Knitting

Creative knitters have successfully used ribbon, plastic strips, wire, crepe paper, string threaded with beads, and rope to fashion bags, bowls, jewelry, household items, and works of art. In the 2000s, neon lighting is increasingly yielding to digital vehicle lighting, in which bright LEDs are placed on the car and operated by a computer which can be customized and programmed to display a range of changing patterns and colors, a technology borrowed from Christmas lights. Ultimately, there is no restriction as to what materials can be used to knit; anything that can be viewed as a long strand of something can be used as a sort of knitting yarn. In the 1990s, a popular trend was to customize vehicles with neon lighting, especially underneath the body of a car. Filati Bertagna's Aymara is a very fine alpaca-wool blend that is knitted in the round over a couple stitches to make up a bigger thread. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, manufacturers would sometimes backlight their logos and or other translucent panelling. Louisa Harding's Sari Ribbon is a very wide multicolored synthetic ribbon with a streak of glittering fiber woven in its middle. In addition to lighting for useful purposes, automobiles increasingly feature ornamental lighting.

Katia's Rumba Mix is a ribbon that has changes in fiber within the same length involving changes of texture and changes of color. In the image to the right, the top (white portion) of the tail light is the back-up lamp, which when lit, is used to indicate that the vehicle's transmission has been placed in the reverse gear, warning anyone behind the vehicle that it is moving backwards, or about to do so. Some novelty yarns are even more extravagant and can be hard to describe. Tail lights are always red and are placed in the rear to quickly alert other drivers about the vehicle's direction of travel. Such yarns have a wide array of different effects that can be obtained by knitting the yarn in the round over the number of stitches normally cast for a sock. Headlights are white or yellow lights placed in the front of the vehicle, designed to illuminate the upcoming road and to make the vehicle more visible. Sock yarn companies have evidently taken a great interest in self striping yarn. Vehicles typically include headlights and tail lights.

If the proper number of stitches is cast, then stripes will appear as the yarn is knitted into a garment. In the last few years, software has been developed to merge lighting and video by enabling lighting designers to stream video content to their LED fixtures, creating low resolution video walls. In some yarns the same process is used, but at the same time the color repeats are long enough to enable a self-striping feature. LED technology is useful for lighting designers because of its low power consumption, low heat generation, instantaneous on/off control, continuity of colour throughout the life of the diode and relatively low cost of manufacture. Sometimes the colour will come through the sequence in which different colours are spun together. Patent disputes of RGB colour mixing ideas are currently slowing development, despite the fact many products are being released that take advantage of red, green, blue, and sometimes white, LEDs to mix colours. Most often these will be obtained through the print process, in which a fiber will have different colours through a dyeing process. LED Technology for theatrical and concert applcations is still in its infancy, but is advancing at an incredible rate.

Very often, novelty yarns will involve a lot of colour change. White LEDs are about the same efficiency as other fluorescents, while red ones can be up to 90% efficient. Ribbon yarns must have give and elasticity. They are also being increasingly used as Christmas lights. They are ribbon yarns made for knitting. Colored LEDs can also be used for accent lighting, even in fake ice cubes for drinks at parties. They are not the kind of ribbons used in sewing and millinery. It appears that for now these will be most useful and cost-effective in smaller applications, starting with nightlights.

Another type of novelty yarn is ribbon yarn. These have come about only since the white LEDs they use, and in turn the blue LEDs which they were based on. Some of the drawbacks of eyelash yarns is that they tend to have poor stitch definition, and that they are not flattering to curvy figures, so they are mostly used for accessories such as scarves. They do however last an extremely long time, up to 100,000 hours (compared to around 10,000 for fluorescent and 1,000 for incandescent). The core and hair of the thread can be metallic, and the hairs can sometimes be two different lengths. LEDs are a very recent introduction to the market, and they are still extremely expensive for any decent-sized bulb. The hair can be curly. HID bulbs are over 60% and up to 80% efficient.

