Lighting planning is an important part of the interior design process. However, we tend to forget about it. We buy lamps and do not think about how they will shine, what effect they will have in a room. Meanwhile, lighting planning is an essential process for creating a welcoming space. After all, in our latitude, daylight is relatively scarce, and in winter we have to resort to artificial lighting almost from the morning. In this article, we want to literally “shed new light” on the importance of thinking about the role of light right from the concept and design stage of an interior. We have asked the experts from Modular Lighting Instruments for substantive support.
Lighting planning. What exactly is it?
Lighting planning is the ability to play with light and shadow. The right light allows you to enjoy your home and living space comfortably. Light creates moods, enhances feelings of safety, promotes relaxation or stimulates action. The right effect is difficult to achieve without expert advice, and I am not talking about interior designers. They may be experts in designing spaces, but they do not necessarily have advanced knowledge of lighting planning. The luminaire manufacturer Modular Lighting Instruments has a special Light Planning department which prepares lighting designs for customers. Their task can be compared to the work of a stage designer in a theatre together with a director (architect). The Light Planning experts choose the right scenes and focus on lighting the main ‘actors’. Together, they create the scenery and choose the light that will bring out the beauty of the interior of the house or flat. They are supported in this work by sophisticated software.
Why does thoughtful lighting design matter?
The short answer: because light is life! Good lighting design has a positive effect on our mood and eye health. Therefore, it is important to choose the right colour and intensity of light and its positioning. Thoughtful and well-designed light can improve your mood during the day, influence your productivity at your desk and allow you to relax in the evening. When designing lighting, it is important to keep in mind several layers (usually three to six). In this way, we can illuminate architectural elements, highlight textures, works of art and decorative elements. To achieve this, it is important to know exactly what the users need, what their daily habits are.
Good interior lighting is much easier to achieve in an office space that has one specific function. A more difficult task is to design lighting in a residential interior, which has to fulfil multiple functions at the same time – for relaxing, working, eating, watching TV, sleeping, playing with the children, etc. Therefore, lighting must be multi-layered, adapting to current needs. Importantly, lighting design does not reflect negatively on the décor. We can still have a favourite lamp in the living room or bedroom, but we may find that it works better in a different place or shining at a different intensity.
Lighting design is an issue that should be of particular interest to architects and interior designers. Light is like a silent protagonist that influences the final appearance of the designed interior. Thanks to it, architects can emphasise those elements of a room which they care most about highlighting. Interior designers should also raise the issue of lighting design when talking to an architect. Artificial lighting is not only intended to enable us to enjoy our rooms at night, but also to be healthy. The right light influences our diurnal rhythm, makes it easier to fall asleep and allows us to wake up in the morning full of energy.
Light plannig is more than just a consultation, it’s a moment when I get a very large dose of reliable information that I can turn into an excellent project. Without the people who help, it wouldn’t be possible to achieve 100 per cent of the goal – they just show, tell, give options and I make informed choices. Interior/architecture by day, is the first stage of a project – night, is an equally important time neglected by many…. my aim in light design is to show architecture as it cannot be seen during the day. The masses look completely different at night – and, importantly, they look the same for many hours – which is impossible during the day ,” says architect Marcin Tomaszewski of REFORM Architekt.
Who is involved in lighting design?
In western countries, light planning, which is carried out by light architects (lighting designers), has long played an important role in interior design. On the home front, this issue is only gaining in importance.
In Poland, we are seeing more and more architects and interior designers appreciate the role of quality light and commission lighting designers to analyse the light in their projects. It can be assumed that a lighting designer should have broad interdisciplinary competencies – he or she must not only be familiar with the placement of light sources and the selection of appropriate luminaire wattage, but must also have the gene of an artist who will be able to ‘paint the interior with light ‘,” say lighting designers Marta Zgłobicka and Adam Brzostowski, official distributors of Modular Lighting Instruments products in Poland and hosts the ‘Mr and Mrs from Light’ profile on Instagram(instagram.com/pan_and_pani_od_swiatla).
