Essay On Lighting

2495 Words5 Pages

“A designer’s perspective on the use of lighting to manipulate mood within commercial and domestic interior design.”

Through my research and writing, I would like to be able to conclude various techniques used, to manipulate mood within a space, in relation to lighting. Over the years, research has been conducted to deduce what sort of lighting should be used in specific locations rather than others, depending on the mood altering necessities of a space. There are many principles I had not previously considered, that are involved in creating “good lighting” within a space which go beyond the actual lighting fixture or even the bulb itself.
A fundamental introduction to understanding lighting seems to recurrently rely on the interpretation of the eye in relation to light. Several books and articles primarily introduced the subject of lighting by allowing the reader to understand the relativity between the eye and light which allowed me to appreciate why we adapt to light in certain ways. I will further delve into how this effect our mood in the forthcoming paragraphs.
One cannot truly understand current trends and practices without observing their derivatives. Prior to the invention of electricity, there were two forms of lighting. The more primitive of the two being daylighting, this is also what our eyes have adapted to over the years. The second form of lighting, would have been a flame and these two sources would then be manipulated and adapted accordingly for the upcoming decades. Architecture was seldom modified and adapted to accommodate daylight in the best ways possible. Although primitive, studies where often carried out to determine which position would be most suitable to retain most light for the longest amount of h...

... middle of paper ...

...attention, which means literally as it states that increasing the light intensity in one given area can give it more prominence and impact. The third of which I found very interesting was that people enjoy facing illuminated walls as opposed to being illuminated themselves. These result where concluded from John Flynn and David Loe’s studies which deduced that in both cases individuals preferred illuminated walls. Although people do not like to be under a spotlight they do enjoy seeing one and feel more familiar with a space through this. The final example of light altering behaviour is the effect light has on posture and body language, this is clearly illustrated in the position one develops due to monitors and illuminated surfaces when working or reading from either.
Having previously mentioned the term “good lighting”, Prof. Ginthner delves into further detail

Open Document