Category: Design

Who Needs A Lighting Designer?

No I’m not begging for work (although I am available for weddings and bar mitzvahs). At the beginning of every semester I ask my interior design students (especially at Parsons, where the class is an elective) why understanding lighting design is important to them. They tell me that lighting design is important for setting the mood or atmosphere, that lighting affects the appearance of materials and finishes, and that light is an important element in the overall design of any space. Good job!

But, as we move through the semester they often say that there’s so much to know and ask if interior designers, architects, and electrical engineers really know all of it. If not, why do only 10% of construction projects have a lighting designer? Why isn’t a lighting designer assumed to be part of a design team just like an electrical or mechanical engineer?

So I did a little research. According to the DesignIntelligence ranking of the top five interior design programs, only three undergraduate and one graduate program require a semester long course in lighting design. It turns out that I’m in a fairly unique situation in that my undergrad interior design students at Pratt are required to learn about lighting design.

What about architects? According to Architectural Record’s ranking of the top ten undergraduate and graduate architecture schools, only one grad program, and zero undergrad programs, require a course in lighting design! So, at least in the U.S., we shouldn’t expect interior designers or architects to create more than utilitarian lighting because they’re not educated in the practice of lighting design.  Yes, many care quite capable of laying out a lighting plan that meets code requirements but we should remember that codes set minimum requirements for safety and energy efficiency. Codes have nothing to say about appropriateness for the application much less anything to do with aesthetics of the space or the interaction between light and materials.

So what do I tell my students? In the same way that there’s a difference between a decorator and an interior designer, there’s a difference between someone who can “do lighting” and a lighting designer. The differences are many, actually, and include academic education and training, continuing education, range and depth of experience, and a focus on the practice lighting design as a profession and a livelihood, not as an ancillary service. I tell them that it’s important for them to be able to speak the lighting designer’s language and to understand the interaction between light and materials because lighting can have such a strong effect on their work. I tell them that they may find themselves lighting some of their own projects and I hope my class prepares them for that. In the end I also tell them I’m sure they’ve learned that the best lighting designs are created by a professional lighting designer. If they want the best for their clients and their work, it’s worth the extra fee and worth talking to the client about what a lighting designer can do to support and enhance the project. Everyone needs a lighting designer, they just don’t know it.

CRI Inches Forward

The CIE’s Color Rendition Index (CRI) has long had several known weaknesses including outdated components of the calculations, a limited set of color samples, and standard reporting of only one piece of data (the average color distortion of the first eight colors, known as the General Color Rendering Index or Ra). After more than a decade of stalemate it seems that the IES’s TM-30 has convinced the CIE to make another attempt at updating CRI.

In a recently released position statement the CIE announced that the CRI technical committee (TC 1-90) has taken up the problem again and is expected to write a technical report on a new, improved color fidelity metric that can update CRI before the end of 2016. They will use TM-30 Rf as the basis for their work. Another committee, TC 1-91, will write a report on a color preference metric in the same time period.

This is both good and bad news. CRI is the international standard for measuring and reporting light source color rendering. It is long overdue for an update, and I’m glad to see the CIE working on it. On the downside, the press release makes it sound as though 1) parts of TM-30’s Rf may be incorporated, but the CRI fidelity metric will be a new creation 2) we may see the addition of a color preference metric but TM-30’s gamut metric Rg apparently isn’t being considered. The biggest reason that this is a concern is the amount of time it takes to create the work, gain internal consensus, approve the work, and gain organization approval – all of this before the work can be released to the larger lighting community for consideration. I think it is extremely optimistic to think that the two committees can write meaningful reports on these issues in only one year, especially given the difficulty they’ve had reaching consensus in the past.

I would much rather see the CIE committees study TM-30 and report on its strengths and weaknesses before deciding that it won’t work and they should start over. Adopting or modifying TM-30 can happen much quicker than developing one or more new metrics. TM-30 took three years to develop and the industry shouldn’t have to wait another three years for an updated metric that has the CIE’s approval.

Xicato Publishes IES TM-30-15 Results for its LED Modules

In a first (as far as I know) LED manufacturer Xicato has published TM-30 results for some of its modules alongside the CRI results for Ra and R9.  Menko de Roos, CEO of Xicato, says “At Xicato we are very supportive of TM-30-15 overall and recognize the need for an improved metric system along these two dimensions.”  You can read the full press release and find links to the results here.

I’m excited to see this greatly improved color rendering metric being used by a major manufacturer, and hope to see more manufacturers releasing TM-30 results soon.  If you still haven’t looked into TM-30 there is an increasing number of resources available to you.  TM-30 is available for purchase here. You can also view the recording of a webinar sponsored by the DOE and the IES and presented by two members of the IES Color Rendering Subcommittee, Michael Royer and Kevin Hauser.

