Most people aren't even aware of their existence. The truth
is, lighting designers can influence your well being more than you may
imagine. We don't tend to notice good design and that's the way it
should be. It could be argued that we are all lighting designers. We
use light in our homes every day. We use dimmers to make them brighter
or dark. We choose the fittings we want. We can do it ourselves or call
the local electrician.
Iain Henshaw designs from the heart. Many
factors influence a design and are conceived around ideas that bring
warmth, functionality and practicality into your life, light
where it should be not where it wants to be. There are certain
approaches to lighting design that are instrumental to the process. The
use of a particular space, it's not uncommon to see kitchen lighting
where the floors are beautifully lit and there's a token effort to
light the work surface, bedrooms should be subtle, soft and
warm. The projects that are featured on this site all have explanations
as to why a particular approach was taken.
Other reasons to use a lighting designer is that they could be
classified as an energy saving device. Only
using just the right amount of light, often electricians have a
habit, particularly with down lights to install a 50W lamp when a 35 or
20 watt version would be more than adequate.
Now, how about the arsenal of weapons available to the
lighting designer in the form of lamps and fittings? As a lighting
designer it is imperative to stay at the forefront of development and
technology. Being able to advise why incandescent lamps are being
phased out and the aesthetic as well as ecological reasons why compact
fluorescent lamps are not the future. What about LEDs they are
everywhere at the moment but, they have a long way to go and a good
designer will take the time to learn about all this technology and know
when to start to implement it. So next time you need good advice about
lighting don't ask an electrician take the time to find a good lighting
designer and stick with them.
The image above shows a kitchen / dining
room. There are four circuits of lighting for this room all controlled
by dimmers. This allows the user to create lighting scenes to
compliment the task to be undertaken. During preparation the kitchen
and work surfaces should be bright and evenly lit, then once the meal
is prepared the lighting is turned down and the table is intimately
lit. Not only can you create the mood
but you can save energy as well!