The most prominent types would probably be 100% polyester with a straight and relatively short hair. Like fluorescents, all HID bulbs require a ballast, but they also require a few minutes (or seconds for headlights) to warm up after "igniting". The texture and composition of such yarns have been explored by many companies, and there are innumerable types of eyelash yarns. Modern ones are metal halide, used in everything from headlights to floodlights, and with a more pleasant color balance. In general, eyelash yarns will be hairy and have the general aspect of faux fur once knitted up in a garment. High-intensity discharge lighting first came about with the mercury-vapor streetlights, and later the high-pressure sodium ones with their characteristic orange color. Another type of novelty yarn is eyelash yarn. Because the above terms are entirely relative and almost arbitrary, color temperature and/or the color rendering index (CRI) are used as absolute scales of color for fluorescents, and sometimes for other types of lighting.

Some companies have come to put twin yarns on the market to show off combinations of one regular yarn and a novelty yarns in assorted colours or even two different types of novelty yarns. Compact ones are usually considered warm white, though many have a yellowish cast like an incandescent. The extra element can be a metallic thread, or a much-thicker or much-narrower strand of yarn, or yarn that varies between thick and thin. There is also a very cold daylight white (DW) which is rather unpleasant to most people and therefore rarely used. To make boucle, the tension on one strand, as it is being spun, must be different than on the other. In between there is an "enhanced white" (EW), which is more neutral. Yarns of this type involve at least one or two strands of regular yarn twisted together with something else to make an interesting texture. Fluorescents most often come in cool white (CW), with some home bulbs being a warm white (WW), which has a pinkish tint.

One variety of novelty yarn is called boucle, textured or flammé. All last far longer than incandescents, but do have some starting trouble in very cold weather when installed outside. There are yarns that are entirely metallic. The compacts can plug into their own fixture, or fit in to a standard screw base for self-ballasted ones. Novelty yarns now come in all shapes and textures. Fluorescents were limited to linear and a few circular ones until the 1980s, when the compact fluorescent was invented. What could define a novelty yarn as opposed to "regular" yarn is the exaggeration in one or many of a regular fiber's characteristics; for example, some yarns are a bit fuzzy or hairy, but a novelty yarn might take that to an extreme, with yarns that have long hairs or metallic fuzz. Fluorescent bulbs are about 40% efficient, meaning that for the same amount of light they use 1/4 the power and produce 1/6 the heat of a regular incandescent.

Typically, novelty yarns arise from innovations in the spinning process. People sometimes find them psychologically pleasing over other types of bulbs due to the more natural colour, which lights some skin tones and other artifacts more accurately. There has been a dramatic increase in the amount and in the different forms in which novelty yarns can be found. Good halogen bulbs produce a sunshine-like white light, while regular incandescents produce a light between sunlight and candlelight. Novelty yarns have been on the market for a long time, but have enjoyed a revival as many new knitters learn to knit, and expect fun and dazzling materials to knit with. Halogen capsules can be put inside regular bulbs or dichroic reflectors, either for looks or for safety. A relatively recent trend in knitting yarn is the novelty yarn. The risk of burns or fire is also greater than other bulbs, leading to their prohibition in some places.

Some other synthetics are available as well; yarn designed for use in socks frequently contains a small percentage of nylon for durability, and numerous specialty yarns exist. This means that glass bulbs can explode if broken or brought into contact with cool materials such as water, or if operated with residue such as fingerprints on them. 100% acrylic yarns are available, as are wool-acrylic blends in various proportions. As well as being much smaller and having a hotter filament temperature, this causes halogen bulbs to have a very hot surface. However, there is currently a large community of knitters that prefer the feel of natural fibers, both during the knitting process and in the final product. The bulb capsule is under high pressure instead of a vacuum or low-pressure noble gas. Acrylic yarn for a long time completely dominated the knitting market, and is still frequently the only available option at craft stores and other stores that do not specialise in knitting supplies. Light energy output is about 15% of energy input, instead of 10%, allowing them to produce about 50% more light from the same amount of electrical power.

