Wednesday 15 December 2010
Lighting, and its effects on human behaviour.
Design Studies Assignment 4
Source 1- Lighting: Its affects on people and spaces.
This article looks at the subject of lighting in design. The author, Delores Ginthner
breaks it down into a few key sections; explaining how lighting design is accomplished, giving us some situational examples and criteria to evaluate lighting, as well as how to manipulate lighting to create a desired atmosphere or impression.
She explains that for lighting design, we must go through a design process used by most designers, thinking in layers. Using layers becomes of particular use in the schematic phase of the design process where different areas of lighting design may take priority over others, these areas can be broken down into;
-Visual Task
-General Lighting/ Ambient lighting
-Visual Interest.
An example she gives us compares the lighting within a restaurant, to the lighting of a Hospital operation room, the restaurant will be more concerned with general Lighting and creating a certain ambience, whereas the hospital will need to be illuminated in a way that allows the staff to have a clear view of what they are working on. The designer/architect of the restaurant will still have to think about task lighting to allow people to circulate safely, but this may not be the priority .In the same way, lighting in the operation room will primarily be functional, but the designer will have also thought about secondary lighting, to allow for tasks to be carried out that require less concentration, such as cleaning the room.
Ginthner also informs us on our psychological response to light and how it affects our behaviour and habits, lighting designers must carefully consider, what reaction they wish to provoke in the user as well as any specific atmosphere they they wish to create.
Ginthner gives us a few examples, when it comes to navigating through a space we may struggle if there is not sufficient lighting where vertical meets horizontal, an example for this could be a hallway in a hospital, where if the light falling on the wall and floor where the same in value in hue, it would become a visual problem, making it hard for us to navigate easily.
Another example, taken from a study by Taylor and Sucov (1974) is that when given a choice people will move towards light, acting like moths. Lighting designers may choose to illuminate a certain space more than others to draw people towards it.
Designers can also use this concept to focus attention on a particular object by increasing the contrast between the illuminated surface and the surfaces surrounding it. An example of this in practice can be seen in many bars and nightclubs, where either the bar, or the wall behind it is illuminated to create a contrast with its surroundings and pull people towards it.
As a lighting designer working towards creating a specific atmosphere, there are a few general guidelines we may choose to follow, Ginthner breaks these up in terms of the impression we wish to make;
-Pleasant
-Public
-Spacious
-Relaxed
-Visually Clear
She explains simple ways in which we can create these impressions, for instance a pleasant atmosphere can be achieved by utilising more wall lighting as opposed to ceiling lights, as well as breaking up the lighting in the room. Public spaces on the other hand would require the opposite with a uniform distribution of light, and more ceiling lights.
Using these basic guidelines the designer can use lighting along side form to tailor a space towards its intended function whether it is a large brightly lit public space or a more subtle, enclosed private space.
Source 2 - Lighting, Colour and Human response.
In this book Faber Birren explores the world of colour and light.
He analyses the visual, emotional, psychic and biological effects that colour and light have on humans as well as animals and how we can use it to heal the body and calm the mind. For the purposes of my research I am going to focus mainly on his investigation into light, but will also touch on the subject of coloured light and how it effects us.
The first investigation on light, looks at how much light affects our growth and well being.
“Light is ubiquitous, it can be manipulated , and is not entirely benign”
Above, Birren quotes Dr. Thomas R.C Sisson and explains that visible light penetrates human and animal muscle and tissue, a lot deeper that previously thought. An example of this can be seen in the study Endocrinology (72:962, 1963) where researchers concluded that “environmental light can penetrate the mammalian skull in sufficient amount to activate photoelectric cells imbedded in the brain tissue”
Birren states that natural light is essential to us, if we wish to lead a normal healthy life. But just being exposed to light is not enough to maintain our health and well being, we need to be involved in the rhythms of light and dark.
If regulated exposure to light is not achieved, and either exposure to light or dark is prolonged, it may have strange effects on us. An example of this can be seen among Eskimo men and women, where lack of light will cause women to stop menstruating and will dramatically reduce the libido of men. As this effect is apparent not just in Eskimo men and women, but to anyone ,Birren concludes that lack of light can lead to a natural form of human hibernation.
It is a well known fact that colour can have temporary psychological and physiological effects on us, the effects change as we move through the colour spectrum, these effects can be noticed;
Red- will raise blood pressure, pulse rate, respiration, perspiration and excite brain waves.
Green - effects are more or less neutral
Blue - lower blood pressure ,pulse rate and perspiration and brainwaves start to decline.
Orange and yellow- similar to effects of red, but less pronounced.
Purple and violet- similar to blue.
Birren explains that our reactions to colour are quite similar to that of mild stimulants, such as coffee, alcohol or tobacco. we are up- stimulated and excited for a short period of time and then down again. For designers a functional use of colour could be to use a combination of colours to keep our responses alert. An example of this can be seen in mental institutes where a mixture of colour is used to keep patients responses active and to avoid emotional monotony.
Both of the sources I have used in this short investigation I have found very informative, The article written by Delores Ginthner gives us a basic overall view of how to create certain effects through lighting as well as giving us some examples of how to do achieve these effects. I feel this article is aimed towards the more conventional designer, who is wanting to use tried and tested methods to replicate an atmosphere that already exists, such as that of a restaurant or Shopping mall. My second source, extracts from Faber Birrens book, analyses the subject of Light in more depth, drawing on research from a variety of different areas, giving us a much broader perspective on the subject, allowing the reader to come up with lighting ideas that may be more offbeat and unique.
Delores Ginthner. Lighting: Its affect on people and spaces. Implications. vol 2 (2), p1-p5.
