News, Uncategorized

The LightFair Blog Turns One

Our blog turns one on Feb 1, 2022. We celebrate this small yet significant milestone with a look back at the stories covered, the people profiled and some of our most popular blog posts this past year, and also a look ahead to the promise and potential it holds in the years to come.

A Sense of Community Around Lighting Design

Any LightFair attendee will tell you the conversations and connections that happen at LightFair extend well beyond the show floor and conference classrooms. Much more than an annual trade show, LightFair is a vibrant community of lighting design professionals passionate about learning, innovating, discovering and exchanging knowledge and ideas.

On the LightFair blog, we take this exchange forward to talk lighting year round.

Through profiles, interviews, project case studies and more, we explore a range of themes and topics in collaboration with lighting design experts, product designers and industry thought leaders. Topics covered this past year include circadian lighting and wellness, high-end luxury design, energy efficiency, lighting controls and sustainable lighting design, theatrical lighting, designing for darkness, diversity in the lighting industry and lighting for the spectrum to name a few.

As our blog enters its second year, we will continue to bring you relevant stories, interviews and more from the industry. Our hope is for the blog to become a destination of year-round lighting inspiration, where you can learn about interesting product applications and new projects, discover new connections, explore trends, get a peek at unexplored career avenues and more.

This year, we hope to profile and interview even more lighting professionals, feature interesting project applications and explore different perspectives on a range of topics that impact our industry. We have some exciting new columns and sections in store, so stay tuned. We would love for you to join the conversation.

We invite you to visit our blog, submit your interest to be featured on the Contributors page, subscribe to our emails and follow us on social. We love hearing from you and your suggestions, ideas and feedback will help us provide even better content and service.


Did you know…
since its launch in Feb 2021, the LightFair blog has featured:

  • 45+ unique stories including profiles, interviews, architectural and commercial lighting design project application case studies, tips for lighting professionals and more
  • 25+ contributors from lighting design and architectural professionals, product designers, CEOs and other industry experts

Revisiting 2021’s Top-Viewed Blog Posts on the LightFair Blog

Take a look below at our top-viewed blog posts of the year. Which was your favorite post? Did we miss featuring a piece you loved? Tell us in the comments below and on social!

#1 The Chase Center’s Layered Lighting Design Details Deliver High-End Luxury + Athletic Energy

Chase Center Sports Arena Lighting Design
Chase Center | Photo by Jason O’Rear/Chase Center

Golden State Warriors fan or not, you will want to put this spectacular sports arena on your bucket list. San Francisco’s Chase Center checks all the boxes for luxury, ambiance and energy efficiency with layered lighting design that tastefully ties in the team colors. This content is sourced and adapted from an article published in LD+A magazine by the Illuminating Engineering Society, one of the three co-owners of LightFair. Click here to read the original article by Samantha Schwirck: Golden Ticket.

#2 Inclusion, Opportunities and Ownership: Encouraging Diversity, Representation and Inclusion in the Lighting Industry

Tanya Hernandez on Diversity, Inclusion and Opportunities in the Lighting Industry

An interview with Tanya Hernandez, Vice President of Government & Industry Relations at Acuity Brands

In a special series of posts presented in honor of Black History Month, we profiled inspiring lighting industry leaders and their views on representation, opportunity, diversity, inclusion, equality with glimpses into their own journeys.


#3 Designing Disney Wonder and Magic with Light

Creating Disney Magic and Wonder with Light
EPCOT Photo by Disney Yellow Shoes

Disney Imagineer Jason Scott Read’s job involves creating magic and memories for millions of guests. Check out this interview for a peek into magic making at Disney Parks.


#4
An Illuminating Experience: the Union of Light and Yoga

The Union of Light and Yoga - Angelica Santana - Union Yoga

Lighting designer and certified yoga practitioner/teacher Angelica Santana discusses the role of yoga in imparting wellbeing for busy lighting professionals. Learn more about her work and new side venture, Union Yoga, that blends her two passions: lighting + yoga.


#5 Blue Skies Texas Freedom House: A Circadian Lighting Case Study from BIOS Lighting

Application of Bios Circadian Lighting
Application of BIOS Circadian Lighting

An early adopter of research-based technologies, Blue Skies Memory Care facility in San Antonio, Texas embraced the mindful application of biological lighting in its renovation. This included BIOS Circadian Lighting Solutions. 

#6 Diversity Is a Push for Opportunity

Diversity and Opportunity in the Lighting Industry - Lauren Dandridge

Lauren Dandridge Gaines teaches lighting design at USC School of Architecture. In this interview with LightFair, she talks about her earliest inspiration for getting into lighting, her advice for young professionals, proudest accomplishments and thoughts on representation in the lighting industry.


#7 Luxe Lighting Design

Luxe Lighting Design
Project: PARKROYAL COLLECTION, Marina Bay, Singapore | ND Photography | Courtesy of Yah Li Toh, Light Collab

Lighting design that has the potential to transport you to an elevated, sensory experience, be it in a hospitality or retail project, a luxury residential installation, or even healthcare applications, could be classified as luxe. To explore further, we turned to the experts.

This popular collection of posts features leading lighting design professionals, product designers, manufacturers and principals of renowned lighting design firms discussing the concept of luxe design as they walk us through some of their work designing products and installations for luxury environments.

Featured:
Luxe Viewpoints from HLB Lighting Design’s Barbara Horton & Lee Brandt
Profile Spotlight: Yah Li Toh, IALD, Certified Lighting Designer, Principal, Light Collab
Layers of Light Create Unique Experiences: Featuring Michael Hemmenway IES LEED AP BD+C, Principal, Fisher Marantz Stone
Designing Around the LED: An Interview with Stephen Blackman, CEO & Chief Design Officer, BlackJack Lighting
Lighting Design Inspired by the Elements: Product Designer Spotlight, Grant Chapelle, AFX Inc.


#8 The Importance of Lighting in WELL Building Certification: A Q & A with Signify’s Meg Smith

Importance of Lighting in WELL Building Certification
Photo credit: Signify | Hospital room

Functionality is no longer the only consideration for workspace design, as Signify’s Meg Smith explains in this blog post. Meg is passionate about helping the industry understand and embrace lighting design strategies to meet high-performance, “healthy building” requirements like WELL Building Certification version 2 (WELL v2).


#9 Designing for Darkness

Designing for Darkness - Lighting at Night
Graphic by Kate Sweater Hickcox

A cloud of ambiguity often envelops the term “dark sky”. LightFair presenter, creative thinker, lighting researcher and designer Kate Sweater Hickox sheds light on the metrics and practices of dark sky design and offers actionable recommendations to address key concerns around Lighting-at-Night (L@N).

#10 LightFair News and Updates

LightFair News and Updates
Las Vegas Convention Center West Hall Entrance | Photo courtesy of https://vegasmeansbusiness.com

This section dedicated to upcoming programs and updates on LightFair claims the #10 spot. Watch this space for upcoming posts on the program for LightFair 2022 as we head to the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada.


Now, tell us about your favorite post, and what new content you would like to see featured on our blog this year.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Send this to a friend