A number of synthetic materials are also commonly made into yarn, chiefly acrylic. Halogen bulbs are an improved incandescent. In any case, the finished product will be rather different from those made with woolen yarns. Due to their heat output, incandescent bulbs can cause burns or start fires if used improperly. Cotton can be mercerised to increase its elasticity and its resistance to pilling. This excess heat is then dumped into the air which, in warm climates, must then be cooled by ventilation or air conditioning, resulting in more energy wastage. Pure linen makes a poor knitting fiber, having no elasticity; it is often blended with cotton, wool or acrylic. About 90% of the energy input is wasted as heat.

Given the cost of silk, it is often blended with other fibers, such as rayon, cotton and wool. The incandescent light bulb was the first type of bulb, and is inefficient at converting electricity to light. These tend to be much less elastic than the animal-hair yarns, though they can be stronger in some cases. Cost of replacement lamps is also an important factor in any design. Other natural fibers that can be used for yarn include silk, or vegetal fibers such as linen and cotton. Common characteristics used to evaluate lamp quality include efficiency measured in lumens per watt, typical lamp life measured in hours, and Color Rendering Index on a scale of 0 to 100. Some of the more expensive fibres, such as cashmere, are often blended with other types, merino wool being very popular for its softness and fineness. Commonly referred to as 'light bulbs', lamps are the removable/replaceable portion of a luminaire which convert electrical energy to both visible and non-visible electromagnetic energy.

Natural fibres such as these have the advantage of being slightly elastic and very breathable, while trapping a great deal of air, making for a fairly warm fabric. These are used for holding acrylic color 'gel', which is available in many hundreds of shades and hues. mohair or cashmere), rabbit hair (usually angora), and alpaca fur are also well-known. All Theatrical Lighting Fixtures should have a steel or metal color or 'gel' frame, which slots into a receiver at the front of the fixture. The classic knitting material is worsted-weight yarn spun from the wool of a sheep, though goat's wool (e.g. Floods usually have a halogen tube bulb, backed by a curved symmetric or asymmetric reflector, to give a flat beam to be used for lighting sets or backdrops from above or below. These are discussed in the history of knitting. PAR lamps contain a reflector (Parabolic Aluminumized Reflector), filament and lens in an enclosed glass envelope, and have various beam types:.

There are many regional styles of knitted garments with long histories, such as guernsey sweaters, jerseys, and the already-mentioned aran sweaters and Fair Isle patterning. They basically consist of a tube of steel or aluminum with a rounded removable end, for changing lamps (bulbs). To control this, each dye lot is assigned a unique serial number, which is generally printed somewhere on the band around the skein. PARs or PAR cans are among the most simple and widely-used theatrical lighting fixtures. They may appear identical on the skein, but when knit into a solid field of colour, the subtle change when the knitter switched skeins will become much more apparent. PCs produce a more focused beam than fresnels, and are suitable for many of the same applications as fresnels and profiles. Even a tightly-regulated factory dye process will not be able to exactly match the colour between dye lots, though. The body of PCs is longer than fresnels.

Yarn is dyed in batches, or lots, and within such a lot the colour will match nearly perfectly. Prism Convex fixtures or 'PCs', are much the same as fresnels, but with a prism convex lens instead of fresnel lens. Even if the pattern is all a single colour—and perhaps especially then—it is important that the dye lot numbers match. Large metal 'barndoors' (four in total) are affixed to the front of the lamp on a rotating ring, to cut away unwanted parts of the beam. double knitting and slip-stitch colour). The beam size is adjusted by a screw, which actually moves the bulb of the fixture forwards and backwards within the body of the lamp. Fair Isle), or both (e.g. These have a pebbled lens with concentric rings, which results in a large hazy circle around the focal point of the lantern.

intarsia), busy small-scale patterns of colour (e.g. Used for colour washes, side, front and back-lighting. More complicated techniques permit large fields of colour (e.g. Profiles have one or two convex or plano-convex lenses, which can be adjusted to create a larger or smaller beam, with a hard or soft edge, and have steel shutters placed at the focal point of these lenses, to cut away unwanted portions of the beam. Even with solid-colour yarn, the knitter can easily create horizontal stripes by changing yarn at the end of a row. Used for front (face) lighting and, with the insertion of a 'gobo' (stainless steel pattern) are used for break-up effects or projecting simple images onto the stage floor or set/backdrop. This will allow the garment to have a random colour variation. Although these fixtures are of the 'fixed' variety, they are adjustable to a huge degree.

