Wether you’re hosting a product launch, corporate party, influencer event, conference, award ceremony or something else. Lighting should be a forefront consideration when planning your event, This is why. Lighting has the ability to completely transform your venue, set the tone and create any atmosphere you desire. Event lighting has 2 subcategories that you need to be aware of. Practical/functional and creative/decorative. Both hold importance in obtaining the atmosphere you are looking to create as well as providing adequate lighting and focus for the event you are producing. There are additional considerations from overall illumination, focus and effect to setting the emotive tone you should keep in mind. First let’s look at Functional lighting, the backbone of your event lighting setup.
Functional Event Lighting
The purpose of functional event lighting is to allow your audience to see the main focus and the surroundings of your event. For example, performers, showcased products, speakers etc. The venue’s built in lighting falls within this category along with any backlighting, dimmable lighting or washes. These fixtures are usually permanently installed overhead and have very little adaptability. This is the starting canvas for your lighting design. From here you can plan additional fixtures around this with the intention of creating decorative and emotional effect.
Decorative Event Lighting
Creative lighting, includes anything installed for the purpose of setting the scene, evoking emotions or creating an atmosphere for your guests. Decorative lighting is planned, designed and executed by professional lighting designers who take into consideration the brand message, goal, marketing targets, audience and of course the main purpose of the event. Decorative lighting commonly enhances the venue. Highlighting decor and architectural features as well as achieving an an overall desired tone through colours, textures, movements and intensity.
3 tips when considering lighting for your next event
Illuminate, focus & effect
Illumination is anything. From the overall venue lighting together with the detailed design of the gobos and projections, spotlights and washes, you have the ability to transform the space into a visually mesmerising environment. where your guests senses are stimulated. As a result promoting audience engagement. Let’s look at audience focus. There is no easier way to engage your audience than with lighting. If you want your guests to concentrate on your presenter. Simply spotlight your speaker on stage using a still or moving spotlight. If you want to break away from your speaker and direct them to a product you are discussing. Switch to spotlighting the product. With lighting you have the ability to sustain your audience engagement. Stimulate the senses and utilise strategic lighting techniques that keep the event present and exciting.
Setting the tone
Most importantly you want your audience to enjoy your event in the moment. Second to none, you want to create a lasting impact. A WOW effect your audience will remember. You can do this by setting the atmospheric tone. With your event goals in mind a professional lighting designer will create lighting patterns to achieve the effect you are looking for. Wether you require a soft ambience setting, a calm and tranquil environment or a vibrant saloon, different lighting techniques and fixtures will obtain this.
If it’s a soft ambient atmosphere your looking for uplighting as well as light pin-spotting will work perfectly. For tranquility a combination of lighting overhead and floor standing fixtures will produce a peaceful harmonious environment with a variety of dimensions. If you’re looking for vibrancy and excitement, a variety of colours, textures, heights and moving light elements will make a huge impact on your audience.
Whatever the event goal, with professional lighting setting the tone the overall effect will be breathtaking.
Create an emotive atmosphere
Tuning into your guests emotions and evoking a certain mood with lighting is the quickest way to immerse your audience into an environment they can not only see and hear, but also one they can also feel. The psychology of colours provides a plethora of information into the use of colour to evoke an emotive response in your guests. Comparatively, the colour red evokes passion, excitement and love, whereas the colour purple evokes the feel of mystery and glamor. Colours combined and arrays created can evoke multiple emotions. For larger events you can create zones meant to evoke different emotions for different purposes.
If you’re launching a new product, why not evoke the emotions you envision your product promoting and reflect this in the lighting design surrounding it?
Feeling inspired and looking to discuss lighting for your next event?
We love planning, designing and executing impressive, immersive lighting designs for all event types. We are always up for a challenge and would love to bring the vision for your next event to life.