LIGHTING: How To... Design your own lighting layout
Jan 1, 2000 12:00 PM, Stephen Blackman
Although lighting is one of the easiest areas of a display to control and to implement, it is often one of the most overlooked aspects of merchandising. The good news is that retailers are recognizing the role of attractive and strategic lighting design in merchandising, and are integrating professionally designed lighting systems into their sales areas.
Effective lighting doesn't have to break the bank. In fact, it is something you can design yourself. The following guidelines should help you light up your store and your sales.
Function is key Function is the most important consideration when designing a lighting layout. Several questions must be considered for each section of the store:
What type of merchandise will be sold in this area of the floor? Is this a sale item or featured item, or is it a traditionally slow-moving item? How does sunlight affect the day and evening lighting requirements? What lighting control systems would enhance overall selling space and highlighted displays?
The answers to all these questions will help you set up an effective, well-presented sales floor.
Basic types of lighting There are three basic types of in-store lighting: task lighting, ambient lighting and accent lighting.
Ambient lighting is general floor illumination, the lighting that gives a room or an area even light throughout. Good ambient lighting lights a floor at a moderate level and eliminates dark spots.
Accent lighting provides decoration, excitement and interest for a specific area or item. When lighting a sales floor, remember that the eye is drawn first to the most luminous point in a room, and by highlighting different areas of your floor, you can create the interest you want around certain products. Contrast can also emphasize an area by lowering adjacent light levels so the highlighted displays stand out even more.
Task lighting provides proper illumination levels confined to areas where specific activities will be performed that require higher illumination, such as the sales desks, fitting rooms or cosmetics counters.
Remember that good lighting depends on the proper selection and use of lighting fixtures. A well-lit room should have a combination of the basic lighting types. A sales area should have more than one fixture type, with at least two of the three basic categories of lighting represented.
