Lighting Designers' "Design" and "Being Designed"

When it comes to lighting designers, many people who don't really understand tend to pile up concepts like "night scene illuminators" or "drafters who can use AUTOCAD and PS." After the design industry has been infinitely subdivided, lighting designers have become an emerging field in the design circle in recent years. However, Ren Jian, chief lighting designer of Zhi Mei Lighting Design Company, points out that since the lighting design industry is currently in an upward phase of development, becoming a respected lighting designer requires one to have one's own unique ideas and opinions, and one must not be reduced to a mere "drafter." Although lighting designers are increasingly valued by clients today, they often fall into the dilemma of "being designed" for many reasons.

　　The Bottom Line for Lighting Designers in the "Being Designed" Situation

Mention "being designed" and many lighting designers pour out a bellyful of grievances. Some property owners, without understanding lighting design, intervene in the design and demand that designers change their design proposals – this is what "being designed" means. Faced with such a situation, there are only two paths before a lighting designer: one is to stick to one's own design viewpoints and ideas, and the other is to adopt a "compromising" attitude of changing the design proposal according to the owner's "instructions," even if it goes against one's principles. Ren Jian of Zhi Mei Lighting Design Company states that a mature lighting designer, on the basis of fully understanding the owner – whether it concerns the budget, the schedule, or the personal preferences of the owner's leaders – should first argue one's case and stick to one's design viewpoint; a "compromising" attitude can only be the worst possible option. This is the bottom line for lighting designers when facing "being designed."

　　How to Avoid Being "Designed"

To avoid being "designed" (i.e., having your design dictated by others), one must first become a true expert in the lighting design industry. You need to recognize when a client's suggestions lack reason or scientific basis. To refute a client's "unreasonable" demands, you must master a wealth of lighting design knowledge, engage in numerous lighting design projects, and continually learn from lighting design masters. Once your creative inspiration and inner accumulation have matured, and you have developed your own well-formed viewpoints and ideas—along with sufficiently strong powers of persuasion—you can avoid being "designed."

Taking the Initiative – You Can Indeed Have Your Cake and Eat It Too

In the career of a lighting designer, when encountering being "designed," one must take the initiative to examine whether there are aspects overlooked in one's own design proposal. If so, one should thank the client for the timely correction, because some of the client's opinions are indeed due to the designer's incomplete consideration—this issue reflects the lighting designer's own design shortcomings. However, in most cases, the client has "changeable" ideas. At this point, one should proactively explain to the client why changes cannot be made arbitrarily. Putting people first, and on the premise of fully considering the client's personal taste and the building's positioning, one should use creative and inspired lighting design to win the client's heart, while also taking into account the design's executability. Truth and science, art and beauty complement each other—you can indeed have your cake and eat it too.