Light Sketch Series 3

Examine the fabrics under the various light sources. For each of the settings,

1. record the type of light source by sketching and/ or taking photographs
2. paste the original fabric sample in your Sketchbook.
3. record the change in color of the fabric samples by taking photographs and your subjective reactions to the appearance of colors in the different settings. Don’t use flash!

In addition, for each installation of lamp in the space, respond to the items listed below:

1. identify the purpose of the space
2. identify the purpose of lighting, including an identification of ambient, task, accent, and sparkle lighting.
3. identify the lamp/s
4. describe the effect of each light source in each space.
5. do you notice any aspect of Flynn’s subjective impressions?
6. based upon your observations and reflections, provide recommendations for improving the lighting environment.

1. Incandescent Lamp, Studio Work Space, Task Lighting, Warm Tone. Incandescent lamps has a warm tone of light which suggests an impression of anxiety. The lighting effect is minimal and direct perfect for specific task at a studio space for undertakings such as building models. Surprisingly, while the incandescent lamp emits a warm glow the surface reflection was fairly white. The light source functions well.

2. MR-16 Lamp, Pin up Space, Spot Lighting, Warm Tone. The MR-16 is a purposeful lamp which provides direct spotlight and makes it difficult to work underneath. The MR-16 provides adequate task lighting for pin up space but lighting ends abruptly towards the edges, providing no soft ambient glow. This is problematic when hanging up boards because there is not enough span of light to bleed across the whole surface, creating uneven tones of light.

3. Fluorescent Tube Lamp, Hallway Circulation, Spot Lighting, Warm Tone. Fluorescent lighting provides more of ambient lighting, its warm glow provides a visual clarity. In this instance, I believe the fixture improves the light quality very well because the perforated metal creates gaps in light and therefore breaks up the amount of glare the lamp provides. On the same token, this can cause problems visually if the gaps become too prominent on the surrounding surfaces but which also may provide dynamic enhancement.

4. LED Lamp, Portable Battery Operated so multipurpose lamp, Sparkle Light, Ambient Glow, Cool Tone, The LED which is the cooler color tone shows lower luminance levels by itself, however if it was set up with more than just one of these LED’s it would create a sense of enchantment. The light is very minimal and only functional in the event of a blackout or extreme lack of other luminance sources. LED lamps are only bright when there are an abundance of bulbs. This lamp consists of only 3 bulbs and therefore would fall under sparkle lighting. The light is very soothing but it would require many repetitions of this source to provide any real visual enhancement; however, this could be part of the lamp’s charm.

Light Sketch Series 2

Light sketch Series 3

Illuminance Measurement

1. Measure the horizontal illuminance (fc) at your workstation using the GE pocket light meter. Take several measurements over the work area.

1.4 31.3 Footcandles

Convert the readings to footcandles: (1 footcandle = 10.76 lux or 10 lux for convenience)

14 313 Lux

2. Would you have a good idea of the overall illumination in this room if you were to average everyone's readings?

Estimating the Reflectance of a Surface

3. Measure the reflectance of a piece of paper. Again using the pocket light meter, measure the light falling onto a 8.5 x 11 inch piece of plain white paper. Reverse the position of the meter so that the cell points toward the surface of the paper, move the cell (white area) of the meter away from the surface 1-2 inches and take a second reading.

Reflectance = Reflected Light/Incident Light

Reflectance = .8 / 2.0 = 4

Reflectance % = 40%

Estimating the Transmittance of a Material

4. Measure the transmittance of a piece of paper. Take a light meter reading on your work area. Leaving the meter in place, next, place the material to be tested on the light meter cell, then take a second reading.

Transmittance = Reading With Paper/Reading Without Paper

Transmittance = 7.8 / 40 = .195

Transmittance % = 19.5%

Use the lightmeters now to measure illuminance levels on horizontal and vertical surfaces in any one space in the Gatewood Studio Arts Building with your group. Find the reflectances of all surfaces. Draw isolux diagrams. Note the time and date on your sketch. Include in your sketchbook and blog by September 29.

Lighting Model + Board

Lighting Diagrams

4th Floor Nighttime

4th Floor Daytime (11am) : Natural and Artificial

Impact of Light on Health and Welfare

Justin McNair

The Interrelations of Light and Health

The human body is constantly bombarded with fluctuations between light and darkness so it is no stretch for me to believe that light would have beneficiary and deficient qualities on human health. SAD is a depression disorder caused by inadequate exposure to light, and I believe there are at least two theories as to why. For one, humans have to methods of judging light, our biological, circadian clock that is controlled by light patterns and the clock we control through standard time. I think it is reasonable to say that these two ‘standards’ of time sometimes clash, especially during the transition periods in the Spring and Fall. This creates confusion for our bodies, resulting in negative health affects. Besides the clash of circadian time and standard time, there are seasonal intensities to light patterns. In the summer there are long periods of natural light while in the winter there are short periods of natural light. This extension of polar intensities can create biological anxiety resulting in depression. Another consideration is to formulate a healthy balance between natural light and artificial alternatives because people who have been exposed primarily to artificial lighting, without easy access to day lighting, experience increased cancer rates. Furthermore, artificial sources don’t provide the wide spectrum of light patterns, as does daylight while also not assimilating the same benefits such as vitamin D gain. Our circadian rhythm relies on light patterns, hormones, and receptor cells that monitor the light patterns. When environments promote intensities in levels of light to dark ratios our bodies are thrown off balance because our bodies are stimulated by bright, white light. In the winter, we go through bright white light withdrawals and therefore cognitive activation slows and we become drowsy and depressed. In the summer, there may actually be too much stimulate light and we become cognitively sapped of energy than then leads to depression. This means that light effected health problems do exist and that it is a part of our biological being; it is consequently the work of designers and that must provide physiological alleviation through medicine and construction and a myriad of other professions.