USING LIGHT TO DEFINE AESTHETIC AND FINDING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LIGHT AND PEOPLE’S COMFORT, FEELING, AND MOOD

Posted: August 27th, 2021

USING LIGHT TO DEFINE AESTHETIC AND FINDING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LIGHT AND PEOPLE’S COMFORT, FEELING, AND MOOD

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Introduction to Light

Architectural lighting has the potential to influence the well-being of users in terms of mood and feeling. Specifically, lighting is essential in defining interior space aesthetics by creating people’s psychological relationship with comfort. As much as natural daylight affects people’s psychological and physiological perspectivesbetter, light choices tend to impact one’s perception of space negatively.Notably, the wrong choice of lighting design might occlude the users’ performance in interior space. Hence, throughout a user’s interior space experience, lighting predominantly affects mood-setting by creating a positive psychological association with one’s comfort.

History of Light

Most importantly, light is continually regarded as a critical aspect of interior design for all kinds of structures, only because it helps define space’s functionality. Therefore, varied elements of light can be applied in architectural interior space with intentions to improve the space while setting the mood and complimenting furniture, color patterns, and artwork[1]. The abundance of natural light makes architectural lighting aspects of being held in high considerations among interior designers. Moreover, architects need to undertake light temperature, locations, and levels of light as a measure of considering design choices. Indeed, such lighting choices tend to affect significantly the building environment, energy efficiency, and functionality[2]. Similarly, architectural light considerations seem more practical if they help both the visitors and occupants connect with the built environment in a more instinctual approach. With light as the soul of architecture design, it enables people to see, identifies their location, and understand clearly the things that surround the interior built environment[3]. Thus, light creates a psychological relationship between the interior space and users by influencing how a person feels about and views the light models.

While enhancing the visual representation of the interior space, lighting is critical in defining a person’s perception of the physical world. For example, light is essential in assisting an individual to express what they feel about their surroundings. Of course, it involves expressing one’s feelings without the use of the eyes[4]. Since natural light is useful in architectural interior space, its integration with artificial light seems more useful in creating a well-balanced physiological association. Many interior space designs have managed to apply artificial light without depending entirely on natural light. Therefore, the users of such design spaces that do not employ natural light have come to appreciate and value the advantages attached to using varied electric colors to suit their moods and feelings. Nonetheless, a lot of modern architectural space designs focus on the need to increase the use of natural light for the reason that it creates harmony between exterior and interior spaces[5]. Equally, it creates harmony between humans and nature, ensuring that people derive aesthetic value from their immediate built environment. For example, the interior space designers reason that natural light and better color patterns and schemes would add beauty to architectural space. Others have thought that this kind of light positively impacts the working dynamics of people’s minds, hence together with their experiences.

Specific Aspects of Relevance to Interior Design

The Use of Lighting to Define Aesthetic

Interior space designers should be conscious regarding the choice of color of light that would blend suitably. Likewise, such a decision does not have to be accidental since it would not impact the value of aesthetics. Moreover, the interior space needs to have a combination of colors of lighting, which matches skillfully and consistently throughout to form an articulate whole[6].However, a mistake may arise in interior space through a wrong selection of color temperament of light. Similarly, light sources’ unintended application might result in varying shades of colors in a single room. Notably, such a wrong choice of light would create an impression of imbalance among the users, leading to a negative discernment of an interior space[7]. Therefore, the best light that individuals might perceive suitably well is warm white because it has more than a 3,000K color temperature. For example, light having a higher color temperature brings about colder shades of white, which are regularly applied in bathrooms. Notably, the choice of such colors of light with a higher temperature creates a perception of sterility and minimalism in the users’ minds[8]. Consequently, it is not easy to impact a lasting impression on the factors that influence lighting colors since either an object or owner of a place tends to dictate the decision on types of lighting colors.

