Theory and Psychology behind Lighting

Lighting: It's Effect on People and Spaces

http://www.informedesign.org/_news/feb_v02-p.pdf

Lighting designers think about how behavior is affected by lighting. Here are a few interesting examples in terms of how lighting shapes behavior:

• -       Visibility of vertical and horizontal junctions aid orientation
• -       People follow the brightest path
• -       Brightness can focus attention
• -       Facing wall luminance is a preference
• -       Lighting can affect body position

Years ago, Dr John Flynn developed a criteria evaluating the lighting of spaces. His work is considered seminal to this day. Flynn’s conceptual framework used the following cues to determine the users subjective responsive to the lighting of the space

• -       uniform/non uniform distribution of lioght
• -       bright/dim levels of illumination
• -       overhead/peripheral (or wall) lighting

Using a semantic deferential scale (using opposite terms to determine the subjects attitudes or opinions along a contunumm) and large numbers of subjects, he concluded that lighting could create a space that would make users say it was

• -       pleasant vs unpleasant
• -       public vs private
• -       spacious vs confined
• -       relaxed vs tense
• -       visually clear vs hazy

Public: rely on higher levels of illumination with a more uniform distribution of light from overhead sources, predominantly

Spacious: provide overall high levels of illumination with even distribution of light on the walls and uniform lighting on all surfaces

Relaxed: use non uniform distribution, wall lighting, and lower light levels typically

Visually clear: provide higher luminance on the activity/task plane, with peripheral luminance.