Envision Lighting Design, LLC
  • Home
  • About
  • Projects
  • BLOG
  • Learn

Now on Graybar.com! 

2/26/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
I am excited to announce that I am now a guest blogger on Graybar.com! Graybar is an electrical distributor with corporate headquarters right here in St. Louis.
Watch for educational lighting posts both here and at Graybar.com - by yours truly. And coming soon...a webinar for Graybar.

I am thrilled to partner with Graybar while extending the reach of ENvisionLD.

0 Comments

"Soul-sucking fluorescents"

2/18/2013

0 Comments

 
While reading my latest issue of Natural Health Magazine, this quote from the back page caught my eye:
For many of us, Monday through Friday means slogging through traffic to sit for hours under soul-sucking fluorescents in back-breaking office chairs. But you can make your workdays healthier - mentally and physically - by making over your space with these tips.
"Oh boy!" I thought, "my magazine is going to address lighting quality. Yay!" But I went on to read suggestions that ranged from getting a fish tank or a potted plant to making ergonomic adjustments to the furniture and meditation to manage stress. No mention whatsoever of how to address the lighting quality problem. Even a paragraph about getting up and walking around only addressed the aspect of stretching. How about taking that walk outside to get exposure to sunlight? Or at least walking to a window for the emotional boost of the view?

If you find your fluorescent lighting to truly be soul-sucking, might I make a suggestion or two?
  • Are you still sitting under T12 magnetic technology? Upgrade to save energy and improve lighting quality. You're going to be forced to make this change eventually. Change now while you can still get a utility rebate!
  • Maybe it is just a matter of changing the lamp color temperature for a more pleasant atmosphere.
  • If you can, go ahead and change to a completely different fixture - or try an indirect pendant.
  • If you don't have the ability to change the overhead lamps or fixtures, plug in a small task light or lamp at your desk. Switch off the overhead lights if you can, and work by your lamp light. You may discover that this is plenty of light for computer tasks.
  • Try pointing your task light or lamp toward the wall to create indirect light in your office or cubicle.


How about you? What have you done to take the "soul-sucking" out of your fluorescent office lighting?
0 Comments

In Praise of Shadows

2/1/2013

0 Comments

 
Vincent Van Gogh is quoted, "I often think that the night is more alive and more richly colored than the day."

I just finished reading In Praise of Shadows by Jun' ichiro Tanizaki, first published in Japan in 1933 and 1934. It is a thought-provoking look at electric light as an intrusion on daily life and traditions. It eloquently presents the perspective of a novelist - not an artist or a lighting designer or an architectural professional - on light. He makes a solid case for the enhanced beauty of materials such as lacquer and gold leaf in the shadows where even a frail glimmer of light generates a vibrant sparkle, as opposed to bright light, where luster is totally flattened. He laments, "So benumbed are we nowadays by electric lights that we have become utterly insensitive to the evils of excessive illumination." One example he cites, "people will light the lights, then switch on an electric fan to combat the heat. The very thought annoys me."

Fast forward eighty years.

We have now illuminated most of the inhabited planet, some of it beautifully, other bits garishly. For whatever reason we seldom pause to appreciate the dark but are drawn to light like moths to flame, myself included. Since reading In Praise of Shadows I will accept Tanizaki's challenge (and Van Gogh's) to find the richness and beauty in darkness. As a lighting designer I will do my part to keep the stars visible so that I, my children, and the generations to come can see them...and dream.

Van Gogh also said, "For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream." 
                                                 Let's not lose sight of the stars.
0 Comments

    RSS Feed

    Author:

    Lisa J. Reed, lighting designer and Principal at Envision Lighting Design, LLC

    View my profile on LinkedIn

    Archives:

    July 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    February 2021
    January 2021
    August 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    September 2019
    August 2019
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    November 2016
    January 2016
    October 2015
    March 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012

    Categories:

    All
    Book Review
    Business
    Calendar
    Certification
    Color Rendering
    Color Temperature
    Core Competencies
    Dark Sky
    Daylight
    Dimming
    Earth Day
    Encounter
    Energy
    Engage
    Enjoy
    Enlighten
    Envision
    Fluorescent
    Green
    Halogen
    Holiday Light
    Ies
    Incandescent
    Installation
    Internship
    Landscape Lighting
    Led
    Light And Health
    Lightfair
    Lighting
    Lighting At Home
    Lighting Basics
    Lighting Certification
    Lighting Controls
    Lighting Credential
    Lighting Design
    Maintenance
    Museum Lighting
    News
    Office Lighting
    Outdoor Lighting
    Recycling
    Restaurant Lighting
    Street Lighting
    T12 Phase Out
    Wbe
    Woman Owned Business

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photos from Uncleweed, geezaweezer, napalmz, WDanRoberts, joshme17, Vasenka, Ricardo Ricote Rodríguez, Gamma Man, weisserstier, SoulRider.222, loop_oh, Benson Kua, Gopal Venkatesan
  • Home
  • About
  • Projects
  • BLOG
  • Learn