Many of us will spend a huge portion of our lives in an office environment. As lighting specialists we have a unique understanding of the challenges faced by those responsible for implementing office lighting that’s both cost effective and practical (i.e. healthy for employees)

VDU Illumination
We’ve all seen TV shows where a hard-working detective protagonist stays late in the office to look for clues online using only the light of the VDU. Although stylistically valuable in terms of mood-setting, using a VDU as a sole light source can cause headaches and conditions associated with eye strain. In offices where workers are expected to operate during dim or dark hours of the day, effective office lighting – both overhead and personally sited – is essential.

Daylight
Although it rather goes against our business savvy to promote daylight as the best possible form of lighting, the fact is it’s true. The human body is at its most efficient and soothed when working in daylight (that’s why a couple of extra hours at the office during winter seem like an eternity!) All office lighting – track lighting systems, wall lighting, desk lights, fluorescent lighting etc – should aim to impersonate daylight.

Ambient Light
The likes of LED GU10 wall lights can be very effective in terms of creating an environment bathed in light. For example, LED downlights used alongside overhead lighting and wall mounted ambient lights can help to develop an office where light is plentiful and shadows banished, imitating daylight and promoting productivity.

Shop lighting is about more than simple illumination. Expertly tailored lighting can guide foot traffic, evoke emotional responses and be a highly effective marketing tool. We’ve been in this business a long time, long enough to know that there are some aspects to lighting psychology that are founded on sensible theories and what we like to call proof. Here are a few tried and tested shop lighting tips from our own experts.

• Avoid using coloured lighting as the main lighting hue of the store. It deters customers by clouding their judgement, impairing their capability to see products properly and thus discouraging them.
• A bright entrance is a simple but highly effective marketing tool. Floor lighting can be used to encourage foot traffic in a particular direction too. For example, a green hue to left and red hue to the right semantically communicates to shoppers that they should follow the green “GO” signal.
• In retail environments that shift regularly, track lighting systems can provide excellent overhead lighting that’s both cost effective and stylistically dexterous.
• Creating an ambient atmosphere removed from the outside world can be very effective in fostering a consumer psyche that’s willing to buy. For example, a womenswear store that provides photo shoot/red carpet standard lighting (using wall mounted fluorescent lighting) in the changing room can flatter the adoration of an item of clothing on the body of a prospective buyer by presenting a surreal – almost fairytale -  image of them in the garment.

The winter months may be cold and arduous for folks on the commute, but in terms of commercial lighting the long nights and early sunsets mean a stunning canvas upon which to shine innovative, effective lighting solutions, chosen from our own online store.

Outdoor Wall Lights
The artistry potential in such products is astonishing. Uplighters can have a wonderfully ambient, highlighting effect, particularly on very angular buildings with lots of vertical lines. We stock both moveable and fixed uplighters suitable for various commercial environments.

Spike Lights
Spike lights allow for concentrated washes of colour and effects to fill portions of blank wall space. We stock highly effective commercial options alongside smaller products suitable for the domestic setting. Most of the spike lights we stock can also be found in the Energy Efficient area, as we place great emphasis on low energy products in the commercial setting.

Floodlights
Alongside spike lights, the various floodlight products we carry can provide artistic dexterity in most commercial settings. Flood lights can be used to spread lighting effects over vast areas, and habitually changed with seasonal trends to project a range of colours and effects. Wall washers are particularly adept at filling large portions of wall space, e.g. the outside of a shopping centre etc.

Energy Efficient Lighting
Low energy lighting, particularly at times of the year when lighting is heavily used, is very important to many of our clients, which is why many of our exterior lighting solutions can also be cross-referenced with the Energy Efficient lighting area.