When knitting with yarns whose colours change, it is best to alternate between two different skeins of yarn, usually alternating every other row. Types of fixtures include:. Some yarns are dyed to be either variegated (changing colour every few stitches) or self-striping (changing every few rows). Connectors are fuseless, as the fuse for the fixture is provided at the dimmer end of the circuit. Plenty of finished knitting projects never use more than a single colour of yarn, but there are many ways to work in multiple colours. A short cable is normally hardwired or connected to the body of the light and has an electrical connector on the end. Entrelac forms a rich checkerboard texture by knitting small squares, picking up their side edges, and knitting more squares to continue the piece. Power for the fixtures is provided by dimmers which receive control signal, either digitally multiplexed (DMX) or analog + / − 12v from the main lighting desk or console, where all of the lights used in a production are controlled.

Changing the order of stitches from one row to the next, usually with the help of a cable needle or stitch holder, is the trick underlying cables, honeycombs, ropes, and other Aran sweater patterning. Conventional Fixtures are stationary or 'fixed' and normally controlled by a power cable, allowing the fixture to output a beam of light with a brightness of 0 to 100 percent. by knitting two stitches together) can make a very open fabric resembling lace. Generally, standard sound XLR cabling is not suitable for lighting, because the gauge of the wire is too small. Combining "yarn-over" increases (which create small eyelet holes in the resulting fabric) with assorted decreases (e.g. The protocol runs on standard three pin XLR cable, although, some older theatres still use five pin DMX cabling. Some more advanced knitting techniques create a surprising variety of complex textures. In the United States, automated lighting fixtures are normally controlled by the United States Institute of Theatre Technology Digital Multiplex - 512 Channel Standard Protocol, or simply DMX-512.

Adding a "slip stitch" (just moving a loop from one needle to the other, without working it) allows for a wide range of textures, including heel and linen stitches, and a number of more complicated patterns. Automated lighting fixtures use digital electronics to adjust the color, position, beam angle, brightness, and other special effects. Other simple textures can be made with nothing but knit and purl stitches, including garter stitch, ribbing, and moss and seed stitches. Conventional lighting consists of stationary lights that can only be moved manually, by means of adjusting, or focusing the fixture with a yoke. The canonical default texture for a knit garment is that generated by the flat stockinette stitch—as seen, though very small, in machine-made stockings and t-shirts—which is worked in the round as nothing but knit stitches, and worked flat as alternating rows of knit and purl. Concert and theatre lighting use special types of fixtures. Smaller items, such as socks and hats are usually knit in one piece on double pointed needles or circular needles. It is usually a floor lamp but may be wall-mounted like a sconce.

Seamless knitting, where a whole garment is knit as a single piece is also possible. A torchiere (tour-she-AIR or tour-SHARE) is an uplight usually intended for general lighting. Typically, the final knitted garment will be made of several knitted pieces, with individual sections of the garment knit separately and then sewn together once all the pieces have been completed. A sconce is a wall-mounted fixture, particularly one that shines up and sometimes down as well. Although the mechanics are different from casting on, there are a similar variety of methods and choices to be made. Nearly any material can be used, so long as it can tolerate the heat and is in keeping with safety codes. Casting (or binding) off loops the stitches across each other so they can be removed from the needle without unravelling the item. Some are very plain and functional, while some are pieces of art in themselves.

Once the knitted piece is finished, the remaining live stitches are cast off. Lighting fixtures come in a wide variety of styles for various functions. The number of active stitches remains the same as when cast on unless stitches are added (an increase) or removed (a decrease) to shape the item. Underwater accent lighting is also used for koi ponds and the like. It is sometimes claimed that there are as many methods of knitting as there are knitters, but most Western-style knitters follow either the English style or the Continental style. This would probably fall under accent lighting, though in a dark nightclub it could be considered general lighting. The body of a knitted piece may include plain stitches or a number of colour and textured patterns. Other forms include neon, which is not usually intended to illuminate anything else, but to actually be the artwork in itself.

