HLD Gallery: Define Your Light

Spring 2020.   One of the guilty pleasures of this difficult time is getting a peek inside spaces that are usually private – the homes of friends, coworkers, even celebrities.

In a recent HLD staff meeting, as we looked at a tile of each other’s faces, we noted the lighting each of us set up for the call, and how we’ve all had to adjust our homes as we spend more time there. As lighting designers, we already know that light is one way we can gain some control over our environment.

​Out of that conversation grew a challenge, a question for each of our designers: What inspires you during this time of isolation?
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Some of us responded with specifics about lighting our workspaces; others focused on career inspiration or waxed philosophical. Get another peek inside, as we share these responses below.

Paula Ziegenbein: The image represents light at the end of the tunnel.  I began with a photograph I had taken and applied color filters to represent white as its component colors and overlapped layers these using different transparencies to create a prism like background.  The text symbolizes repetition of voices, thoughts, fears, concerns and aspirations during a time of crisis.  At the center is light and light is hope. 

Catherine Leskowat: My tiny home is all about daylight.  My south-east facing windows catch the sunrise and fill my living/work space with rainbows on our sunny days, and the sun sets out my west facing windows behind a gorgeous brick watch factory that gave my town it's nickname, the Watch City.  I live by the sun complimented with task lights during the day, and bring out my (innately) warm-dimming incandescents in the evening, and some pretty wild uplighting when I'm playing with conference call lighting for game night with the family!

Diane McNabb Rodriguez: Light encompassing Transformative to all things Becomes our touchstone

Jessica Kromatis: In this time of isolation, I have defined my light by the location of my partner and I as we co-work in a little space. I start my morning watching the sun come up through my expansive windows and I follow it around the open space like a cat. 1/3

... My two cats have the luxury of napping in the sun, but it makes me feel warm and productive when I start my day. I never turn any of my overhead lighting on in my workspace, but I do have lamps that I adjust the CCT for. When it's cloudy, I've been pointing an adjustable lamp head upward for indirect lighting when necessary. 2/3

...When it's time to "leave the office", I've been changing my color-changing lamp system to fun colors like Magenta, Green, and Red. It makes the space feel urban and fun. I also hope it gives pedestrians passing by a visual treat among the dim amber windows to see a pop of color on the top floor. 3/3

Katy Moser: This is my reading nook, where I usually finish the afternoon's work or play guitar. I find watching the sunset or rise keeps me grounded in these crazy times.

Nora Ludden: Light is the foundation of all design. It creates color and texture, establishes the mood, and can enlarge or shrink a space. It is delicate and powerful.

Sarah Boyer: How I define light at home is with a combination of indirect light from a linear LED desk lamp and natural light from the window adjacent to my home office desk. The desk lamp offers a soft illumination to the space by being directed towards the ceiling. It also has adjustability with dimming and color temperature options. The window, which is usually open, brings in daylight, a lovely landscaped view, and often a nature soundtrack of sorts.

Kim Daley: Since I was a child, the “play” between light and dark, brightness and shadow, has captured my heart. The inclusion of sunlight is paramount as well as ambient light which creates the surrounding glow. Light often warms a person intellectually, physically, and physiologically. It makes you want to curl up on the sunny spot on the floor or curl up with a book by the table lamp.

Sarah Boyer: Light is dynamic. The sunlight and shadows bring a hint of the nature indoors with contrast and this gentle ebb and flow.