Faber Birren (1978). Color and Human Response. Canada: John Wiley and sons. p20- P51.
Source 1- Lighting: Its affects on people and spaces.
This article looks at the subject of lighting in design. The author, Delores Ginthner
breaks it down into a few key sections; explaining how lighting design is accomplished, giving us some situational examples and criteria to evaluate lighting, as well as how to manipulate lighting to create a desired atmosphere or impression.
She explains that for lighting design, we must go through a design process used by most designers, thinking in layers. Using layers becomes of particular use in the schematic phase of the design process where different areas of lighting design may take priority over others, these areas can be broken down into;
-Visual Task
-General Lighting/ Ambient lighting
-Visual Interest.
An example she gives us compares the lighting within a restaurant, to the lighting of a Hospital operation room, the restaurant will be more concerned with general Lighting and creating a certain ambience, whereas the hospital will need to be illuminated in a way that allows the staff to have a clear view of what they are working on. The designer/architect of the restaurant will still have to think about task lighting to allow people to circulate safely, but this may not be the priority .In the same way, lighting in the operation room will primarily be functional, but the designer will have also thought about secondary lighting, to allow for tasks to be carried out that require less concentration, such as cleaning the room.
Ginthner also informs us on our psychological response to light and how it affects our behaviour and habits, lighting designers must carefully consider, what reaction they wish to provoke in the user as well as any specific atmosphere they they wish to create.
Ginthner gives us a few examples, when it comes to navigating through a space we may struggle if there is not sufficient lighting where vertical meets horizontal, an example for this could be a hallway in a hospital, where if the light falling on the wall and floor where the same in value in hue, it would become a visual problem, making it hard for us to navigate easily.
Another example, taken from a study by Taylor and Sucov (1974) is that when given a choice people will move towards light, acting like moths. Lighting designers may choose to illuminate a certain space more than others to draw people towards it.
Designers can also use this concept to focus attention on a particular object by increasing the contrast between the illuminated surface and the surfaces surrounding it. An example of this in practice can be seen in many bars and nightclubs, where either the bar, or the wall behind it is illuminated to create a contrast with its surroundings and pull people towards it.
As a lighting designer working towards creating a specific atmosphere, there are a few general guidelines we may choose to follow, Ginthner breaks these up in terms of the impression we wish to make;
-Pleasant
-Public
-Spacious
-Relaxed
-Visually Clear
She explains simple ways in which we can create these impressions, for instance a pleasant atmosphere can be achieved by utilising more wall lighting as opposed to ceiling lights, as well as breaking up the lighting in the room. Public spaces on the other hand would require the opposite with a uniform distribution of light, and more ceiling lights.
Using these basic guidelines the designer can use lighting along side form to tailor a space towards its intended function whether it is a large brightly lit public space or a more subtle, enclosed private space.
Source 2 - Lighting, Colour and Human response.
In this book Faber Birren explores the world of colour and light.
He analyses the visual, emotional, psychic and biological effects that colour and light have on humans as well as animals and how we can use it to heal the body and calm the mind. For the purposes of my research I am going to focus mainly on his investigation into light, but will also touch on the subject of coloured light and how it effects us.
The first investigation on light, looks at how much light affects our growth and well being.
“Light is ubiquitous, it can be manipulated , and is not entirely benign”
Above, Birren quotes Dr. Thomas R.C Sisson and explains that visible light penetrates human and animal muscle and tissue, a lot deeper that previously thought. An example of this can be seen in the study Endocrinology (72:962, 1963) where researchers concluded that “environmental light can penetrate the mammalian skull in sufficient amount to activate photoelectric cells imbedded in the brain tissue”
Birren states that natural light is essential to us, if we wish to lead a normal healthy life. But just being exposed to light is not enough to maintain our health and well being, we need to be involved in the rhythms of light and dark.
If regulated exposure to light is not achieved, and either exposure to light or dark is prolonged, it may have strange effects on us. An example of this can be seen among Eskimo men and women, where lack of light will cause women to stop menstruating and will dramatically reduce the libido of men. As this effect is apparent not just in Eskimo men and women, but to anyone ,Birren concludes that lack of light can lead to a natural form of human hibernation.
It is a well known fact that colour can have temporary psychological and physiological effects on us, the effects change as we move through the colour spectrum, these effects can be noticed;
Red- will raise blood pressure, pulse rate, respiration, perspiration and excite brain waves.
Green - effects are more or less neutral
Blue - lower blood pressure ,pulse rate and perspiration and brainwaves start to decline.
Orange and yellow- similar to effects of red, but less pronounced.
Purple and violet- similar to blue.
Birren explains that our reactions to colour are quite similar to that of mild stimulants, such as coffee, alcohol or tobacco. we are up- stimulated and excited for a short period of time and then down again. For designers a functional use of colour could be to use a combination of colours to keep our responses alert. An example of this can be seen in mental institutes where a mixture of colour is used to keep patients responses active and to avoid emotional monotony.
Both of the sources I have used in this short investigation I have found very informative, The article written by Delores Ginthner gives us a basic overall view of how to create certain effects through lighting as well as giving us some examples of how to do achieve these effects. I feel this article is aimed towards the more conventional designer, who is wanting to use tried and tested methods to replicate an atmosphere that already exists, such as that of a restaurant or Shopping mall. My second source, extracts from Faber Birrens book, analyses the subject of Light in more depth, drawing on research from a variety of different areas, giving us a much broader perspective on the subject, allowing the reader to come up with lighting ideas that may be more offbeat and unique.
Delores Ginthner. Lighting: Its affect on people and spaces. Implications. vol 2 (2), p1-p5.
Faber Birren (1978). Color and Human Response. Canada: John Wiley and sons. p20- P51.
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