Use of LED Lamps To Improve Health

Today’s New York Times has an article on several manufacturers’ new LED products that are intended to improve wakefulness, sleep, focus, and other aspects of daily life and health. The article appears on both the business and technology pages, but not on the health page, and I think that’s appropriate.  Although there are testimonials by the consumers of some of these products, there’s no discussion about any peer reviewed science behind them.  In fact, about two-thirds of the way through the article the author finally gets to the fact that, “Researchers are still determining how spectrum and intensity of light affect the brain.”  So, the article is an uncritical look at new LED products that make health claims.  We shouldn’t rely only on the claims of the manufacturers, though – remember the claims of 100,000 hour lifetimes for LED lamps?

I’m not saying that we know nothing about how light affects us, because we know quite a bit.  The question is, “Do we know enough to properly and safely integrate that information into our design practice?” and there things become uncertain.  So, before accepting the claims of manufacturers, or making the same claims to clients, it’s important for designers to be up to date on the current state of research and to understand the strength of the findings, as well as how (and if) those findings can be folded into a design.

There are a few web sites that I find useful for keeping up to date.  The first is the Health and Vision page of the Lighting Research Center’s web site, which has links to many of their recently published research papers.  The second is the Research page of USAI Lighting’s web site.  This page provides links to a mix of newspaper articles and scholarly publications on a variety of topics connected to LED lighting.  The third is the Research page of the IES web site.  Finally, members if the IES can  download copies of Leucos, and non-members can purchase copies.

LEDs continue to revolutionize the lighting industry.  Most manufacturers have ended  research and development for incandescent and fluorescent products. OLEDs are increasing in efficacy and prices are dropping, while new technologies (such as light emitting plasma and quantum dots) are on the horizon or already here. To preserve their client’s money, the occupant’s health and safety, and their own reputations, designers need to make sure that they don’t get swept up in the possibilities that are marketed to them before the facts are in.

With LEDs, Knowledge is Power

I’ve been hired to review an architect’s lighting design and then design an appropriate control system. The fixtures selected are all LED products by a manufacturer that falls into the high-end residential/economy commercial range of quality and price. The cut sheets are extremely frustrating. After nearly a decade of LED lighting, and with all of the progress the industry has made in setting standards so that designers and specifiers know what they’re getting, this manufacturer still tells us nothing. What basic information is missing?

 Lamp life. The only information even remotely connected to lamp life is the statement that the fixture is covered under a five-year warranty. There’s nothing else. Not a word. How much light, compared to initial output, can we expect at that five-year mark?  We have no idea.

LEDs do not fail like other lamps do.  They gradually dim as they age.  At what point is the light output so low that we’d say the lamp is no longer useful?  Right now the answer is when the light output has fallen to 70% of the initial output (often referred to as L70), although many designers prefer to use 80% of initial output (referred to as L80).  This is calculated using a procedure developed by the IES and designated as LM-80 (details are here and here).  What we want, at a minimum, is the IES LM-80 calculation of lamp life to 70% of initial output. L80 data would be even better.

 Warranty. The warranty is not on the manufacturer’s web site so, although we’re told that it is good for five years, we have no information about what is covered and what is excluded.

 LED manufacturer. With all other lamp types the designer chooses the exact lamp for the project. Criteria such as initial lumen output, mean lumen output, lamp life, color temperature, CRI, and the manufacturer’s reputation for quality are all valid considerations. We have standards that allow designers to make valid comparisons between LED products, too, but we can do that only if that information is generated and shared. I suspect that this fixture manufacturer uses LEDs from a several manufacturers based on the best price available, and that the performance of those LEDs varies widely.

 Color consistency. The cut sheet says that the standard applied to their LED selection is, “minimum 3-step color binning.” We are left to infer that means three-step MacAdam Ellipses.  A one-step MacAdam Ellipse describes a region on a chromaticity diagram or color space where the edges of the ellipse represent a just noticeable difference from the color at the center (additional information on MacAdam Ellipses is here and here).  The data is usually plotted on the CIE 1931 (x, y) chromaticity diagram.  The diagram below shows 10-step MacAdam Ellipses.

"CIExy1931 MacAdam". Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CIExy1931_MacAdam.png#/media/File:CIExy1931_MacAdam.png
“CIExy1931 MacAdam”. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CIExy1931_MacAdam.png#/media/File:CIExy1931_MacAdam.png

 

The color variation within a three-step ellipse would be noticeable to over 99% of the population.  Worse, though, is that a three-step ellipse is the minimum, not the maximum. Knowing this, the designer should have no expectation of color consistency from one fixture to another.

 Photometrics. The cut sheet contains no information about the optical performance of the fixture. IES files are available, but it’s very difficult to look at the array of numbers and understand performance, which is why the good manufacturers include photometric information on their documentation, including candlepower distribution curves and CU tables.

Part of my review will be pointing out the lack of data about the specified fixtures and recommending several alternates by manufacturers who provide the information necessary to evaluate their products.

