Marcus Steffen breaks down the hidden salesmanship that comes with lighting design, and why we need to acknowledge this aspect of the business.

Lighting Designers are just salespeople: In this issue of arc magazine, Marcus Steffen breaks down the hidden salesmanship that comes with lighting design, and why we need to acknowledge this aspect of the business.  

Marcus explains how all lighting designers are salespeople – explaining what they sell is actually one of the most wonderful things in the world (spoiler: it’s dreams).

Sales is a pretty dirty word in the lighting industry, as it is in most. The word conjures up crooked, second-hand car salesmen and telemarketing people, pressure selling you junk products, PPI, insurance, etc. Unfortunately, this reputation has been earned and is the result of poor sales training and a fundamental lack of understanding of what sales should be.

So, what is sales? What do good sales look like? How are sales relevant to us as designers?

Read the full article on pages 50-51 online to find out more - Issue 139 – arc (arc-magazine.com)

MS Lighting Design Celebrates Silhouette Awards Win of Lighting Designer

Leading lighting design consultancy MS Lighting Design is thrilled to announce that one of its Lighting Designers, Tiziana Regalado, has been selected as a winner in this year’s *Silhouette Awards. Tiziana was chosen by the renowned judging panel as one of the 20 winning mentees for the awards, showcasing the very best of the industry’s rising stars and future talent.

Now in its third year, the international Silhouette Awards gives winners the opportunity to enhance their skillset, pursue their career ambitions, and add real value to the creativity of the industry, raising the bar for talent around the world. The winners of the 2024 programme were announced in a virtual celebration which took place on Wednesday 28th February, with sponsors and supporters taking part in celebrating the winning mentees and their mentors.

Tiziana has been partnered with mentor Panos Ferentinos for a six-month mentorship journey to help her progress in her career. Panos is a professional lighting designer with 20 years of experience. He has worked on architectural projects across the globe, in sectors including hospitality, retail, museums, heritage and public spaces.

Tiziana has been part of the MS Lighting Design team, working as a Lighting Designer, for around five years. She studied architecture at the University of Greenwich, where she developed her skills in designing spaces that positively impact the end user. After graduating, she began her journey into lighting design and has managed projects from concept to completion, finding particular joy in witnessing her sketches come to life. She is eager to continuously improve her skills and grow professionally to design spaces that radiate happiness.

*The Silhouette Awards is a collaboration between Parrot PR and Marketing and Archifos.

Marcus Steffen invited to speak at Grand Designs Live

MS Lighting Design is excited to announce that our owner and principal lighting designer Marcus Steffen will be taking the stage at Grand Designs Live Birmingham in October. Following a successful speaker slot at the London show earlier this year, Marcus has been asked to return to the incredibly popular show to share his expertise with attendees.

On 8th October at 12pm, Marcus will be co-delivering a keynote talk with Richard Dudzicki of RDA architects. Entitled ‘EnerPHit and Lighting Renovation of historic building’, Marcus and Richard will share with the audience the details of their collaboration to renovate a historic 1960s Michael Blackstock building.

Discussion points include the complexity of bringing in natural daylight while achieving EnerPHit status, and how to save 83% on heating bills and dealing with the restrictions in place to create a beautifully lit environment at night.

You can read more about the renovation in the project showcase.  

The talk will take place in the Grand Designs Magazine Theatre. Marcus and Richard will also deliver a session as part of the Sustainable Future Theatre events programme, at 2pm – also on 8th October.

More information on Grand Designs Live is available on the event website. 

Wardrobe lighting - what do you need?

At MS Lighting Design when we discuss lighting with our clients, we often recommend wardrobe lighting. We know that it can be very frustrating to find accessories or shoes on the bottom shelf in near darkness, because the only light is 3m away in the room.

Unfortunately, we often see examples of wardrobe lighting that has not been considered or designed properly. These issues include sensors which switch the light off, or cold white light, that is shocking when you open the door. We also see problems such as dots on the LED strips, and poor colour rendering.

Here are the key points you should check for when you are designing and fitting wardrobe lighting.

1.     Make sure the colour temperature matches the light outside the wardrobe, so there are no jarring transitions (we recommend 2700K most of the time).