Apart from that, the design of aesthetic lighting occurs in line with the interior space’s intended purpose and functionality. In this case, deciding on how the general lighting needs to look like is significantly essential[9]. The reason is that the chosen color of lighting should have the capacity to illuminate the whole room evenly without creating imbalanced shades or shadows. For example, lighting that is evenly focused on the ceiling creates an amply high uniformity, especially in grandiose spaces. Also, this type of lighting is reinforced vis-à-vis substantially the application of ceiling suspended luminaries[10]. Therefore, having light sources that can distribute their beams widely is an added factor. Illustratively, the intensity with which lighting distributes across space is a parameter that influences the aesthetic perception. In this essence, one cannot generalize the non-uniformity of lighting across spaces as being unaesthetic because there are always uniformities of light spots[11].Creating aesthetics involves the need to select a better placement and direction of a beam angle. Therefore, this kind of choice would help lessen the luminance levels of unpleasant glare, leading to missed dissonance instances.         

The Use Lighting to Define Feelings and Mood

As much as many people do not emphasize how light tends to affect the mood, light has the proclivity to influence many people’s feelings based on the occasions. For example, a person might be feeling more creative on a sunny day because the light brightens one’s moods[12]. Therefore, it implies that light can effectively impact one’s emotions, either positively or negatively. Categorically, there are various ways in which light might impact emotions. First, bright lights can heighten emotions. Specifically, people tend to experience different emotions, either negative or positive, when they are subject to brighter lights. According to the research study conducted in 2014, it was established that people who sat in brightly lit spaces demonstrated high aggressiveness and were more attractive as compared to those women who got seated in dimly lit interior spaces[13]. Moreover, the research also established that most people who sat under brighter lights showed a higher preference for spicier chicken stew. Likewise, they seemed more sensitive to positive and negative wordings. Second, the exposure to blue light is presumed to cause people to feel more energetic and alert since it has a shorter wavelength, thus impacting people’s productivity differently. For example, it is considered that high energy blue light increases the mental cognitive task processes. Nonetheless, its exposure during the night time would limit the production of melatonin hormones, leading to prolonged catching of sleep[14].Unfortunately, too much exposure to blue lights that results from smartphones and laptops tends to increase impaired judgment and stress, leading to higher blood pressure. Besides, exposure to natural light from the sun’s radiation increases happiness, coupled with a person’s sense of well-being that further impacts sleep positively. Similarly, exposure to natural lights helps improve an individual’s health as a person obtains Vitamin D, useful for decreasing depression cases. Therefore, the combination of different lights seems useful in enhancing the study of light therapy to lessen stress and depression.

The Use of Lighting to Define Comfort

Visual comfort is an individual reaction towards the eminence and amount of light resulting from a specific interior space. Particularly, the impression of visual comfort entirely relies on the occupant’s ability to regulate the levels of light since too little or too much of light might result in visual discomfort[15]. Both too little and too much light can cause visual discomfort. Most importantly, variations in light levels coupled with a sharp contrast would impact stress and fatigue, leading to a permanent adaptation of one’s eye to varying light levels. Moreover, a person’s comfort relies heavily on multiple factors like exposition, light type, eye color, and age. Natural light is always associated with creating comfort for the users or occupants of interior spaces for the reason that the source of illumination makes one’s eye acclimate naturally[16]. Similarly, the use of natural light is presumed to impact the health and well-being of humans, including the increment of one’s alertness and patterns of sleep. Equally, such exposure to natural light tends to decrease the risks of depression. Therefore, the expression of lux based on illuminance revolves around the luminous powers that result from all directions towards a given point, where the undertaking of a task happens concurrently[17]. To positively impact comfort, the illuminance of light is calibrated at 500 lux to brighten the office desk evenly concerning daylight variability. The luminance is demonstrated in candela per square meter in line with diverse luminous intensities per unit area. Indeed, the emission or reflection of light brings about comfort by affecting one sensitivity and emotional sensations. Consequently, the determination of luminance is critical in influencing both light and glare contrasts, thus focusing centrally on an even distribution of light from a specified source.

