A luminaire that seems to almost invisibly release light into the space is an aesthetic ideal. hartmut s. engel - design studio has developed a lighting system for Zumtobel that systematically follows this holistic concept, gracefully dissolving the object in its materiality. Zumtobel to Hartmut S. Engel about the creation of this luminaire.

In this blog entry by Monique Cousineau Social Media Manager for Philips Lighting North America, she interviews 2nd prize winners of CLUE 02 Competition Antonis Athanasiou and Maria–Chrysoula Akrivou about their award winning lighting design.

Philips Clue 02 first prize winner Yeonho Lee sheds light about his winning design in an exclusive interview with Philips Social Media Manager Monique Cousineau.

Jordan Sullivan, marketing communications co-op at Philips Lighting, interviews U.S. designer Vicki Scuri about her public lighting art works in this latest blog entry.

Paul Mercier is heavily involved in the lighting industry. As the principal and founder of Lighting Design Innovations, with offices in Calgary, Alberta and Batavia, New York, recent textbook author, various industry association memberships and certifications, adjunct teaching positions in the US and Canada, and significant IES (Illuminating Engineering Society – www.ies.org) involvement, including the recent conclusion of his term as President of the society, his passion for lighting clearly shines.

Helen Diemer, President of The Lighting Practice in Philadelphia, PA, started her career as an electrical engineer, but was quickly drawn to lighting design. After graduating from Penn State University as an architectural engineer, she joined the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) and International Association of Lighting Designers(IALD) and blazed her career path in lighting design. She joined The Lighting Practice in 1994; five years after Al Borden founded the firm.

Stephanie Cohn from Philips Color Kinetics interviews Etta Dannemann about her thoughts on the company’s Lighting Designer in Residence Program.

The project Interlace by Rahul Gujarathi is an elegant composition, said jury member, Randy Burkett. “It’s two technologies woven together to serve the user and occupant. A near endless number of manifestations seem possible with the creative application of this approach in building design. Definining a timeless and traditional boundry this is innately linked to light and the environment, in an exciting and artistic manner. Connection, protection, interaction – all present at this border. This project, more than most, looks forward at the ultimate integration of technology and human needs.”

Dancing on the clouds, brought to us by Hyunje Joo, who is originally from Korea and now studies in Germany, was awarded second prize for his project that actively engages its environment by changing shapes with the climate and the people around. It was deemed by our jury as being very poetic and it helps in bringing people together. There is an interesting relationship between the object and the user. It is a very good interface between the sky and the ground.

When Galina Zbrizher of Total Lighting Solutions in Vancouver, Canada started working in the lighting industry about 30 years ago, lighting design and technologies were still in the early stages of development. She participated in shaping the industry by serving on the Board of Directors of the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD), serving as President of the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) – Toronto Section, a Chair of the IES Hospitality Facilities Committee and active contributor to the IES Design Guide for Hotel Lighting DG-25, by serving seven years on the LIGHTFAIR® International Conference Advisory Committee, and finally as a judge for several lighting design competitions and contributing author for lighting design publications.

In early March, Philips announced the winners of the revamped international lighting design CLUE Competition. The theme this year was Interface. The participants were asked to explore transformative potentials and to define unique lighting innovations that celebrate the activities of both the built and unbuilt communities. Incorporating the concepts of contact, transparency, transition, threshold, limits, dark/light, natural/artificial, the interface focuses on the spatial interactions influenced by exchanges between one and the other, and thereby distinguishing the two adjacent spaces.

Peruvian lighting designer Claudia Paz shared her insight on the creative process of architectural lighting design during a presentation at Philips Color Kinetics in Burlington, Massachusetts, USA, on September 25, 2014. The renowned lighting designer discussed her key influences and most memorable projects, including her involvement with the recent Banco del Crédito de Peru (BCP) Affinity lighting installation.

Sabrina-Santoro of Philips Lumec speaks to Victor Quezada and Sean Casey, Principals from render light & planning, inc. about the process of coming up with design for The Exchange tower in Vancouver, Canada.

In the weeks and months to come, the Philips Lighting Blog will feature a series of interviews with lighting designers whose artistic skills and technical knowledge have produced lighting installations that are innovative, functional, appealing and energy-efficient.

In recent years, the LED light source has dramatically changed the lighting industry, adding numerous possibilities in lighting and it is expected both by the industry and the household users to completely replace the traditional light source as a brand new light solution in the near future.

Author: CC Hwang, Art Director of BeLight.com There is a Chinese proverb expresses: "Anyone who has been to Silver Cave would never short of money" and Silver Cave is a national AAAA scenic spot in Guilin, China. 20 years ago, I had been here once when I didn’t possess any knowledge about lighting. I remembered that I couldn’t appreciate the beautiful karst landscape at all as the over-colorful lighting kept distracting me. There were several scenic areas in the Silver Cave and each was assigned with different name and story according to its shape and people’s imagination. I was totally overwhelmed by the overly-elaborated stories and the overly-lit colorful stones.

Author: BeLight.com No one can escape from going to a hospital since the very first day we were given birth. Except for seeing doctors, undergoing surgeries and getting prescriptions, some patients have to stay in patient rooms for an extended period of time for further medical examination and better recovery. This is a space that should be as comfortable as your bedroom, but rarely are. BeLight is offering a review on this topic and share some news about lighting ideas for hospitals.

Author: BeLight.com The trend in lighting source is turning towards LEDs backed by a positive outlook by most consumers.. However, not every lighting designer we’ve met admits that LED is a perfect – at least, better – choice. We will compare the debates made against LEDs against previous project published on Belight.

Author: CC Hwang, Art Director of BeLight.com, Lighting Designer (Taiwan) Have you ever observed the light environment around you? How the sky color changes from dust to dawn? We always experience something, but are we aware of the experience we have?

There are several reasons to explain why LED rises so quickly in recent years. One of them, maybe the most important one, is that LEDs are more energy efficient. LEDs are brighter and cooler than traditional lamps; this also indicates that they consume less energy to emit the same lumen. As the producing process getting improved, the costs to produce LEDs are lower, and this fact encourage people to consider using LEDs instead. In addition, LEDs are more flexible for different situations. Designers can achieve almost everything they want. Other than advantages of energy and flexibility, brightness is another beneficial feature of LED fixtures. Now, European countries are striving to cut as many costs as possible, and the United Kingdom is not an exception. When Wigan Council was planning to start their Street Scene and Lighting project, it was necessary to find a balance between brightness and money. The manager, Keith Benson, sought help from Philips and there was a perfect solution: Philips’ product called “SpeedStar LED luminaire.”

Spearing into the blue sky, Burj Khalifa – also called “the Dubai Tower” – has been regarded as one of the most remarkable building in human history. Burj Khalifa is a landmark among Middle East, where is mostly dominated by Islamic culture, and also an icon of how high technology can help to construct an “automatic” building. Across the Persian Gulf, there is a vivid comparison to Burj Khalifa –Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar. The museum is a beautiful architecture that collects enormous number of Islamic artworks. Both of these two great building are lightened up by fixtures from Philips.