Dieuwertje Vogt – Lighting design for visually impaired people
Today’s society is focused on human sight and perception. But what happens when you are not able to see (anymore)? What would you still experience of the sight-oriented world around you? And how can light influence such a situation?
The paper addresses these questions and shows what the world of the visually impaired “looks like” and what we, as lighting designers, should consider when designing for this target group. The most important aspect is contrast: contrast between colours, materials and light levels. By implementing this in a different way from how we usually proceed we can expand our design strategies and enhance the environment of visually impaired people. In the end, the research is not about a new way of designing, but about another way of seeing. Seeing the importance and influence of light in the world of the visually impaired.
Divera Anna Marijke (Dieuwertje) Vogt graduated from ArtEZ University of the Arts Zwolle, the Netherlands, with a Bachelor in Interior Design in 2016. She gained a Pre-master in Building Technology in 2015, before starting her Master in Lighting Design at Wismar University of Applied Sciences, where she graduated in 2018. During her studies, she gained work experience as an Interior Designer and Lighting Design intern at Flos in Amsterdam, Kleur Enzo!, Hollandse Nieuwe Concepts & Design, and Reflexion AG.
In July 2018, she has started working for Beersnielsen lichtontwerpers as a Junior Lighting Designer.
Emma Beadle – Children’s utopian visions of the city: co-designing lighting masterplans through play and exploration
Should children be taught about light and lighting design, and what benefits will this have on our industry? – If so, how can this be achieved?
This study establishes that children should receive an education in lighting design to develop design thinking and problem-solving skills that enhance personal development. It also identifies how children and adults alike need to become more aware of a career in lighting to ensure the longevity of the industry.
Children have been used in design projects, in a process called children’s co-design. This study took traditional children’s co-design methods and university-level lighting methods and adapted them to suit the needs of the child for the children’s lighting workshops. Within the lighting workshops was a case study, where I worked with the children to re-design urban third spaces in the west of Edinburgh, under the topic of Utopia. The workshops were a stepping stone to test the children’s designs and ideas against those of adults, to demonstrate how creatively children can think, and how this can be beneficial for certain lighting projects. The project developed through the Lighting Club had two objectives: to test which children’s co-design methods worked best with children and to work with the children to co-design a ‘Tool-kit of Light’. The creation of this Tool-kit was achieved with my design partners (the children) in the workshops. The Tool-Kit allows other children to learn and play with light anywhere, and the methods used to create the Tool-Kit can be employed by other lighting designers to develop more child-focused workshops in lighting, either within schools or other Lighting Clubs.
Emma Beadle recently joined the WSP Architectural Lighting team, having completed both her Undergraduate and Master’s degrees in Interior and Spatial Design, and Lighting Design at Edinburgh Napier University. Her strong interest in lighting design stems from a lighting module in her Undergraduate degree which led her to complete her studies with a Lighting Master’s.
During the end of her Master’s, Emma had the opportunity to take up an internship at Buro Happold Engineering in Edinburgh where she was able to apply the skills she had acquired at University whilst also gaining new skills and knowledge of software. During this internship, Emma worked on both interior and exterior projects in a museum, a stadium, concourses, a plaza, and landscaping lighting projects.
Valeria Bencardino – Capturing the lost pattern of natural light and shadows inside the museum
Curating natural light in the museum is one of the biggest problems designers need to deal with and forms the basis for the “Capturing the lost pattern of natural light and shadows inside the museum” project. Taking the museum as its primary space, the project considers the importance of shadows in the creation and experience of three-dimensional objects. The research project focuses on the Grand Gallery inside the National Museum of Scotland, but can be adapted to similar spaces or structures. To solve the issue of direct sunlight inside cultural buildings, rectangular translucent panels were designed on a virtual grid and suspended from the rooftop. The textured panels are responsive to the angle and intensity of the sun’s rays and work as a solar device to deal with the complex system of the sun’s path. “Capturing the lost pattern of natural light and shadows inside the museum” literally catches shadows over time and the seasons, lifting them from the surfaces of the museum. By diffusing natural light, sensitive objects can remain in the gallery and people can enjoy the art and movement of shadow. Moreover, during the night a series of spotlights and projectors light up panels through a sequence of colours, generating new compositions of shadows.
Valeria Bencardino studied Architecture at La Sapienza University in Rome from 2007 to 2015 and passed the State Exam of Architects for Architects in Italy in September 2015. She worked for WireframLab Architecture & Graphics and A.M.G. Luxury Fabrics & Interior Design before embarking on her Master in Lighting Design at Edinburgh Napier University from 2017 to 2018. Valeria also ran her own studio StB studioBencardino Architecture and Forensic Engineering, but recently joined LightMedium as a full-time Lighting Designer.
