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Retail Lighting Design Across The UK

Lighting sets the mood of your retail space

Retail lighting

Retail lighting can be broken down between the four primary types of lighting. This includes general/ambient lighting, task lighting, accent lighting, and decorative lighting. Retail lighting is a key component in making customers feel at home in your shop and enticing them to buy. Achieving the perfect retail lightscape isn’t difficult once you understand the principles and techniques behind designing a retail lighting plan.

The Four Different Types of Retail Lighting

Understanding how to layer light using the four principles of light is the key to any great retail lighting design. Below we will explain each of these lighting principles to help give you a clear idea of how to implement these techniques for  creating an Innovative and practical lighting solution for your retail space.

Ambient Lighting – Ambient lighting is the main light source for your store. The overall purpose of ambient retail store lighting is to make customers feel comfortable in the space and provide enough light to safely explore the entire store.

Task Lighting – Task lighting is focused lighting used to illuminate areas where more lighting is needed for certain tasks or purposes. In a retail space this would include ares such as checkout counters, dressing rooms, office space and the stockroom.

Accent Lighting – Accent lighting is used to highlight specific areas, displays, and decor throughout your retail store. Various types of accent lighting are used to draw shoppers to particular areas in your store, such as products within shelving and displays, in windows, and on walls.

Decorative Lighting – Decorative retail lighting adds a decorative element to the previously mentioned lighting techniques. Decorative lighting is achieved by using a fixture with a certain aesthetic, such as a chandelier, set of pendant lights, or sleek track system to help define your store brand while being used for an accent, task, or ambient lighting purpose

Planning Retail lighting – The essential guide

Now that you know the basics, you’re ready to put your retail lighting plan together. Below we will discuss how to incorporate the previously discussed lighting principles with the functionality of a retail space.

Light up displays with accent lighting

The best way to approach your lighting design is in layers, starting with accent lighting first. You will want to use accent lighting as your ‘display’ lighting. For instance, you may want to use recessed spotlights to illuminate any coving or shelved areas where products are displayed. Another example of using accent lighting to highlight display areas would be through versatile ceiling-mounted track lighting with mounted LED spotlights. This gives you the freedom to direct the light in whichever way is required to light the given area.

Brighten Workspace areas with task lighting

Once accents lights are considered and complete, It’s now time to turn your attention to lighting up your checkout counters, dressing rooms, and other task or service based areas. Task lighting has no specific style of lighting to use as long as it provides enough light. With this being the case task lighting offers a fantastic opportunity to incorporate decorative lighting fixtures. By adding stylish, decorative features to be used as task lighting, you will be able to drive the aesthetic of your brand.

Add Decorative lighting for brand identity

With both accent and task lighting in place, it’s now time to consider if there is any lighting ‘holes’ within your retail space. Decorative lighting can take many forms. It can be installed on walls, in recessed niches, in window displays, on columns, at the entrance, and even over your checkout counter. The purpose of decorative lighting is to add flair, or in this case identity. The right piece in the right place can make your store memorable and communicate your brand. For example, if your retail space is a high end fashion store, you may consider a classy chandelier to provide not only task or ambient lighting but also convey your brand.

Using Ambient lighting to fill in gaps

By firstly considering your accent, task, and decorative fixtures you will ensure your entire space has the appropriate amount of light making sure your ambient light doesn’t overpower the other lighting. Ambient lighting fills in the lighting gaps between your other lighting techniques. By using ambient light to provide the final polish to the light design, your accent lighting can do its job and draw shoppers’ attention to products, task lighting can illuminate your workspace areas and the decorative lighting can push your brand image.

Mistakes to avoid with retail lighting

Firstly, you will want to consider your lighting colour. What’s the theme or feel of your store? Is it sleek and clean? Homey and rustic? Lighting colour can make or break that feel. Always factor in the colour of the light you’re going to use. If you have considered all other aspects of the light design it can still be pulled apart by the wrong lighting colour. Secondly, old, inefficient lighting technology will not only tear down the style of your store, but will well cost you a lot of money in energy, materials, and labor. Though older technology may save money initially, a lack of longevity will only end up being counter productive costing you to repair/replace. Furthermore modern technology such as LED technology uses considerably less energy than older technology such as halogen lamps. The less energy used the less electricity consumed and the smaller the bill for yourself. Third and finally, you should take the utmost care of your lighting fixtures. It’s imperative that lamps get changed out promptly and on schedule. Ballasts and power supplies also need rapid replacement when they begin to fail. Too many businesses struggle to keep up with this kind of maintenance, diminishing the initial investment they made in their lighting, which will cost more down the road while dampening visual appeal and efficiency.

What kind of projects we get involved in.

With our really flexible approach, we work on a wide range of projects from small one-room residential designs to multi million pound home designs. Other projects include large commercial developments to small religious buildings, restaurants and hotels.

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What makes us different?

Technical Knowledge and Expertise

Our technical knowledge and expertise is crucial to the success of our projects. With loading schedules, product specifications, wiring runs and all required technical information. We also offer bespoke training packages for architects, interior designers, specifiers electricians and many others in the industry allowing us to be at the forefront of lighting. We work with partners for example lighting control and home automation companies allowing you the options to implement digital signage and control within your spaces. We have a fully interactive demonstrative showroom allowing you to fully understand our products and what we do as a company.

We work both nationally and internationally. Contact us and start your project

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