2.     Make sure the lighting has a high CRI. Ideally Ra Value will be a minimum 90+, and ideally all values should be above 90 (including the tricky R9 red value).

3.     If using LED strips, check the depth of the channel, and make sure it is more than the pitch (spacing between chips) of the LEDs. This will prevent spotting.

4.     Make sure the right switches are used. We prefer IR door switches over sensors, so that you don't have to do a little dance every 30 seconds to keep the lights on.

5.     Plan early in your build. We are normally trying to design all of this before the electrician is even started on site.

If you want help and advice on any joinery lighting, including wardrobe lighting, then please get in touch.

Marcus Steffen takes part in expert discussion at Circular Lighting Live

Marcus Steffen takes part in expert discussion at Circular Lighting Live

MS Lighting Design’s owner and principal lighting designer Marcus Steffen recently took part in an expert panel discussion at Circular Lighting Live. The conference is the UK’s first major event dedicated to sustainable lighting, and was held at the Cavendish Conference Centre at the end of September.

Marcus took part in a discussion entitled ‘Will lighting by numbers mean the end of creative design?’. The panel explores whether sustainable standards and regulations will stifle creativity, which led to a lively debate on the topic.

The discussion, and the whole event, was well attended by delegates from across the lighting sector. Brought to the industry by Recolight, Circular Lighting Live is part of Recolight’s agenda to connect the supply chain as the lighting industry moves towards net zero carbon.

You can find out more about the 2022 event and plans for next year’s conference through the Circular Lighting Live website.

Marcus Steffen joins Silhouette Awards as a Mentor

MS Lighting Design's owner and principal lighting designer, Marcus Steffen, is delighted to be joining the Silhouette Awards initiative as a Mentor. ⠀

The awards programme is searching for the lighting industry's rising stars, aged 35 and under. The awards will celebrate success and give the winners the support they need as they progress with their professional career. ⠀

Brand new for 2021, the Silhouette Awards programme will be focused on identifying the rising stars of the lighting industry and subsequently supporting these young professionals beyond as they progress their careers.

20 mentors, all senior professionals in the lighting industry will be whittling down all entries from the young lighting professionals until there are 20 Winning Mentees. Marcus will be taking one of these highly-coveted Mentor positions.⠀

The winners will then receive a 6 month mentorship programme, offering an opportunity learn from the best. You can find out more about these unique and industry-leading awards You can find out more about these unique and industry-leading awards over https://silhouetteawards.com/.

Marcus Steffen to speak at [d]arc room

MS Lighting Design is pleased to announce that our owner and principal lighting designer Marcus Steffen will be speaking at the upcoming [d]arc room. This year will see [d]arc room pop-up as an established lighting area within Design London, giving lighting specifiers a destination within a destination. The exhibition is being held between 22 and 25 September, at Magazine London, Greenwich Peninsula.

Hosted on the Magazine Mezzanine, the [d]arc thoughts programme of talks will take place over three days, and feature insightful discussions from leading industry professionals working with light.

Between 1 and 1.45pm on Wednesday 22 September, Marcus will be joining a panel discussion on Diversity in Design: Women in Lighting for Gender Equality. This is a topic Marcus has championed for some time, and he is excited to share in this important discussion.

You can find out more on the dedicated [d]arc room website.

MSLD's Marcus Steffen part of judging panel for brand new awards programme

We are excited to announce our founder Marcus Steffen has been selected to be part of the judging panel for a new recognition programme for a new age - Build Back Better Awards.

This new initiative will champion and celebrate innovation in buildings. During 2020 we learned how important the built environment is to our physical and mental wellbeing. And, post-pandemic, we realise that we’ll need spaces that better reflect our changed priorities. We’ll need workplaces with collaboration and wellness at their heart, homes that are designed for remote working, well-considered local community and leisure facilities and retail outlets that support online shopping.

What thinking, technologies and innovations will help us shape this new age? Build Back Better Awards will answer just that! As part of the judging panel, Marcus will be part of discovering these concepts, as well as celebrating them in a unique recognition and awards programme.⠀

You can find out more about the awards over on the brand new Build Back Better Awards website.