You are my sunshine

Lindsay Harvey
4/1/09
Environmental Com.
DMA 158
Lighting everyday environments is something that I have never critically analyzed so it was a definite learning experience to visit three distinct environments and observe how the lighting behaved. There are so many different lighting situations that we may see everyday that not only light up our view, but also enhance our field of vision so that what we see is both functional and aesthetically pleasing.
Target represents one of probably many chain stores that use subtle lighting techniques to enhance the buying atmosphere of their stores. I am an avid shopper and every time I walk into Target I always notice how great the clothes look compared to other stores I’ve been in. The colors always look perfect and the details in almost everything in the store really show through. I recently found out this little known fact that Target actually uses daylight-balanced lights in their stores instead of tungsten or fluorescents. This creates a clean white lighting throughout the store instead of a yellowish or hazy color one would see in somewhere like Wal-Mart. Just this subtle change in the type of lighting used completely changes the atmosphere of the store. When customers walk into a Target store they see the products as they would be seen under natural daylight, which makes the clothes look more colorful and vibrant. Moreover, the same lights are used in the dressing rooms so when customers try on clothes, their skin and hair look really great in combination with the clothes. This lighting in the stores make customers feel more attractive and trendy when they see clothes on the rack or look at themselves in the mirror, which in turn makes them more likely to purchase their favorite item. The lighting is also staggered on the ceiling, which helps to create a nice fill of light across the whole store and is reflected in the white linoleum flooring, creating a pretty pathway for shoppers.
A refrigerator is something we probably come into contact with everyday but never really notice the utility of its light. We have become so familiar with the refrigerator that light being emitted next to food has become the norm for us. But after critically looking at my own refrigerator I noticed things that I have been unconsciously utilizing. First of all, the actual experience of opening the refrigerator door is intriguing because in a dimly lit kitchen, a sudden burst of light occurs and encompasses all of the food contained inside. I tried to imagine this experience as if some alien were opening a fridge for the first time, he would think that the food inside were some kind of treasures or holy objects that must be surrounded by light every time they were viewed. Second of all, the actual light at the top of the refrigerator is really very small yet seems so powerful as the light cascades down the food and onto the floor. This power is greatly enhanced by the white shelves and plastic lining of the inside of the refrigerator, which bounces the light off of the ceiling and sides of the refrigerator. This huge box of light allows me to see everything in my fridge including stuff hiding in the back. The cascading light also reflects off of the various containers and bottles in the fridge, making most of the food look bright and shiny. Thirdly, the white walls bounce the light out from the fridge and onto the floor, wall, and freezer above it, which fills this tiny space not only so that I can see what is in my refrigerator, but also so I can see what is surrounding it. From far away, this reflected light seems almost like a pathway straight to the food and reflects, literally, its great importance in the kitchen. A refrigerator without a light seems so foreign when you open it and because of this absence of light, the food doesn’t look as good and it really loses some of its stature in the kitchen because who wants to eat food from a non-illuminated box.
Streets and pathways are lit up at night to show the way through the darkness and this pathway here at UCLA is lit for that purpose. While walking past this walkway, I honestly would not have known it was even there if it weren’t lit up; I would have thought it was just a wall or an empty space. The path is lit up with small squared-shaped lights that are lined across the bottom of the walls and give off little amounts of light. Each light creates its own spot on the ground and lights it up for passers by. The lights are also staggered which makes it feel as if they were set to mimic a normal walking movement from one foot to the other. I found this lighting to be very dramatic and extreme because although they were probably put there to guide people through the path, their lengthwise arrangement and dim glow make the path seem ominous and threatening. Walking down the pathway, I felt as if I shouldn’t be here and that I was walking toward, or from, something dangerous. The lights also had a yellow-greenish tinge to them, which greatly intensified the creepy feelings that I had had. The walls made the pathway feel a bit claustrophobic and coupled with the dimly lit low lights, the walkway seemed to give off the feeling that people shouldn’t be walking here this late and should get out from here as quickly as possible.

Lindsay Harvey

Peter Pan's shadow

Assignment 1
Lindsay Harvey