Bring yourself ready, it will be bright: light as a sales tool

Over the past years, the attitude towards artificial light has changed dramatically. Now, it performs not only a practical but also an aesthetic function. Proper external and internal lighting is an important sales tool that can increase the economic and visual appeal of a commercial property by 20-30%. At the same time, high-quality lighting equipment serves for a long time and consumes a minimum of electricity. The founder of the Svet Expert company tells how to use artificial light with benefit.

Start early. A forward-looking customer includes illumination in the project from the beginning. This gives the lighting designer the opportunity to analyze the location of the object, its architecture, the environment, conduct a day and night audit with photographic fixation and, based on the obtained data, proceed to developing a concept for architectural and artistic illumination.

Eliminate unnecessary light noise. A forward-thinking contractor pays special attention to light noise (excessive or inappropriate use of artificial lighting), which causes visual discomfort, including in residential buildings, and a loss of visibility for pedestrians and motorists. The whole world is trying to solve this problem. Thus, for example, the non-profit organization International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) in Tucson, USA, promotes the adoption of laws to combat light pollution and calls on lighting designers to be responsible for using incorrect methods of lighting. High-quality preparatory work allows the contractor to determine the degree of light pollution of the facade, take these features into account when designing the lighting concept, and select suitable equipment that will cope with the task, but at the same time will not interfere with traffic and will not light up the windows of residential buildings.

Decide on the goal. The customer should clearly understand what goals he wants to achieve with the help of architectural illumination: to increase the recognition of the object, highlight the building in the surrounding space, fit into the urban landscape, give a historical building a new life, increase sales. Based on these data, a suitable type of lighting is selected. Accent or dynamic illumination will help to make the building a dominant and attraction point. Filling illumination of facades suits historical buildings the most. It emphasizes the architectural features of the object without overloading it and not pulling attention to itself. Filling lighting also prevents the violation of the integrity of the facade: it does not need to be drilled for laying cable routes and installing lamps. Poor-quality and incorrectly installed lighting equipment incorrectly shades the facade of the building and spoils its historical appearance. For the illumination of the mansion on Ostozhenka, we used an unusual solution. The customer planned to use the object as an office space, so we played on contrast, placing lamps in niches and window openings. This allowed us to emphasize the complex architectural forms and ornaments of the building, and highlight the windows with light.

Don’t despair. Of course, it’s easier to work with objects at the design stage. However, illumination can help to breathe new life into an existing inefficient building. Our experience shows that a commercial object with architectural lighting of the facade receives up to 50% more traffic, as it favorably differs from competitors. The recognition of the place, “instagranness” directly affects the number of companies that want to rent retail space and the cost of rent. The owner of a large premium multifunctional complex in Ufa managed to accelerate the sale of commercial space just thanks to architectural and artistic lighting in an original design: synchronization of lighting with the air of one of the radio stations. The customer chose three musical compositions, to which our designers worked out the concept. On a specified day at a specified time, the building began to play in the light to the beat of music, conveying the rhythm, mood and musical genre. This attracted the attention of all residents of the city, and empty “square meters” were realized in the next few months.

Don’t skimp on artificial lighting. The sun is the main source of natural lighting, which gives us absolutely uniform light. Artificial lighting can not convey all 65 million shades that the human eye distinguishes during the daytime. Advanced lighting equipment with minimal energy consumption with a maximum shelf life is able to display up to 95-97% of “natural” colors. Ill-conceived lighting in shopping centers distorts not only the color of goods sold, but also the reflection of the buyer in the mirror in the fitting room and even his complexion. According to statistics, with such a careless approach, sales can drop by at least 20%.

Wake up buyers. A study conducted at Toronto Scarborough University (Canada) showed that using “control” of light in retail spaces can increase sales of certain goods. For example, if we are talking about wedding rings or bouquets of flowers, the brightness should be set at maximum. Light is also distinguished by color temperature. The lower it is, the softer and yellower the light. The presence of red shades in lighting, due to the peculiarities of physiological perception, forms the necessary emotional background that stimulates the desire to buy. An excess of blue shades causes nervousness and a desire to leave the trading space. Thus, thoughtful lighting allows you to create the right mood for the buyer: concentrated and cheerful, necessary for productive work, or light and romantic, as in the evening hours.

Wake up employees. Competent lighting in office spaces directly affects the performance, productivity, and mood of employees. All electric light sources in the premises or in the dark flicker, even if we do not feel it. But we can feel an inexplicable irritability and fatigue. Modern light sources create a light flux much more evenly. According to a study conducted by the Center for Light Technology Development in California (USA), the presence of blue hues in lighting makes employees more alert, helps to concentrate and increases their productivity. Dimmed light allows for making more informed decisions and even contributes to success in concluding deals and conducting negotiations.

Save with benefit. The high price and long service life of lighting equipment (and with the best suppliers it is from 5 years) are not always synonymous with energy efficiency. Much more important is the correct placement of lighting equipment. A detailed lighting calculation helps to correctly install each lamp and select the required power. Light designers also work out various scenarios and the intensity of illumination, which can be controlled and adjusted remotely: dimmed, made brighter, uploaded new content. Diagnostics of the lighting system can also be carried out remotely.

Source - CRE.