September 17, 2022

How to Become a Lighting Designer

What Does a Lighting Designer Do?
A Lighting Designer uses the principles of light to enhance the overall aesthetic of a room, building or live performance. Lighting Designers can work in a variety of settings. One avenue is working with an architectural firm, where Lighting Designers focus on lighting in regards to energy efficiency. Another avenue for Lighting Designers is working in the theater industry, where one works with set designers to enhance the emotional affect of a production through strategic use of lighting. Other options include the music, movie and film industries.

While the specific skills that a Lighting Designer needs varies depending on industry, all Lighting Designers must be creative thinkers. The primary function of their job is to use light creatively in order to create a certain ambiance for a room or production. This involves applying technical knowledge of the four properties of light, which are …

Importance Of Using A Lighting Designer

There are some important questions that should be considered when planning a new project, specifically: Is “good” illumination important to your project? What is good lighting design and how is it achieved?

Light is a technically difficult yet astonishing medium that requires mastery of varied and continually evolving disciplines. A lighting design practice integrates the arts, sciences and business of illumination design and implementation far beyond concerns of visibility and horizontal footcandles.

Lighting designers work as part of a design team and, like architects, charge fees for services rendered. Professional lighting designers bring solid technical acumen and sensitive design technique to architectural and landscape projects. But the value-added services they provide can make or break the success of a project and, therefore, outweigh, the impact of their fee.

An owner or project designer may be unaware of the advantages an independent lighting consultant can bring to today’s design and construction …