IALD Set To Launch CLD Credential

After five years of planning the IALD is set to begin accepting applications for the newly created Certified Lighting Designer (CLD) credential. The CLD credential is similar to the LC (Lighting Certified) credential in that it is meant to demonstrate lighting design competency. Unlike the LC, the CLD credential will be awarded based on a portfolio review that demonstrates proficiency in seven areas of professional practice rather than by passing a written test. The other difference between CLD and LC is that the CLD will only be awarded individuals with at least three years of experience as a lead designer. This means that some people who have earned an LC (sales reps, for example) will not be eligible for the CLD.

Why does this matter? First, the LC credential carries some weight, mainly because since 2009 the GSA has required the lead lighting designer on U.S. government projects to be Lighting Certified. However, many designers are unhappy that people who aren’t practicing lighting designers can hold an LC credential. By limiting the CLD to working designers, the IALD hopes it will be seen as attesting to the holder’s skills as a lighting designer, not just their knowledge about lighting in general.

Second, lighting design is in some ways the redheaded stepchild of the architectural design professions. Lighting design is not licensed, meaning that anyone can say they’re a lighting designer. As a result, lighting design is provided by electrical engineers, architects, interior designers, sales people, and manufacturers who have widely varying education and training, and with widely varying degrees of success. The CLD could be a means of identifying who is a lighting designer and who is not.

The key to the success of this project is public awareness. If the IALD only talks about CLD to the lighting design community it will be nothing more than letters following a person’s name on their business card. Building owners and other clients have to understand the value that professional lighting designers can bring to a project, and have to insist that the design team includes a professional lighting designer. Architects and interior designers have to understand the role of a lighting designer and be willing to tell their clients that a professional lighting designer is an important part of the design team who is worth the additional fee. If, through the CLD, the IALD is able to raise awareness about lighting design in those who can benefit from it, it will have been well worth the effort.

Starting A New Design

I’m between classes at Pratt, so I’ll have to be brief. It’s the time in the semester when my students start to feel overwhelmed. After talking about vision, light, psychology, design, lamps, color, and light fixtures they’re about to start working on designing projects for class. The most common question is something like, “How can I possibly organize all of this information and start to make meaningful design decisions? I need to pick a light fixture, then I need to pick a lamp for that fixture, then I need to lay out the fixtures to arrive at the lighting that I want, right?”

Wrong! A lighting design doesn’t come from the lighting fixture, so design decisions shouldn’t start there. In a push-me-pull-you kind of way the first questions are always about the end result. Rather than choose a fixture and follow the light down into the room, what we need to do is understand the lighting requirements and follow the light up to the lamp and luminaire. How do you want the space to look and feel? What lighting techniques can help achieve that look? Is there an overarching thematic element that needs to be included?   How can we express the lighting goals in terms like intensity, color, and distribution? The answers to those questions should start to lead the designer to requirements for the fixture/lamp combination, and to the number of fixture types required to implement the design.

I explain that it’s not always a linear process, and that a certain amount of trial and error is part of any design. “Does this fixture give me the distribution and intensity I need?” isn’t always a yes/no question that can be answered by looking at a cut sheet. Sections may have to be studied, calculations run, different lamps and accessories considered, always with the end goal in mind.

Yes it’s hard. So hard, in fact, that some people spend several years studying light and design at the college level before getting their first job, only to discover that there’s so much more to learn! If you have a passion for light and design, though, trust me it’s worth it.

Best and Worst Lighting at the Grammy’s

Yes, the Grammy Awards are all about the music, but for lighting designers it’s also about the way the performance are lit.  Last night showcased some of the best and worst lighting you’re likely to see on tv this year.  Among the best was the lighting for Ariana Grande’s performance of  “Just A Little Bit Of Your Heart.”  Surrounded by glowing crystals, luminous fog, and a small backlit orchestra all she had to do was stand still and sing.  The lighting director created a beautiful environment of soft light and slowly changing color that was in harmony with the feeling of the music.

Among the worst lighting was Kanye’s performance of “Only One.”  The song opened with him standing over a beam of light shooting up from the floor.  As he sang he moved in and out of the light, but without meaning or intention.  He was visible at some times and not at others, always with shadows obscuring his face.  At the beginning of the second verse the music swelled, providing an ideal opportunity to build the light so that he was better lit, but nothing happened.  It’s impossible to know why.  Did he tell the lighting director not to change the lighting?  Did he skip rehearsal so that there wasn’t another lighting cue ready to go?  Either way the result was him wandering around, in and out of the light, for the entire song.  Here it is:

 

Light & Health Seminar

The New York City chapter of the IES will host a presentation by Mariana Figueiro and Leora Radetsky of the Lighting Research Center titled “Swimming in an Ocean of Light: Using Light for Health and Well-being.”  The program will include the IES Light and Health seminar, which they co-authored, as well as updated material with recent research results and their insights about “turning research into design practice.”

If you’re interested you can RSVP here.