david k warfel
Introducing a second new series for 2025 focused on practical advice for designers. Today I start a second new series for the year that I hope will make a strong compliment to the first. Last week I started the Simple Gift of Light series as a place to explore several key benefits of light in... Continue Reading →
Introduction to a new series for 2025...and beyond? Light, to me, is the first divine gift of the universe. In the middle of a career centered on light, I have more questions than answers, despite knowing more than ever before. Why, for example, do so many people suffer from light that hurts as much as... Continue Reading →
We recently lost a potential client to a manufacturer who offered “free” lighting design services (so long as you purchased fixtures from them, of course, which have the cost of service buried into the sale price). My first reaction was indignation but, as is often the case, a closer look revealed a much more nuanced... Continue Reading →
Coffee, when poured into a mug and consumed, delivers a strongly desired boost of energy through caffeine. The same coffee, when poured onto the laptop, can be ruinous. The question of usefulness or harmfulness, applied to coffee, is answered by the use. The same can be true for light, especially outside. But indulge me a... Continue Reading →
Not all that is new in lighting is much better. One of the newest trends in architectural and residential lighting is tubes of light about 1” in diameter. When I started my career a rather good number of years ago, we called these T8 Fluorescent Tubes, and they were universally loathed for their institutional feel.... Continue Reading →
Lately I have heard others describe my work and the work of my company as “not as good” as some others. They are right. That is my goal. I suspect that the average citizen, when asked to describe the work of an architect, might wander into descriptions of skyscrapers and art museums. Frank Gehry, Zaha... Continue Reading →
*Why TASK, AMBIENT, and ACCENT should retire and make room for the next generation. We all know people who stayed in positions of authority a little too long, folks who maybe served well in their prime but lately just seem to be preventing those with ideas and energy and enthusiasm from making much-needed positive changes.... Continue Reading →
It is time to retire your light switches and dimmers…if you want to get the full benefits of good light back into your life. Get them back? Yes, you and I lost out on natural light’s benefits when our ancestors decided houses were better than tents and offices were better than fields. They moved indoors,... Continue Reading →
And...it's a wrap. Two full years of writing for the residential focus in designing lighting comes to a conclusion with this month's Simplify, Simplify article. This is a beautiful magazine full of great projects and important voices, and it has been a huge honor to be a part of it. I hope to return someday,... Continue Reading →
A few weeks ago I got to geek out a bit with some lighting colleagues during dinner, a rare treat for someone who works mostly remotely. My Zoom conversations are almost always task-oriented, designed to accomplish something and then move on to the next one, and that makes unscripted, unmeasured, non-billable communication somewhat unusual- and... Continue Reading →
the language of light 