1.6 hours/day: do consumers need durable LED lamps?
Our friends at the U.S. DOE Solid-State Lighting group just released a new study called the “Residential Lighting End-Use Consumption Study“. I’ll get to the punchline right away: A lamp in the average U.S. household typically runs only 1.6 hours … Continue reading 1.6 hours/day: do consumers need durable LED lamps?
122 years of Philips
More vintage advertising posters! Following on my previous post with a variety of vintage lighting advertising, I discovered that my colleagues from the Philips Company Archives have posted a great collection of advertising posters on Pinterest: 122 Years of Philips. The … Continue reading 122 years of Philips
how to paint glowing light
Sometimes the basics of design are the still the most important. Here’s a simple video showing how to paint a setting sun on a mountain backdrop. Continue reading how to paint glowing light
the history and science of color temperature
The History and Science of Color Temperature from FilmmakerIQ.com on Vimeo. Via Gizmodo, here is a well-produced video explaining the basics of color temperature. I highly recommend this for anyone just starting out or interested in the basics of light. … Continue reading the history and science of color temperature
vintage lighting posters
Here are some really cool vintage advertising posters for lighting products. A couple of these I took myself, the rest are from Gizmodo, Paul Malon’s amazing Flickr collection, the Library of Congress, and other random places. Continue reading vintage lighting posters
electronics that dissolve in water
Via TreeHugger and DesignTaxi: John Rogers at the University of Illinois (who I previously wrote about here) is now exploring electronics that can dissolve in water. What a fantastic area of exploration given the huge ecological disaster of our electronics … Continue reading electronics that dissolve in water
rijksmuseum: don’t hit your head on the glass!
One of the striking aspects to the Rijksmuseum’s new exhibition design is the beautiful minimalism of the display cabinets. The architects at Wilmotte & Associés spent a huge amount of effort finessing the precise details of the cabinets — every millimeter … Continue reading rijksmuseum: don’t hit your head on the glass!
moment factory – lax international terminal
Moment Factory recently published this interesting “featurette” piece on the making of several large multi-media and interactive installations at LAX. What really strikes me about this video is the intensive amount of effort required to produce first-rate architectural media installations. Most … Continue reading moment factory – lax international terminal
parametric space by zaha hadid
Via Dezeen, Zaha Hadid and design firm Kollision just opened a creative installation called “Parametric Space” that features funnels of light piercing down through a stretched ceiling. The design is interesting enough merely if it were a still lighting composition; but … Continue reading parametric space by zaha hadid
inductive power for LED systems
A colleague of mine (thanks JM!) forwarded this interesting UK-based startup called Isotera, which is developing a “contactless” wiring system for architectural LED lighting. Here’s Isotera’s own system description: “Using ultra-efficient and reliable bulk power conversion by a single Power … Continue reading inductive power for LED systems
no, LEDs do not produce more blue light, so get over it
The US DOE just issued a fact-sheet addressing the blue-light output of LEDs. It is a very good read for anyone concerned about this topic. The following two images are the crux of the document. The first chart shows the … Continue reading no, LEDs do not produce more blue light, so get over it
dynamic lighting vs. the compression of memory
I recently found some terrific design inspiration in a Lifehacker article titled “Why You Don’t Remember Your Commute” by Thorin Kklosowski. In brief, the author describes how the brain writes new memories when encountering new activities or environments, effectively making … Continue reading dynamic lighting vs. the compression of memory
irc’s anotherm
International Resistive Corporation (IRC) has an interesting product called “Anotherm“, which is an electrically isolated but thermally conductive anodized coating for aluminum. This allows electrical traces to be bonded directly to aluminum, decreasing the thermal barrier between LEDs and the … Continue reading irc’s anotherm
L-prize testing update
The US DOE SSL team just sent out an email update on the long-term testing of the L-Prize winning lamp entry from Philips. WOW! Out of 200 samples tested to 25,000 hours at a hot 45° C ambient, there were ZERO failures, … Continue reading L-prize testing update
DOE SSL standards update
The Solid-State Lighting group at the US DOE just sent out an email with an excellent summary of the measurement standards already in place or currently in development for LED lighting. Here’s is an abbreviated version: “…we now have such … Continue reading DOE SSL standards update
lumu – kickstarter
The Lumu project on Kickstarter is a nice, basic iPhone illuminance meter, but I’m still hoping that someone like Hamamatsu or Ocean Optics wouldlaunch a low-cost mini-spectrometer for smartphones. Lighting designers need the capability of analyzing spectral composition, which is … Continue reading lumu – kickstarter
jie qi – mit media lab artist
Following on my post about Leah Buechley’s intriguing TED Talk regarding “sketching” electronics, I would like to highlight the work of one of Buechley’s PhD students, Jie Qi. Jie has created several beautiful exploratory artworks that consider how to bond … Continue reading jie qi – mit media lab artist
rijksmuseum: philips videos
To get a better feel for what the LED lighting at the Rijksmuseum really feels like, check out these two excellent videos put together by our local Philips Netherlands’ marketing team. By the way, in the image above those are my … Continue reading rijksmuseum: philips videos
lux magazine video: lighting leaders discuss LEDs
Lux Magazine published an excellent video, shot at Lightfair, containing interviews with numerous North American lighting leaders discussing the status and future of LEDs. An impressive list, the interviewees are: Gary Feather, VP, LED lighting, Sharp Electronics Menko Deroos, CEO … Continue reading lux magazine video: lighting leaders discuss LEDs
moooi’s heracleum
Via Inhabitat, this interesting pendant concept caught my eye, from Dutch design firm MOOOI. I really like the organic, biomimetic feeling of the product, made possible by the use of lots and lots of LED’s married directly to diffusers. According … Continue reading moooi’s heracleum
Lucept 