A Complete guide to hotel lighting design

A Guide to Key Elements of Lighting Design

Lighting design plays a vital role in magnifying the beauty of an interior design of a space and when it comes to hotels— it is inevitable! As the hotels are classic service providers, they need a lighting atmosphere to meet guests’ needs. Lighting design helps illuminate key areas and makes the spaces appear wider. You can match the color and temperature of lighting to your overall hotel design and décor. Lighting design defines multiple spaces, highlights focal points, and creates a soothing and welcoming environment. A lighting design must be soothing enough to create a sense of luxury and comfort complying with the values of a trustworthy hotel brand must offer. To achieve this goal, it is required to pay due consideration to the criteria of contemporary lighting design, especially “custom lighting”. ?In a perfect custom lighting design, something that comes first is the emotional quality. The lighting designers are specialists in creating such a lighting atmosphere and aesthetic that offer an exciting experience. There are certain key points of a perfect custom lighting design. A top-notch lighting design must strike a balance between basic lighting quantities: luminous intensity, luminous flux, luminance, and illuminance.

While planning a perfect hotel design, there are certain factors that must be given due consideration and hotel lighting design is something that creates a magnifying effect. ?Let’s scroll down to know more about key points in lighting design!

Lighting Design Principles to Consider while planning!

Let’s begin with the essentials of planning a hotel lobby lighting design. The first aspect in planning the right hotel lighting design is to determine the space where the lighting is going to be used. Once you know that it is a hotel lighting design, you would dig down into more details such as listing the area where you want that the lighting plan would cover. You can then decide on the quantity of light, intensity, color quality, temperature, brightness, and direction of lighting. You can create a simple hotel lighting design in a way to spread sophistication across the entire hotel arena. You will know where to illuminate and where to add glare. Where moody lighting will do and where task lighting may serve to create an emphasis.

Determine the Goals of your Custom Lighting Design

The first step in producing the right custom lighting design is to determine the objectives of hotel lobby lighting. Once you know the goals of hotel lobby lighting design, it will be easy for you to communicate them to your lighting designer. With this, you can take your lighting design company to the level of perception to project the quality standards of your hotel brand. The lighting designer can then determine the quantity of light, color quality, brightness, and direction.

There are certain aspects that you must consider while designing an impressive hotel lobby design. Traditionally, a hotel lobby must provide a calming sitting area, a welcoming reception, a facility to enjoy welcome drinks and charge portable devices like phones and laptops, or a waiting space with a relaxing environment. But if you want to strike a difference, you must design a hotel lobby that goes above and beyond. Therefore, while determining the objectives of your hotel lobby lighting design. You must be clear about three basic things:

• Determine how it will be used.
• Identify, “who will be using it?”
• Know a clear “why.”

It will help you and your lighting designers in preparing an appealing custom lighting design for your hotel lobby.

Focus on the Intensity of Light

The intensity of light is critical in planning a soothing lighting plan and so it must be considered while planning a hotel lighting design. You must know where you require more light, where to dim it, and where it has to be dark or light. The lighting is categorized into three types on the basis of intensity to smartly choose the appropriate one according to the needs of the lighting design.

Here you go with the types of lighting design to choose the right one!

Types of Lighting Used in a Lighting Design

There are three basic types of lighting intensity used in any lighting design. A combination of three of these lighting types works best to create a flawless lighting design. The blend of these lights allows you to create layering within your lighting design that ultimately adds a designer touch to your indoor or outdoor space:

Ambient lighting:

Ambient lighting offers overall illumination to a space. It is the primary source of lighting in a room that also adds depth and warmth to a space. Ambient lighting must be utilized in a balanced glare considering the area of space to install it. Ambient lighting includes basic lighting fixtures such as wall or ceiling lighting fixtures, huge pendant lights, recessed lights, track lights, or chandeliers. Ambient lighting also plays a visible role in the lighting design of a hotel just as it does in any other residential or non-residential space. Be it the hotel lobby, guest rooms, kitchens, bathrooms, or the outdoors; ambient lighting runs the show.

Task lighting:

Task lighting is aimed at providing added or targeted illumination to the spaces where everyday activities take place. Task lighting offers increased light for specific tasks in a space that may already have a layer of ambient light. It ensures accuracy in the tasks that require more focus. Such as, if you are reading a book in a room, you would need extra light to skim through the lines easily. Similarly, anyone sewing or cooking would also need extra light to complete their task easily. This is where task lights work best by providing focused lights. These lights are also used to serve as a layer of décor within the basic lighting design.

You would find task lighting in the hotel lighting design be it in the lobby, guest rooms, or any other space of it. In a hotel lobby, task lighting can be seen at the reception to facilitate the work desk of staff over there. In the same lobby, you can find task lighting in the sitting area for guests where they can sit back, relax, and read their favorite magazines.

Task lights are installed in a way that minimizes shadows and improves focus. Task lighting fixtures are positioned in such a way that prevents glare. The fixture of task lights can be switched separately from ambient lights of space to utilize according to the need.? Task lighting includes desk lamps, under-cabinet lights, wall-mounted lamps, floor lamps, plug-in table lamps, ceiling-down lighters, and more.