Thus, the lighting designer should be the right hand of the architect and interior designer who decides on the effective layout of light in interiors. As part of his or her remit, a lighting designer can combine design and lighting to bring out the beauty of an interior, stimulate emotions and, at the same time, maintain the functionality and health benefits of light. The lighting designer analyses how light falls on furniture, wood, stone and art. He or she will then select the appropriate luminaires and propose their location.
Marta Zgłobicka and Adam Brzostowski use the DIALUX system for lighting design and light analysis. This is special software that enables the simulation and analysis of indoor and outdoor lighting, offering a realistic representation of lighting effects. In the visualisations provided, you can see how the software indicates the predicted intensity for the selected lighting. Richer in such knowledge, they can more easily propose changes to the interior design, intuitively distinguishing the functional zones in a room, after all, a living room with a sofa on which to relax requires different lighting, and a kitchen worktop requires different lighting. Designers work on light layering, i.e. combining general, functional and decorative lighting, so they can prepare a room for different scenarios.
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Good lighting in the home or flat will be appreciated especially in winter, when natural light is considerably less.
According to Modular’s recommendations, a 2700K colour works very well in our latitude. Many people associate this colour with yellow light, but with Modular’s products we have achieved an effect of pleasant, enveloping light. So let’s not be afraid to use 2700K in our flats and houses – this colour is good for us in the autumn-winter period, which lasts six months. This colour will improve our mood and warm up our interiors when the weather outside is grey and gloomy ,” adds the designer duo.
For office spaces, however, they recommend a colour of 3000K. This colour is also warm, but by being more neutral, it increases the ability to focus and work. If someone often works from home then they should use ‘warm dim’ technology. The ‘warm dim’ technology used in the luminaire gives the possibility to change the colour from neutral to very warm (the adjustment range is 1800K – 3000K). This means that by purchasing one luminaire with the ‘warm dim’ option, it is possible to replace two or three types of lamps creating a climate depending on the demand of the time of day. Such technology will work well in rooms with changing functions.
But how do you distinguish between good luminaires and poor quality ones? This is where several technical issues arise. In Poland, manufacturers preferably compare their products on the basis of the CRI (Colour Rendering Index). This determines how well the colours of illuminated objects are reproduced. The higher the index value, the better the colours are reproduced and the more natural the illuminated objects look. The CRI uses eight sample reference colours (R1-R8) to determine how well a light source renders these colours compared to sunlight. The desired value for the index is a level >90 (max. 100).
Due to the poor reliability of the CRI (comparing only eight colours), the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES) has implemented the new TM 30-15 index, which uses up to 99 reference colours, a larger sample base representing more true colours. These colours were selected from an extensive database of real-world objects.
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The new system aims to improve on the currently commonly used CRI and to eliminate, as far as possible, the drawbacks of the previous CRI. Manufacturers usually boast that their luminaires achieve a value >90 (which is already slowly becoming a market standard), but when choosing a manufacturer, it is worth asking the retailer for the value of the TM-30-15 index – this will give you more reliable information about how the luminaire will shine.
Lighting design – when to start?
It’s a good idea to start lighting design at an early stage in the design of your home or interior. This makes it easier to plan where the light points will be routed out and to adapt the light to the function of the room. A lighting planner will give guidelines to the architect on how to distribute the electrical installation. What if my house or flat is already finished? Can I still improve the lighting? Definitely yes! Even if you can’t change the electrics, you can always add lamps, sconces, LED strips or other lighting accents. With such additions, even the most ordinary interior can be transformed into a wonderfully illuminated space.
Lighting is the key to creating the perfect interior. Well-designed light makes our interiors more comfortable and makes us feel better in them. The right choice of light can transform any room into a place you’ll want to return to. That’s why Modular Lighting Instruments strives to make every designed product better and better.
In each project we look for the perfect balance between beautiful design and modern light technology ,” conclude lighting designers Marta Zgłobicka and Adam Brzostowski.
contact:
Mr and Mrs Light – official distributor of the Modular Lighting Instruments brand in Poland
email: hello@supermodular.pl
product catalogue: HERE
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