TOPICS OF DISCUSSION

                (scroll over each topic and click) 

1. 1. How necessary is it to hire a lighting design consultant on a project?

   2. What happens in projects where a lighting expert or firm is not consulted?

   3. The misconception that lighting designers are ‘specialised’ and expensive

   4. How do you gain exposure to new brands, products and technologies?

   5. Where does the growth and learning come from?

   6. Sustainability certifications and the role of lighting in this field

   7. What is the most challenging part of this job?

Short answer, very. This question certainly opened the floodgates. “On a scale of 1 to 10, I would say 9.8,” says one designer. “You can’t see beautiful interiors, if you don’t have the right lighting.” As the discussion rolls on, we learn that without good lighting lifting the surface, ceiling or floor, we are never going to see the space the way the interior designers originally visualised it. 

Lighting has the power to change the mood of a space. Materials, design or products will not do that. “And even if you had to down spec your materials on a project, good lighting has the ability to give the illusion that those materials are expensive.”

“You can’t see beautiful interiors, if you don’t have the right lighting.”

Unfortunately, lighting design is not considered to be the most important part of a project. But the reality is that it is the most impactful! The difficulty lies in getting clients to understand that bringing in a lighting designer on board is imperative. Because clients cannot experience the benefits of their expertise until they are actually within the physical space.

The other problem that frequently occurs is that design firms and contractors tend to absorb the cost of lighting design within their fees, leaving no budget for hiring a lighting consultant.

“We save a lot of time, which equals money at the end of the day,” says one lighting designer from a major local firm. “We are specialists, and we can change the outcome of the project. In other words, we are the wizards between the engineer and the interior designer.”