can make for a cosy and atmospheric space"

(Luxury Lifestyle Magazine, October 2018)

If you have a commercial space in need of a style makeover, you can make huge changes with a lighting update.

Consider... A good place to start, from a design perspective, is to take photos of the space at all the times of the day when it is being used. For an office or shop, take photos throughout the day and for a restaurant or bar, capture the space as the light changes, especially as it goes into the evening. Don't forget outside space too if that is part of your customer experience - that includes car parks and entrances. Taking a photo gives you a different perspective rather than simply looking at it. A photo will show where your eye is being drawn. Some artists take photos of their work as it progresses as it allows more objectivity about where light falls, what it highlights and what the overall effect is.

Experiment... You can also experiment with portable lights with different types of fittings and shades to see if the permanent changes you are considering would produce the final outcome. Do this before committing to the lighting investment - it is not going to be quite the same but you will get an idea. You can pass your research to a lighting designer with a checklist of what is working and where improvements can be made. Even adding lighting at a different height, colour of bulb and level of brightness can make a significant difference to the overall effect. 

Understand... In a restaurant, whether fast food or fine dining, lighting is key as it is part of its functionality and therefore practical. However it is also part of the emotional experience - it influences levels of comfort, engagement and emotion. "If a restaurant doesn’t work properly from a functionality point of view – it doesn’t matter how beautiful it is, it will never be a success" states Kashmira Gander in her article in The Independent (May 2017).

She goes on to say that "From a psychological point of view, one of the key aspects to a restaurant’s design is the lighting. It has to be soft and flattering to make guests feel comfortable so that they are confident and relaxed and enjoy their stay in the restaurant. We tend to do this through soft ambient lighting to complement the more targeted architectural lighting and also to suit the time of day. In my experience, the worst lighting is when there are just downlights over the tables that can cast shadows over diners' faces. This can be very unflattering for guests and make them feel uncomfortable."

Corey Mintz, of Canada's Globe and Mail (February 2018) is quite prosaic about the role of lighting in restaurants. He says "All of these [lighting] decisions are conceived to keep us under a spell. Like a magician's stagecraft, restaurant lighting works best when you don't see it working at all. But the two biggest things restaurants do to make us feel more attractive are lighting from below and diffusing the sources." He explains how success lies in the detail - working out the level of light you get bouncing from different surfaces - wood being one of the softest.

Change... We started this piece talking about commercial lighting requirements - for offices and restaurants. The principles are the same. Work out what you need to be done in the space and light it accordingly.  Corey Mintz sums it up well by saying: "[lighting is often] done by designers or lighting designers who are thinking more about how the lights look instead of how the lights light."

At LAUK, how lights light is our priority. How do they achieve their goal? How they look is part of this but not the driver. Ask us for more information.