LIGHTING IN INTERIOR DESIGN: BASIC DESIGN AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ISSUES

The role of lighting in interior design is three-fold. Besides the obvious functional side, it reinforces the design concept and sets the mood or atmosphere of the particular interior space. It undoubtedly complements the interior environment. 

According to physics, light is electromagnetic radiation, acting as both particles or waves. Light has both colour and brightness. Simply put, light enables us to see. Lighting can be direct or indirect. It can also be diffused or reflected. Diffused lighting is soft, scattered and doesn’t cast harsh shadows. Lighting can also be static or dynamic (Involving some sort of movement).

Relative to colour which was mentioned above, let’s look at some specific examples. A store that displays and sells furs, needs to have cool white lighting, while a jewelry store selling diamonds and other gems requires warm white lighting. The appropriate choice of lighting helps display the merchandise appropriately and result in increased sales. 

There are various design techniques to conceal lighting or to cleverly incorporate it in the forms of the interior space. Hand blown glass or crystal have given rise to contemporary lighting designs. Also, one may highlight a brick or stone wall, lighting it from the wall above, so the wall material appears more sculptural or 3D. This particular technique is called “grazing”.

Like colour, lighting it can affect our psychology. Lighting can participate in the colour scheme or act as a neutral background upon which the peculiarities of the interior space unfold. Lighting may also be integral with art; neon lighting is also making a comeback.

Offices usually require bright diffused overhead lighting, while home work spaces may also need task lighting in the form of a table lamp. Restaurants, cafes, night-clubs or bars, especially the latter, are known to have illumination at lower levels, so people can be more relaxed or enjoy greater privacy (In bars usually, in order to attain the desired lighting effect, ceilings are painted black). Homes today have ceiling or wall light fixtures as well as track lighting. Industrialization has made furniture, accessories and lighting accessible to the masses. 

Led technology has evolved out of ecological considerations, giving rise to many interesting applications. Led lights are classified as either cool or warm. Gone are the days were homes had incandescent light bulbs, offices had fluorescent lights and retail stores had P.A.R. (Parabolic area reflectors). Today, the lighting possibilities are endless. It should be by now evident that the functional and psychological role of lighting in interior design is paramount.The designer’s creativity is the limit.

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