Art or Design Precedents Related to Light

Before designing the best lighting systems, interior designers must concentrate on three lighting design principles, namely function, aesthetics, and energy efficiency. Regarding function as a design principle, there is a need for designers to identify and understand the functions of interior space in such a way that the application of light reinforces the intended use[18]. To fix task lighting, the requirements are that a direct light source should enhance a visible brightness in a specified locality. Indeed, this evident in workstations, where the provision of extra and focused lighting is essential. Notably, the task lighting is set to reduce one’s eye from straining, especially for individuals who have expressed challenges for vision[19]. For ambient lighting, it is regarded as the primary source of general lighting in an interior space because it softens shadows, thus reducing the glare. A majority of architectural interior space designs stop here since this source of light is relevant for a general use[20]. As task lighting, floodlighting is functional on a larger scale, where the high-intensity is beamed broadly for outdoor spaces to improve visibility at night.

Figure 1. The picture on design precedent of light[21]

Figure 2. Picture of design precedent of light[22]

            Concerning aesthetics as a design principle of light, many designers have recently understood the importance of maximizing both the psychological and physiological effects of space. In this similar logic, they do not intend to interfere with functionality. Instead, they apply varied strategies to develop high-end architectural interior spaces. Therefore, the use of wall washers is regarded as a better approach to showcase one’s environmental graphics vis-à-vis more concentrated light source[23]. Equally, pendant lights’ employment is relevant in emphasizing distinction and variety as a measure of offering instructional wording, especially at the reception counters in most distinguished conference tables. Also, designers are accustomed to using rope lighting to accentuate architectural elements of interior space. For example, implementing a ceiling cove at a reception table is attainable with this source of light. Furthermore, the application of backlighting is useful in reinforcing the value of aesthetics for the reason that it stresses art and graphics by helping a person’s eye to brighten light from behind the architectural objects[24]. Ideally, this kind of light source is invisible to one’s eye, but there is sharp brightness resurfacing behind the architectural specialties. Notably, it is possible that light’s color temperature dramatically affects a person’s emotions, coupled with characteristic behaviors. Warm colors tend to bring calmness, whereas cool colors enhance focus because these light types have varying wavelengths. As an example, Red or yellow-colored lights assist in creating a calm and relaxed mood. Thus, the choice of color temperature is useful in impacting varied brand ethos in interior spaces.

Figure 3. Picture of precedent design in Skyscape Chestnut Hill in Philadelphia[25]

Figure 4. Picture of precedent design in Skyscape Chestnut Hill in Philadelphia[26]

Regarding energy efficiency as light’s design principle, contemporary architects must employ sustainable lighting systems as a means of allowing more natural light from outside the built environment[27]. Notably, they have applied the following tactics as a way of emphasizing this design principle. Categorically, they harvest more natural light to help complement the ambient lighting level due to light’s health benefits. Moreover, they fit in skylights, solar-tracking mirrors, and light shelves to divert more daytime light into interior spaces. In another case, they may fit in adjustable window coverings to assist in reducing the glare, thus maintain a building’s cold and warm temperatures during winter and summer times[28]. With the implementation of LEDs and automatic lighting and motion sensors systems, architectural designers have managed to fit the design ideals of light, where sensors can either dim or intensify base on the quantity of natural daylighting. Consequently, the use of lighting in interior space is critical to meeting the three mentioned design principles.

Conclusion and Future Directions to Explore Lighting from a Design Perspective

Future advances in light simulation technology provide for the possibility of predicting performances of light. Of course, there is the potential to stimulate advances in light modeling through various computational systems. For example, architects have recently applied 3D modeling techniques to help explore further the light in interior spaces[29]. Notably, simple lighting simulators help demonstrate how the environment would like under varied design applications. Ideally, these simulation systems would help architects understand how light would realistically interrelate with other objects within each interior space. For example, there are simulation systems that mirror the rising and setting of the sun, thus providing architects with predictions on how the lighting system would operate at different phases[30]. With the accomplishment of tasks through the aid of simulation models, architects can utilize virtual reality (VR) to test the appearance of lighting from a personal perspective. Therefore, the use of VR creates a simple possibility for architects to identify imaginable defects within the lighting system[31]. In the end, it would be easy for visitors to envision the same experience that architects would have also done so.

