This lighting designer from Lam Partners emphasizes the importance of illumination as a necessity for more than just people who can afford a lighting designer.
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Why light?
I was first introduced to the world of lighting while I was studying interior architecture in England through two of my friends who are in lighting design; what they did was fascinating. I thought I knew what lighting was, and spoke of it from the poetic lens of architecture, but I came to realize that lighting is inextricably woven not only into how designers view the built environment but also how occupants view these environments. We as lighting designers have a responsibility to the people that must exist in the environments we create.
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What is your favorite project?
Any project type that allows for my creativity to flourish—from a cool student lounge in higher education to lighting outdoor sculptures with interesting landscape conditions or even trying to figure out what humane lighting conditions look like. I learned that creativity is about problem solving, and I enjoy a project that presents some interesting challenges.
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The best part of your job?
Manipulating light to create environments that previously existed in one’s mind. To most people, light is one thing: that which helps us to see. But to lighting designers, light is material we use to create different worlds.
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The biggest obstacle you have encountered?
I would say more of a challenge than an obstacle was adjusting to living, and then working, in an industry where very few people look like I do. I had never been in a professional environment where I was quite glaringly the minority. That has required, and still requires, some getting used to. I have found BUILD (Black United In Lighting Design) which is a community of Black lighting professionals, and it has been really helpful in this process.
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What is an important consideration for the future of the lighting industry?
How to make good lighting more accessible to everyone. At the moment, good lighting is a privilege that is afforded by those that can hire, or believe in the importance of, a lighting designer. Good lighting is yet to be considered a necessity in creating healthy environments, and many people—especially those with little-to-no control over their environments, such those in senior-care facilities and the incarcerated—get left behind.
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Do you have a dream job/project?
To teach lighting at a Historically Black Colleges and Universities architectural program.
The Emerging Professional column explores issues affecting younger lighting professionals and those new to the industry