Provisional cast ons are used when the knitting will continue in both directions from the cast on. This uses diffuser panels hung like a suspended ceiling below fluorescent lights, and is considered general lighting. Different methods of cast on are used for different effects; one may be stretchy enough for lace, while another provides a decorative edging. The illuminated ceiling was once popular in the 1960s and 1970s but fell out of favor after the 1980s. A piece of knitting begins with the process of casting on (also known as "binding on"), which involves the initial creation of the stitches on the needle. Magnifier lamps are also task lighting. Different combinations of knit and purl stitches, along with more advanced techniques, generate fabrics of considerably variable consistency, from gauzy to very dense, from highly stretchy to relatively stiff, from flat to tightly curled, and so on. The standard lamp and shade that sits on a table is general lighting, while the desk lamp is considered task lighting.

They also curl considerably less, and for this reason they are popular as edging even when their stretch properties are not desired. The lamp is probably the most common fixture, found in every home and many offices. Each such fabric has different properties: a garter stitch has much more vertical stretch, while ribbing stretches much more horizontally. A modified version of this is cable lighting, where lights are hung from or clipped to bare metal cables under tension. But stitches can actually be worked from either side, and many patterns are created by mixing regular knit stitches with the "wrong side" stitches, known as purl stitches, either in columns (ribbing), rows (garter or welting), or more complex patterns. There are traditional spots and floods, as well as other small hanging fixtures. Because the yarn holding rows together is all on the front, and the yarn holding side-by-side stitches together is all on the back, stockinette fabric has a strong tendency to curl toward the front on the top and bottom, and toward the back on the left and right side. A master transformer feeds all of the fixtures on the track or rod with 12 or 24 volts, instead of each having its own.

On the wrong side, the ends of the loops are visible, both the tops and bottoms, creating a much more bumpy texture sometimes called reverse stockinette (despite being the "wrong side," reverse stockinette is frequently used as a pattern in its own right). It has regained some popularity recently in low-voltage tracks, which often look nothing like their predecessors because they do not have the safety issues that line-voltage systems have, and are therefore less bulky and more ornamental in themselves. On the right side, the visible portions of the loops are the verticals connecting two rows, arranged in a grid of V shapes. Track lighting, invented by Lightolier, was popular at one point because it was much easier to install then recessed lighting, and individual fixtures are decorative and can be easily aimed at a wall. The basic knit fabric (as in the diagram, and usually called a stocking or stockinette pattern) has a definite right side and wrong side. True can lights are uplights, sitting on the floor in a can-like fixture, or mounted on a spike or even in the ground for plants or outdoors. Many modern stretchy garments, even as they rely on elastic synthetic materials for some stretch, also achieve at least some of their stretch through knit patterns. Either type can be incandescent, fluorescent, HID or LED, though only incandescents or LEDs make narrow-enough spots.

This stretchiness, unavailable from woven fabrics (which only stretch along the bias), is what originally made knitting so suitable for stockings. They may also have their own reflector built-in to the fixture, so that they can take regular and less-expensive bulbs. Because there is no single straight line of yarn anywhere in the pattern, a knit piece will be stretchy in all directions (some more than others, depending on the yarn fiber and the specific pattern used). These downlights use narrow spotlights or "spots", or wider-angle floodlights or "floods", which are both bulbs with their own reflectors. The loops of one row have all been lifted through the loops of the row below it. Recessed lighting (often called pot lights in Canada and can lights in the U.S.) is popular, with fixtures mounted above the ceiling so as to appear flush with it. Unlike woven fabrics, where strands usually run straight horizontally and vertically, yarn that has been knit follows a loopy path along its row, as with the red strand in this diagram:. The effect depends heavily on the exact type of lighting used.

The topology of a knit fabric is relatively complex. Soffit lighting can be general or a decorative wall-wash, sometimes used to bring out texture (like stucco or plaster) on a wall, though this may also show its defects as well. Modern knitters come from all ages, walks of life, and (increasingly) genders—a social stigma against male knitters has been rapidly disappearing, and most knitting circles now sport at least a few men. It is a form of backlighting. Hand-knitting has gone in and out of fashion many times in the last two centuries or so, and at the turn of the 21st century it is enjoying a revival. This is often done with fluorescent lighting or rope light, or occasionally with neon lighting. Knitting joined quilting, spinning, needlepoint, and the like as a social activity, performed while the crafters converse among themselves. Particular forms include alcove lighting, which like most other uplighting is indirect.

With the invention of the knitting machine, knitting "by hand" became a useful but nonessential craft, and its practitioners increasingly female. Backlighting either around or through an object is mainly for accent. Knitting became a household occupation with the growing popularity of knitted stockings and by the end of the 1600s, one to two million pairs of stockings were exported from Britain to other parts of Europe. Lighting from the side is the less common, as it tends to produce glare near eye level. The first knitting trade guild was started in Paris in 1527, establishing the occupation as male-dominated for centuries to come. Lighting from the front is also quite common, but tends to make the subject look flat as its casts almost no shadows. The earliest definite examples of knitting date from Europe and Egypt in the 14th century, although some claim that the technology dates back into centuries BC. It can also be used for dramatic effect, such as creating interesting shadows by shining through houseplant leaves or across coarse textures like brick or stone.

. Uplighting is less common, often used to bounce indirect light off of the ceiling and back down, though this is less efficient than direct lighting. Knitting can also be done by machines, which use a different mechanical system to produce nearly identical results. This tends to be the most efficient method, used in both offices and homes. Work can proceed in the round (circular knitting) or by going back and forth in rows. Downlighting is most common, with fixtures on the ceiling casting light downward. This forms a new stitch. Outdoors, general lighting for a parking lot may be as low as 10-20 lux (1-2 footcandles) since pedestrians and motorists already used to the dark will need little light for crossing the area.

A second knitting needle is then used to reach through each loop (or stitch) in succession in order to snag a bight of yarn and pull a length back through the loop. Indoors, this would be a basic lamp on a table or floor, or a fixture on the ceiling. In practice, hand knitting is usually begun (or "cast on") by forming a base series of twisted loops of yarn on a knitting needle. General lighting fills in between the two and is intended for general illumination of an area. Knitting can be done either by hand, described below, or by knitting machine. Accent lighting is mainly decorative, intended to highlight pictures, plants, or other elements of interior design or landscaping. The courses are joined to each other by interlocking loops in which a short loop of one course of yarn is wrapped over the bight of another course. For example, reading poor-quality reproductions may require task lighting levels up to 1500 lux (150 footcandles), and some inspection tasks or surgical procedures require even higher levels.

Unlike woven fabric, knitted fabric consists entirely of horizontal parallel courses of yarn. Task lighting is mainly functional and is usually the most concentrated, for purposes such as reading or inspection of materials. Knitting is one of several ways to turn thread or yarn into cloth (compare to weaving, crochet). Lighting is classified by its intended use as general, localized, or task lighting, depending largely on the distribution of the light produced by the fixture. Since the exact orientation of printed material may not be closed controlled, a visual comfort probability can be calculated for a given set of lighting fixtures. Proper selection of fixtures is complicated by the requirement to minimize the veiling reflections off of printed material.

Empirically-established depreciation factors are listed in lighting design handbooks. Practical lighting design must take into account the gradual decrease in light levels from each lamp owing to lamp aging, lamp burnout, and dirt accumulation on fixture and lamp surfaces. Hand calculations might only be required at a few points, but computer calculations allow a better estimate of the uniformity and lighting level. Again the tabulated light levels (in lux or foot-candles) can be presented as contour lines of constant lighting value, overlaid on the project plan drawing.

Where multiple lamps are used to illuminate the same area, each one's contribution is summed. Each region is extended to the surface which is to be lit and the area calculated, giving the light power per unit of area. The total lighting power of a lamp is divided into small solid angular regions. Modelling of outdoor flood lighting usually proceeds directly from photometric data.

Simplified photometric values are usually given by fixture manufacturers for use in this method. This method uses the reflectance coefficients of room surfaces to model the contribution to useful illumination at the working level of the room due to light reflected from the walls and the ceiling. The Zonal Cavity Method is used as a basis for both hand, tabulated, and computer calculations. More advanced programs can include the effect of light from windows or skylights, allowing further optimization of the operating cost of the lighting installation.

The computer program will then produce a set of contour charts overlaid on the project floor plan, showing the light level to be expected at the working height. Each fixture has its location entered, and the reflectance of walls, ceiling, and floors can be entered. For larger projects or those with irregular floor plans, lighting design software can be used. Based on the positions and mounting heights of the fixtures, and their photometric characteristics, the proposed lighting layout can be checked for uniformity and quantity of illumination.

For very simple layouts in common configurations, tables and simple hand calculations can be used. This certification process is the only national examination in the lighting industry and is open not only to designers, but to lighting equipment manufacturers, electric utility employees, etc. Individuals who pass this exam become ‘Lighting Certified’ and may append the abbreviation LC to their name. The National Council on Qualifications for the Lighting Professions (NCQLP) offers the Lighting Certification Examination which tests rudimentary lighting design principles.

Those fully independent designers who meet the requirements for professional membership in the association typically append the abbreviation IALD to their name. The International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) is an organization which focuses on the advancement of lighting design education and the recognition of independent professional lighting designers. This data is typically expressed in standardized form defined by the IESNA. Manufacturers of lighting equipment publish photometric data for their products, which defines the distribution of light released by a specific luminaire.

The Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), in conjunction with organizations like ANSI and ASHRAE, publishes guidelines, standards, and handbooks that allow categorization of the illumination needs of different built environments. Lighting design requires the consideration of several design factors:. These electrical lighting systems should also consider the impacts of, and ideally be integrated with, daylighting systems. Therefore, it is important that the sciences of light production and luminaire photometrics are balanced with the artistic application of light as a medium in our built environment.

Other buildings, like casinos and theatres, are primarily concerned with enhancing the appearance and emotional impact of architecture through lighting systems. Some buildings, like warehouses and office buildings, are primarily concerned with saving money through the energy efficiency of the lighting system. Some buildings, like surgical centers and sports facilities, are primarily concerned with providing the appropriate amount of light for the associated task. Proper comprehensive lighting design requires consideration of the amount of functional light provided, the energy consumed, as well as the aesthetic impact supplied by the lighting system.

Lighting design as it applies to the built environment, also known as 'architectural lighting design', is both a science and an art. . In major cities, light pollution is of growing concern. Smaller or rural roads may not be lit.

These are a form of street furniture. In cities, streets are often lighted at night, usually by streetlights (also known as lamp-posts). Likewise, lighting can also be an important part of landscaping. Indoor lighting is a form of furnishing, and a critical part of interior design.

Modern portable lighting is typically a flashlight (also called a torch) running on batteries. Modern freestanding lamps typically have a base which holds up a light bulb which is covered by a lampshade. Indoor lighting is provided by light sources, today usually electric lights, but previously by gas, candles or oil lamps. "Natural" indoor lighting is light from the sun and the sky coming through the windows.

Lighting refers to the devices or techniques used for illumination, usually referring to electrical light sources such as lamps or flashlights. Very wide Flood. Wide Flood (W or CP62). Medium Flood (M).

Narrow Spot (NS or CP61). Very Narrow Spot (VNS or CP60). Flood (used primarily for lighting backdrops). PAR (exchangeable bulbs create varying beam angles/effects).

Prism Convex (variable beam angle). Fresnel (variable beam angle). Profile spot (various beam angles). electrical codes and building codes.

operating schedule of the building. maintenance capabilities. dirt and dust generation/accumulation. surface characteristics (reflectance, specularity).

physical size of the environment. aesthetic architectural impact. initial and continued operational costs. occupants of the environment.

tasks occurring in the environment.