How Good Lighting Can Grow Your Business

As a savvy business owner, you put a lot of thought into the design of your space, whether it’s retail, an office building, dining, or any other type of company. And when it comes to intentional design, lighting is just as important as wall color, shelving, tables, décor, or furnishings.

Different light hues, functions, and brightness have been shown to affect everything from productivity and mood to consumer buying behavior. There are so many creative ways to use lighting in a business. With apologies to Fallout Boy, light 'em up, up, up, and read on to learn more about how intentional lighting design can affect your business, customers, clients, and employees!

These are the main functions of commercial lighting: 

•       Ambient – This is your main light source. It provides uniform brightness in a space and overall illumination in a room.  
•       Accent lighting – Accent lighting focuses directly on a space or an object to draw attention to it.  
•       Task lighting – This type of lighting is focused on a specific area, such as a dressing room or cash register, to make it easier to perform a task.
•       Decorative lighting – This type of creative lighting brings in additional design or ornamental elements.

Hue light up my life

Generally speaking, different colors of light evoke different feelings. So before deciding on colors, consider how you want your customers or employees to feel when they enter your establishment.

•       Blue or white lights – energetic
•       Red light – relaxing 
•       Orange – happiness and creativity
•       Yellow – cheerfulness 
•       White – neutrality and a sense of space

In retail

In a retail space, warm, soft lighting will make patrons feel more serene and relaxed, while brighter, whiter lights will better illuminate your products. Bright lights encourage customers to make more practical purchasing decisions while very bright lights can cause buyers to spend more impulsively.

You can experiment with color, brightness, placement, and direction. Here are some excellent ways to use lighting design to influence customer spending and enhance your brand:

•       Spotlights – Shining a round light – like a spotlight – directly on an object helps emphasize its importance. Use this type of lighting to draw customers’ attention to a great deal or an exciting new product. 
•       Cabinet displays – A backlit, open cabinet attracts customers to high-end products, while accent lighting on lower shelves can catch the eye of casual shoppers. 
•       Creative lighting - When it comes to the creative use of lighting in a retail space, your only limit is your imagination. An illuminated sculpture creates a dramatic centerpiece in an artistic space, while twinkly lights made to look like stars can enhance a holiday window display. 
•       Colorwash walls – Want a temporary color change for a season, event, or holiday? Color washing a wall in light is more eye-catching and much less expensive than a new coat of paint.

In an office

Lighting can affect productivity in an office space and, of course, the more productive employees are, the better for your business! Overly dim lights cause eye strain, which can result in headaches or drowsiness.

Natural light is especially beneficial to office workers, as it has been shown to decrease depression, and improve mood and alertness. If your office space doesn’t have access to natural light, blue-enriched bulbs can have a similar effect. Blue light helps lower melatonin levels, which makes workers feel more awake. But don’t overdo it with the blue light. Consider dimming the lights in the afternoon to mimic the natural daylight cycle, which will help everyone sleep better, and thus arrive awake and ready to work again the next morning!

Restaurant lighting

The best type of lighting for a restaurant depends primarily on what type of dining establishment it is. Ambient lighting is a must in any restaurant. However, in a quick-service eatery, you may want to add bright, fluorescent lighting as that will encourage customers to eat more quickly and free up tables for others. Warm, dimmer lights make a space feel more intimate, so it’s an excellent choice for a fine dining establishment, where you want to encourage your patrons to relax and linger over their meals.

PORT: Intentional business lighting design

PORT has more than 37 years of experience providing customized lighting solutions. We work with every client to provide creative lighting solutions to enhance your brand, attract customers, improve productivity, and boost your business. In addition to business lighting, we provide:

• Event lighting & production services
• Technical direction
• Hybrid events

• Architectural lighting & controls
• Theatrical lighting & rigging
• Rigging inspections

• Lighting
• Audio/video
• Expendables
• Rentals

We would love to tell you how we can create a fabulous lighting scheme for your commercial space! Contact us for a consultation.