You are likely familiar with the term "lighting designer" in relation to a play you've seen or a concert you've attended. Or possibly an art installation you made a point to see. You may even know such names as Jennifer Tipton or James Turrell. But are the arts the only place where this type of designer works? Certainly not. A lighting designer's capabilities expand far beyond that of live entertainment. They encompass any situation in which lighting is to be carefully considered and applied. A lighting designer may work in public places, custom homes, office spaces, parks, art installations, and even such pedestrian places as parking lots.

In the development of a project there can be many fields that overlap into the field of lighting. The architect and electrical engineers must consider lighting in their building projects. An interior designer will often suggest lamp styles when creating a space. Even the new homeowner will be considering the placement of their favourite chair based on the best light to read by. So, what makes the lighting designer different? How are they approaching light in such a unique way that this position exists?

 To better understand the lighting designer's role, let's consider the different ways lighting is approached for a room, let's say the family room of a home. We'll start with the architect who is tasked with designing the entire building. They are concerned with many elements and, quite importantly, how all these elements, lighting being one of them, work together. An architect considers the cohesion of the spaces, the materials used, and how occupants move from one area to the next, essentially the "flow" of the building. There is often an agreed upon "feeling" that the hiring client is desiring, and the architect will work to meet those needs along with the building's function while also working within building codes.

 The electrical engineer is tasked primarily with the calculations for electrical power needs as well as the efficiency of the electrical systems. For lighting, they will calculate the lighting output, referred to in lumens, lux, or footcandles, versus the power consumed to make said light. Engineers are often concerned about the maximum capabilities of the systems to eliminate breaking points or in the worst cases, fires. If you ever have a chance to talk with an engineer, you will inevitably hear excitement in breaking something during the course of their job.

 Prior to the building being occupied the interior designer will build upon the aesthetic of the architect and determine the elements that make the space a home. Floor coverings, furniture, art, and accents are all suggested and selected. The interior designer is considering the materials, tones, colour palettes, and presence of each item in the room. When a lamp is suggested for the interior design, you will know that its presence will belong to the space even when not in use.

 At this point you're probably wondering if the architect makes sure the lighting fixtures are there, the engineer makes sure they are efficient, and the interior designer makes sure the lamp fits with the room, then why would anyone need a lighting designer? And the answer is this: the lighting designer considers the light itself. They are concerned with the quality of the light.

 We as humans have often come to take lighting for granted. We are used to the day’s light given to us by the sun from overhead. Our modern world has us accustomed to flipping on a switch when entering a dark room to fill it with light. Lighting has primarily "just been there”. For most of us, we only "see" light when it departs from what we are used to; the colours of a sunset on the evening clouds or upward direction of light bouncing off water lighting the underside of something not commonly lit will draw our attention. Lighting designers have trained, observed, and studied lighting in a way that makes them more aware of how light is moving around us. We have developed the skills to see lighting in our daily lives. Just as a trained concert violinist can tell you the musical notes of a bird's song, a trained lighting designer can notate the qualities of light.

The term "quality of light" is somewhat of a catch-all for many terms we lighting designers use. The intensity, colour, warmth, and the angle to the subject are some examples that fall into this "quality" bucket. We use these terms to help us communicate things about the light to each other and our clients. Without these descriptors, lighting can be very difficult to talk about because it is intangible. Physical objects can be touched, observed, referenced, have scale models made, and renderings drawn. But a beam of light? Light itself cannot be seen until it encounters something. We can see the rectangle of light on the floor from the window, but we don't see the actual beam in the clear air. Even when we can see all the lighting effects at concerts, we are actually seeing those beams of light hitting particulates (commonly known as haze) in the air. Even artists considered masters of light such as Ansel Adams and Caravaggio understood that it was the interplay between light and the subjects that was so evocative.

 When I am brought on to a project as a lighting designer, whether it's a private residence, a theatrical show, or even a theatre looking to bolster their lighting inventory, I try my best to disarm others from feeling the need to talk "lighting" with me. I understand that lighting is very difficult to talk about and it is part of my job to interpret the client’s wants into the quality of light they are seeking. I would much rather have a client speak of an inviting nature to the room then to tell me they want an orange-ish, yellow-ish, red-ish coloured light. Think of how many shades of orange there are, we would spend all day just trying to agree on what those colours were! My training tells me that "inviting" in this case is most likely the lighting quality of colour temperature they are after. I will then ask questions as to what other things they find inviting, I will ask for them to show me examples of images having this quality, and I will ask them about what in their space they find comfortable. These are just examples of how a conversation with a client might go, but you should have the idea.

 Once I have an idea of how they want their space to feel I then start asking about how they use the room. This might be you as a homeowner wanting better lighting in our family room example or a director of a show that is working out how the actors will move about the space. In either case, the process is quite similar. At this point I am looking for what needs to be lit. I’m seeking important landing points and traffic patterns. Trip hazards are also noted. Finding what needs to be lit will inform me from where.

Notice that at this point I still have no idea about what fixtures I will be using or where they might be located. If I enter the project with my favourite reading lamp in mind and have already decided that is going to be placed at the end of the couch, then I have forgotten about the light itself. This lamp may work wonderfully for me, but I don’t know yet if it will provide the same results for the client. My approach to lighting is essentially to think backwards. I start with what needs to be lit, move on to how I would like it to be lit, figure out where a fixture needs to be place to light the subject how I want, and then finally search for a fixture that creates the quality of light I need and fits where it needs to go. This process remains the same for all my projects.

 It’s here that I should bring up an important difference between the independent designer and an in-house designer at a showroom. While both likely have training in the field, the independent is usually not associated with any particular manufacturer or supply house. This should manifest itself as a wider selection of brands and sources you will be presented with but, you as the client will likely pay more for the services of the independent. The in-house designer has an obligation to design with the sale of products in mind and will be working with the brands they carry or represent. However, the services for these designers are often less expensive or included in the sale price. Both options will result in a bespoke design so consideration of each based on your needs is required.

Okay, so now you're beginning to understand what we as lighting designers work with but you're likely still wondering why you would hire someone like me when you've already got your favourite lamp next to your favourite chair and it works just fine for you. And I personally would say you wouldn't, you have no need, you've already designed that particular space the best way for you. But, when you want that specificity of purpose through your entire house, that's when you want a lighting designer. Lighting design in a project represents an ongoing conversation between the client and the designer. The entire goal is for the lighting to “feel right” specific to the project. Be it the coziness of your new family room or an unnatural scene in a play, the lighting must both support and enhance the moment. When you are looking to fill a space with warmth, comfort, utility, or security, a quality of light, that is where a lighting designer shines. Pun intended.

 So, now you have a cursory understanding of what a lighting designer does, how we think, and how our roles mesh into a project. My study of lighting is an on-going endeavor, and I love the ever-changing challenges that come from working with light. In future articles I will share more in depth about the concepts of lighting and offer techniques designed to help you learn to see light. I will discuss further the qualities of light spoken about in this article and areas of continued research revolving around lighting.