Practical advice on commercial lighting from LED retrofits to lighting design.

LED technology has brought about new innovations and more options in the lighting industry. Manufacturers are constantly coming out with new products that give the consumer more options.

One of those recent innovations: Color and wattage selectable LED fixtures. 

It goes without saying that we are in unprecedented times.

Can you think of another time when construction nearly came to a complete stop?

As projects start to pick up again, it's a great time to reassess your plans and prepare for the future. Ideas that might have worked pre-pandemic might not work anymore.

Color consistency is a critical issue that has surfaced with the popularity of LED lighting.

How do you know that the color of your lighting will be consistent from one product to another?

Do you feel like lighting is throwing a wrench in your project schedule and you’re scrambling to get a lighting package value engineered? And then, after you go through V.E., are you left with a package that doesn’t meet the original design intent?

There’s another way to do lighting.

Here’s a common dilemma: a company hires a general contractor to oversee a large-scale renovation or new construction buildout, or a series of projects. But when it comes to lighting, the company isn’t sure who should purchase the products.

I get asked all the time what the right color temperature and color rendering index (CRI) should be for various applications. Although there are rules of thumb that typically provide a positive outcome, color can be so subjective. With LED, your options have become almost limitless. Selecting the right color for your application can be pretty overwhelming. 

Color rendering index (CRI) goes hand in hand with color temperature when you’re trying to pick the right lighting for your application.

Our lighting designers answer countless questions when it comes to helping their customers understand light color and quality. Lighting Design Manager, Tori Cole, is here to help simplify some of the complexity around design, color quality, and LED lighting. Follow along as she answers some of the most common questions. 

When big shopping holidays like Black Friday and back-to-school shopping hit the retail world, it all too often means stores everywhere are scrambling to get the lighting right.

Lighting is one of those things that can be easily taken for granted. It’s sort of like cell phone service or drinking water – it’s not something most people pay attention to unless it’s off. 

Just like cellular networks and purified drinking water, details matter in lighting. Ensuring a cell signal isn’t spotty or that the total dissolved soluble content of water is palatable is a science. And it’s pretty easy to mess up.

With lighting, mistakes rarely go unnoticed. And even the less-noticed ones can have a trickle-down effect on sales.

The job of the lighting designer is to help you avoid such oversights, ensuring your lighting is sharp, consistent, and right for your brand.

In that spirit, here are the most common mistakes our team sees in retail lighting design: