david k warfel
My fourth article for DESIGNING LIGHTING magazine continues my exploration into the the future of lighting control, a future that must look beyond the venerable dimmer and finicky proprietary control systems. Getting the most out of light needs to be simple to install and even easier to use, compatible across platforms and long-lasting. You know,... Continue Reading →
Over the last decade or so, our family has taken a number of camping trips to some of the darkest places in the United States. What was the first lesson we taught our children about nighttime in the campground? Never shine your flashlight in someone else’s face. What is the first thing that greets our... Continue Reading →
I confess that sketching for the Don't/Do This series is as fun as it is challenging. While this series allows me much greater freedom than last year's 1THING series, that freedom comes packaged with a desire to "say it all" in a single room, a single sketch, or a single post. And if I know... Continue Reading →
In the beginning… I occasionally begin conference presentations or lectures with a brief look at the historic importance of light to our ancestors. I might mention ancient Egyptian worship of the sun-god Ra, tell stories of Helios riding his chariot into the sky to start the day as a Greek Titan, or quoting “God is... Continue Reading →
Introducing three new blog series has gone on so long that I feel the year will be over before I get to write much helpful content. We'll see if I have the patience to stick this out, or if I end up reverting to more practical discussions.... As I push within shouting distance of fifty... Continue Reading →
Light can help us. And we need help. Every so often I need to take a break from reading the news lest my outlook turn irreversibly grim. (Weird, I just used “lest” in a sentence.) Even forgetting climate disasters, wars, and political messes is not enough to turn the tide of news positive. We- humans-... Continue Reading →
Drumroll, please! Okay, that was unnecessary, but I do feel like celebrating this first post in my 2023 DON'T/DO THIS series. I did a run of these a few years back that were featured on Houzz.com, but I’m older, wiser, and…well, at least older. So here I go again, revisiting, revising, expanding, and enhancing my... Continue Reading →
I am very, very excited about my writing plans for this blog in the year ahead. The excitement for this coming year began more than twelve months ago when I set a plan for my 2022 posts. I thoroughly enjoyed blogging in 2022. For the first time, my writing was guided by a year-long plan... Continue Reading →
'Tis the season...for lots and lots of darkness in the upper Midwest. Today there are exactly nine hours between sunrise and sunset, leaving fifteen in the dark. This is the season, in other words, for plug-in solutions to add a little light to my life. And that makes for a fitting end to my 2022... Continue Reading →
The third article in my series on Lighting Hope is out in Designing Lighting! I learned a few things writing this article about the future of power that surprised me, particularly that my focus on low voltage lighting may be suitable for the near future...but there could be something even more revolutionary ahead. Digital power... Continue Reading →
the language of light 