“It's often challenging to find images online that convey some of the more creative or custom lighting effects that we'd like to show our clients. As designers, having the ability to paint with light allows us to provide concepts and solutions which may not have been possible before, due to lack of product or understanding the goal. Plus, it's fun and looks cool." - Seani Anderson, project designer

The lighting in a space determines its function, aesthetic appearance, wayfinding and the overall feel and ambience of a room. At AE Design, we aim to elevate and energize the spaces of our lives through integrated, thoughtful, and high-end design, and to begin any project, it’s critical to envision the elements that might impact the look and feel of a space.

Curious to find out how our design team creates the concepts that turn our client’s visions into reality? We invite you to take a peek behind the scenes with AE Design’s lighting design team and learn more about how we ‘Paint with Light.’

The Why Behind Our Designs

Like any designer, we put pen to paper to sketch out a space and visualize the concepts we want to see come to life. Through conceptual renderings and sketches, we’re able to compare and contrast lighting strategies. There are several core tenets that serve as the foundation behind our ‘Painting with Light’ sketching and design process: Functionality, Aesthetic Aspiration, Wayfinding and Safety. Here are the questions we ask ourselves before we even begin a sketch:

Functionality

Is the space providing what it’s meant for? Is the lighting providing the elements needed to have the function the space is meant for. For example, is the intimate coffee shop appearing to be warm if it's meant to be inviting and comfortable?

Aesthetic Aspiration

We first assess the goals of the client, what elements do they want to showcase with their space, what tone/mood do they want the lighting to evoke? It’s crucial to first understand where you want light to be, not necessarily starting by selecting fixtures that provide the solution.

Wayfinding and Safety

Does the light guide people throughout the space, attracting the eye to the details meant for focal attention? Is it bright enough to still align with life safety codes for egress from a building while maintaining the aesthetic and function the space is meant to portray?

Bringing Sketches to Life - A Step by Step Process

Our ideas behind our sketches and designs are sparked by our first connection with the client as we discuss their lighting and project goals. From there, we follow a step-by-step process to ultimately achieve their end goal.

Step 1: We always try to start with a blank canvas and try every possible solution, rather than going with our preconceived notions of what lighting strategies might look good based on what we might have used in the past. We want to make sure we use 'Painting with Light' as an iterative process. Since it is so quick to create these sketches, we can really exhaust all of the possible options and figure out not only what looks best to our eyes at the end of the process but accomplishes previously mentioned core tenets behind the larger sketching and design process.

Step 2: Establish a productive workstation and procure the best materials needed to illustrate the vision. When sketching, it is critical that designers focus on their techniques of utilizing smooth gradients and contrast, which allows us to use our knowledge about how light works with materials to guide the way while we sketch. The more realistic we can make our sketches, the better, as this will help us understand the most how the final product might look.

Step 3: We call this 'Painting with Light' because we are actually drawing a dark contrast where we want the light to be, and not drawing anything where we want darkness to be. As we apply light to the space, we highlight schematic design elements and gradients. Then, we invert the drawing in Photoshop. This is the most important concept for designers to understand while working with this technique.

Bottom line, we incorporate the client’s goals into our design plans, and present sketches that provide the best solutions to the space. This process of light application is customized to any and all clients and situations, depending on the space, environment and needs of the space.

Take a Page from Our Sketchbook

Now that you’ve taken a look behind the scenes of how AE Design composes light into spaces, here are our tips & tricks to get your design visions off the ground:

Evaluate your own space to create and understand the function and goal of the room.
Begin your design by envisioning where you anticipate or see the light being most prominent, rather than beginning with the fixtures that you would like to choose.
Ensure the space reflects the aesthetic aspiration you have.
When in doubt, take images or renderings of your space and begin painting with light.

If you ever struggle to visualize where you want the light to go in a space, our designers would be happy to help bring your vision to life. We’re here to aid in the creative process, from start to finish. Reach out to us at info@aedesign-inc.com - we’d love to connect!

'Painting with Light': How AE Design Illuminates Through Illustration