Lighting refers to the utilization of light in different spaces to affect the impression of that space and the people in it. It is because the placement, intensity, and direction of light don’t merely provide comfort to vision but impact one’s overall perception of that space. It is, therefore, important to understand lighting as a critical element of designing workplaces and homes.
Lighting can be used to set a particular mood and give a story to any space. This can create a stark difference between a fast-food restaurant and high-end cafes and that difference, in turn, narrates the story of the cafes and translates into higher sales for the business. It can also be used to set a warm and cozy bedroom to relax in after a long day of work.
Lighting can therefore improve the aesthetics, visibility, satisfaction, performance, and even sales and safety of any space.
It is done through:
Light Intensity: Our vision is usually directed towards the brightest areas of light in a space. Shifting the intensity of light towards the areas where we want to direct the focus of the eye, therefore, allows us to create artificial focal points. Using these focal points, we can create a visual hierarchy in spaces in order to either divert one’s attention where we want to or to make the space visually pleasing to the eye.
CCT, CRI, and Saturation: To ensure that we create an ideal visually appealing space, we need to understand how color is perceived by the human eye in any particular space and the steps that we can take to enhance or affect that perception.
So, the color appearance is measured in terms of correlated color temperature or CCT, color rendering when compared to a standard illuminant is measured in terms of CRI or Color Rendering Index, and saturation, although cannot be measured yet, still affects one’s color perception a lot. Through knowing and understanding these three elements, we can enhance or distort the colors of objects and spaces according to our will.
The pattern of light: The pattern of light in any space can affect one’s perception of space. Depending on whether the pattern of light is uniform or non-uniform and where it’s directed from can cause a major psychological impact and make the space appear tense or relaxed.
Contrast: Through shifting the direction and intensity of light, we can create a contrast of light and shadows in order to add depth to objects or pronounce their textures. Ensuring a balance in this contrast is called modeling.
