By Jim Lehman ALA, LC

In my decades of lighting experience I have learned one solid, hard fact. There is no substitute to a GOOD DESIGN! It doesn't matter how much money you spend on your fixtures, or how many hours it took you to select them, without the proper design for your space and its use the final look will not be as beautiful or as functional as it could have been.

Naturally, as a lighting designer practices, mistakes are made in a career. When analyzed, it's generally because the design could have been better. Today, I still run my designs through a team. I listen to their suggestions and thoughts before I am finished.

In theory, lighting showroom salespersons are the consumer's lighting professionals. In fact, lighting showroom salespersons know very little about professional lighting designs and even less about the science of lighting. These two items and years of practice help lighting designers and consultants become good lighting professionals.

Why is this a fact? When the major variable is selling fixtures, design plays a small role. Sometimes a less expensive fixture is the right choice, sometimes not. The fact remains that a full understanding has to take place between the designer and the customer. The designer must know the full use of the space. A good designer generally has a lengthy interview with his clients and develops a clear understanding of the needs and desires of his client, as well as the size, scope, budget and construction methods and materials. The home furnishings play a major role in the lighting process as well as the coloring of the walls, floors, hardware and accents.

A good lighting professional is cognizant of the science of lighting and uses stage and studio methods to make rooms appear larger, more comfortable, dramatic and adaptable. Switching plays a major role in landscape and interior lighting if you want to take drama to higher levels.

Every lighting professional that has won awards know full well the importance of color rendering. This is where a professional really shines. Most consumers don't know that different combinations of gases and filaments in lamps cause different colors to be accentuated. Traditionally most light bulbs are purchased at grocery stores, hardware stores and big discount type stores. The problem is they are not always conducive to a consistent look nor are they always the proper Kelvin Temperature to make your spaces look like a designer showplace. Good lighting purveyors know and use professional light bulbs for their longer life and constant color rendering capabilities.

Last but not final, a good lighting professional attends World Markets and Trade Fairs and attends the training annually offered by their associations and organizations,, as well as witnessing first hand all of the newest choices and options in energy conservation and lighting technology that take place each year. Lighting salespersons very rarely if ever attend these shows and seldom learn these new technologies until years after inceptions, once popularity brings it to their showroom.