david k warfel
Experts tell me I should consider lighting as "the jewelry of the home." This has always bothered me instinctually, but it wasn't until a few days ago that I understood why. Jewelry is useless. Wait, wait, I am not advocating that we give up jewelry on our bodies and in our homes. I happen to... Continue Reading →
It is late at night- too late- and I am weary from a solid stretch of too much work and not enough rest. It feels too familiar. When I am this tired, I tend to ruminate on my purpose in the world. Recently, I have come to believe that my purpose in my professional life... Continue Reading →
We used to have a better language for light, but lately we stick to words like LED, lumens, and color temperature. Necessary, perhaps, but not particularly inspiring. In history, we used words like Helios, Prometheus, Zeus, and Ra that belied our dependence on light. We organized our temples, our festivals, our stonehenges around light. We wrote... Continue Reading →
"Do we really need all those lights?" If you ask me to help lay out lighting for your living room (or kitchen, or bedroom, or bathroom...), the probability of me increasing the quantity of light fixtures is about a million to one. Increasing the quantity of lights does not mean there will be more light,... Continue Reading →
Please note that I am not a doctor, nor a lighting researcher. I am a designer trying to understand how the gift of light works on our mind and bodies. Light will help you heal faster! Light will improve your test scores! Light will reduce the symptoms of Alzheimer’s and Dementia! Light will help you relax... Continue Reading →
Author's note: I think of myself as a strange hybrid of wannabe tree-hugging liberal and stumbling follower of Jesus. From time to time you may see one or more of my values and beliefs come to the surface in my blog, such as in this post. Yet the only "religion" I will push on this... Continue Reading →
Professional lighting designers use different terms like task, ambient, and accent light when describing what they do. And they may not always talk about storytelling, but it is embedded in their work none-the-less. When I’m working with a client who is converting an old brick warehouse into a frozen yogurt shop, I might suggest neon... Continue Reading →
Imagine yourself in a windowless, featureless room, like an exam room at the hospital. There is a light switch on the wall that turns on the overhead fluorescent fixtures. You can have bright white light or pitch dark at the flick of a switch. And those are your only two choices. So most of the... Continue Reading →
Once you have light for doing and light for knowing, it’s time to think about light for feeling. Can light impact how you feel? Imagine yourself driving a car. Suddenly, you see flashing red and blue lights coming from behind you. Your heartrate rises, your brain goes to high alert, and you reach a state... Continue Reading →
