Pardon the pun, but this year’s Spotlight on Lighting Trends panel discussion brings together a high-level cross section of industry professionals: Paddy Karve of Borders Group, Christine Russo of Kenneth Cole Productions and Brian Shafley of Chute Gerdeman Retail. All will share their perspectives on lighting trends in retail today, and explain how they approach lighting in the overall scheme of store design. We asked moderator David Apfel, of David Apfel Lighting Designs, for a preview:
IRDC: The panel session on lighting trends is going to be a little different this year. Can you tell us about the setup?
DA: Each panelist will submit ten questions and six images about lighting trends. As images and questions appear on screen, I’ll ask the person who submitted the item to comment and then any other panelist who wants to contribute may do so. We want the session to move quickly with short answers, powerful images and some audience participation at the end.
IRDC: What do you expect to be the biggest hot-button issue?
DA: How retail lighting design will be affected by new building codes that restrict energy usage.
IRDC: As a lighting designer, what trend excites you most with regard to retail lighting?
DA: Two new exciting trends in retail lighting are low wattage, good color-rendering metal halide lamps and light-emitting diodes. Metal halide lamps will allow us to deal with restrictive energy codes and light-emitting diodes will allow us to incorporate lighting into very small spaces for dramatic product presentation.