Mood or accent lighting:

Accent lighting or mood lighting is used to highlight the architectural features and decorative objects in a specific place. It is often used to draw attention to a spectacular piece of wall art, sculptures, cabinets, or any architectural detailing. Accent lights can be used in a definite proportion to enhance the beauty of certain objects or décor items. A gentle touch of accent lights can also boost the look of the wall paneling. These lights smoothly blend into the basic lighting plan of a space to make it more alluring. Accents lighting is used both in residential and non-residential spaces. These lights are used in hotels, office spaces, and other areas as a layer complementing the overall lighting plan. Moody lights include lighting on directional spots on tracks, low-level chandeliers, and dimmed and hidden LED strips.

Brightness and Distribution of Light

While planning the hotel lobby lighting design, you must consider the fact that natural light will intervene in your artificial lighting plan. Sunlight can sink through the windows to cause glare and an imbalance of brightness of the light. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the solution to adjust the tint and prevent glare. Moreover, there must be a balance between the distribution of ambient, task, or accent lights to create an aesthetically appealing hotel lighting design.

Prevent Glare to Create a Gentle Atmosphere

Glare is basically caused when the high brightness values of the luminaries are used in any space. Glares can be direct or reflective. Direct glare is the flow of light from its source to the surroundings, in high contrast. Sunlight and lamps can also cause direct glare. Direct glare can be easily avoided to create a warm and calming atmosphere within the hotel lobby. However, it is a bit tricky to tackle the reflective glare as it is caused by the items we install in the interior design of a space. It occurs when the light sources reflect through the glossy floors and walls, mirror décor, and decorative accessories with crystal. The diffusion of the light sources and the surface colors must be designed in a way to minimize this reflective glare. You can use matte walls to prevent reflection and indirect glare in a hotel lobby design. You can also use indirect lighting to avoid reflections and so glare. Both the direct and reflective glares can be avoided to bearable levels by using stylish yet luxurious louvers, baffles in luminaires, or by choosing more suitable luminaires.

The intensity of lights has the potential to create an illusion within a hotel lighting design. Just like the accent lights on the walls make the room appear brighter. The temperature of lighting is the actual factor behind creating that illusion of width and height. It works as a tool to highlight to overshadow any object or area within a hotel design.

Determine the Color Temperature of Lighting

Lighting temperature is decisive in magnifying the décor of a space. The temperature of the lighting ranges from cool to warm. Cool lighting is used to enhance focus and productivity, and create an active environment. While the warm lighting is soothing and relaxing.

The color of light is usually considered white. But the color temperature of lighting has something more to offer than that. ?The color temperature of light can be measured on the scale; Kelvin. Kelvin measures the black body radiation. It divides the colors of the spectrum into three categories warm, neutral, and cool colors with a range of Kelvin denoted to each. Warm colors are lower in temperature and include reddish hues. Neutral colors are moderate in temperature. The cool colors include the hues of blue and violet and are higher in temperature. The color temperature ranges are listed below:

• Warm Colors: 2700K to 3500K.
• Neutral Colors: Around 4000K.
• Cool Colors: Above 4700K.

The categories of color temperatures have different effects on people, says the Color Theory. It denotes that the colors of the spectrum have the potential to leave physiological effects on people. Certain colors have the power to uplift the mood of a person just by injecting excitement and thrill into them at the glance of the very space. While other colors are soothing enough to help them fall a peaceful sleep. A combination of lighting can simply increase the impact of these color temperatures.

The warm colors create a cozy feel and when it is used with warm lighting it makes people consume more food in the restaurants. The warm colors are also used in bedrooms, hotel guest rooms, or the hotel’s lobby to create a charming and welcoming feel. On the other hand, cool color temperature is used in areas like offices, commercial spaces, outdoors, or some areas of the hotel, like the lobby, outdoor, and in the elevator or staircases. Cool lights are also used as task lights as they mimic natural daylight and help gain more focus. It is also used in the hotel lobby mainly in the reception. Cool lights help increase productivity, and serotonin levels of employees and enhance the efficiency of the entire workforce.

Variety in Lighting: Use Diffused Vs. Directional lighting

An appealing hotel lighting design is a blend of different variety of lights, color temperatures, shapes, angles, designs, and directions. It must have layers of lighting designs to add flavor to the entire layout of a space. There must be a balanced use of diffused and directional lighting to create harmony within the lighting design.

?Hotel Lobby Designs

A hotel lobby is a space that works as a staging area for the entire hotel facility. It has the potential to create the guest’s first impression and so its design must be sound enough to exceed the guests’ expectations. It is the symbol of the quality of experience that the hotel is going to deliver. An exciting hotel lobby design includes excellent interiors, lavish furnishing, splendid wall décor, fascinating decorative pieces, mesmerizing indoor plants, classy flooring, and on top of all, a flawless yet captivating lighting design. A controlled touch of sparkle, glitter effects, or the use of grazing and washing of surfaces can be done to create an astounding atmosphere within the hotel design. You must choose warm and soft lighting temperatures for the hotel lobby to create a warm and welcoming feel.