More so, the application of the best technology at the fingertips of the architects would offer designers with the kind of self-determination that would help address functional objective whose strategies are sustainable [32]. Therefore, the access to such technology would make designers create interior spaces which could evoke positive emotional reactions, thus realizing the user’s overall well-being. Apart from that, more research study has delved into ambient intelligence intending to design architectural systems that mirror day-to-day’s environments. Remarkably, such intelligent systems are aimed at promoting the quality of people’s lives through the creation of an empathic technology, which can readily detect an affectionate state of an individual[33]. Undoubtedly, the application of empathic technology is destined to help manage the most vulnerable members of society’s livelihoods.

Overall, intelligent lighting solutions among the most vulnerable individuals entail creating enjoyable ambiances for them in care centers. This has been done by increasing the number of LED sources of light with the capability to miniaturize and integrate electronic sensors. Indeed, such a future direction in architectural design technology has evoked the need to automatically generate light of any color, intensity, and temperature that suits the specified interior spaces’ requirements. Alike, this has stressed the need to create unobtrusive luminaries useful for reconfiguring light based on the prompt-identified mood of a room. In general, both light and color are illustratively considered to affect one’s mood concerning either biological or psychological level. The application of short-wavelength light is presumed to impact the circadian rhythm. However, colored light has many meaningful associations since it helps influence the practical states of the occupants. Thus, different descriptionsof color light have implicit relationships with a person’s arousal levels.

Bibliography

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Alkhalidi, Abdul. “Future Directions in Interior Design Education.” 2010, http://www.scholarpractitionerjournals.com/article/future-directions-interior-design-education. Accessed 3 November 2020.

Ekirch, Roger, A. At Day’s Close – Night in Times Past. W.W. Norton & Company, 2006.

Grant, Kevin. “Ambient Lighting.” Katara Beach Club, Edinburg, 2019,http://litawards.com/winners/winner.php?id=2729&mode=win.Accessed 3 November 2020.

Grigoriou, Elina. Well-being in Interiors: Philosophy, Design, and Value in Practice. RIBA Publishing, 2019.

Holl, Steven. “University of Lowa School of Art.” 2016, https://www.archdaily.com/796941/visual-arts-building-at-the-university-of-iowa-steven-holl-architects. Accessed 3 November 2020.

Pozzi, Simone. “Designing the Future Cities: Trends and Issues from the Interaction Design Perspective.” Sprinkler Territory and Architecture, 2015.

Tanizacki, Jun’ichiro. “In Praise of Shadows.” Light and Aesthetics (in interiors), 1977, pp. 335-338.

Turrell, James. “Chestnut Hill skyspace in Philadelphia.” 21 November 2014.

Zagan, Wojciech, and Kowalska, Mariola. “The Aesthetics of lighting.” 2008.

Zubairy, Suhail. “A very brief history of light.” 2016, pp. 3-24.

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[1] Ekirch 123

[2]Zubairy 5

[3]Zubairy 5

[4]Zubairy 7

[5]Zubairy 9

[6]Tanizacki 336

[7]Tanizacki 337

[8]Tanizacki 337

[9]Zagan and Kowalska 4

[10]Zagan and Kowalska 5

[11]Zagan and Kowalska 6

[12]6 Ways Light can Affect Your Emotions” 1

[13]6 Ways Light can Affect Your Emotions” 1

[14]“6 Ways Light can Affect Your Emotions” 1

[15]Grigoriou 43

[16]Grigoriou 55

[17]Grigoriou 57

[18]Grant 11

[19]Grant 14

[20]Grant 15

[21]Holl 1

[22]Holl 1

[23]Holl 1

[24]Holl 1

[25]Turrell 1

[26]Turrell 1

[27]Turrell 1

[28]Turrell 1

[29]Alkhalidi 11

[30]Alkhalidi 11

[31]Alkhalidi 11

[32]Pozzi 1

[33]Pozzi 1