Let’s Talk Light

As human beings light plays a crucial role in our lives, and yet for many it’s an unconscious process. Luxury lighting brand Occhio is on a mission to increase awareness of how the right light improves our wellbeing. To investigate the visceral and cerebral impact of lighting in interior spaces, Occhio invited London’s design community into their showroom on Fulham Road for a captivating talk moderated by Design Anthology UK.

Designer of the moment, Linda Boronkay of Linda Boronkay Design Studio, and Robyn Landau, co-founder of Kinda Studios, joined Occhio’s Design Director Helen Neumann to unpick the psychology behind emotional lighting design. Acknowledging how deeply light is woven into our DNA, the panellists shared insights on how to design for humans to feel safe, comfortable and well in interior spaces. With most of us spending the majority of our lives indoors, the importance of people being able to adjust light settings to personal preferences was emphasised by all; Occhio’s gestural control a perfect example of presenting intuitive ways to manipulate light throughout the day.

Landau’s neuroscientific perspective, which translates evidence-based research into creative application, was proof of concept for both designers’ holistic approach. Linda Boronkay shared valuable examples and principles for why light makes the ambience of a room. With Neumann further connected good lighting to improved quality of life, she spoke about light essentially being information and given buildings a soul.

Recognising our perception of light as an immersive experience rather than a cognitive process struck a chord with the audience. And with neuro-aesthetics still a relatively new field linking our experience of the world to our state of being, the consensus was hopeful that as an industry we’re moving in the right direction.