Keep THIS in Mind While Designing the Lighting Plan of Your Office

The environment of an office plays a deeper role in impacting the productivity of employees than we give it credit for. How optimal is the design of your office varies not just with infrastructural design, but also with its lighting plan. Studies have shown that our health, both physical and mental, as well as our performance at work vary dynamically with a change in the overall ambience of our workplace, chiefly determined by its placement and choice of lights.

Now that we have established the role that a good lighting plan plays in an office, let’s understand the two different aspects that pertain to lighting; the qualitative aspect which circles around aesthetics, and the quantitative aspect which essentially refers to the functional or engineering aspect of light. To put it simply, we must look at the amount of light to get a task done, as well as the overall mood or ambience that the said light offers to the whole space.

Use Natural Light

Don’t we all naturally feel happier on a bright, sunny day as opposed to a dark, gloomy one? Lack of exposure to natural light, as per some studies, have shown to affect a worker’s mood and leaves them fatigued sooner. It is important to ensure that your office is designed in a way to let in ample natural light and make employees feel more active, as well as save up on the cost of artificial light that would otherwise have to compensate for the lack of sun. 

Office Lighting 101 – Planning, Positioning, Temperature

Improper lighting causes strain that not only impairs an employee’s mood and productivity for the day, but induces fatigue, burnout and adverse health issues in the long-run. Considering the fast-paced lifestyle most modern office cultures are privy to, we spend more time at work than at home. Hence, the environment we are exposed to for the better half of our day is responsible for our health, or the lack of it.

Different activities demand different types of lighting, so start with segregating and designating functionalities to different areas of your office. Bay areas, workstations, cabins should definitely have well thought-out sources of task lighting. Walkways and breakout areas can create a more stimulating and dynamic space with lower level ambient lighting. 

Breakout areas, especially, can be explored to showcase quirky and experimental lighting designs and patterns that work as accents to its decor and help set a fun and cheery mood.

Meeting rooms can boast oversized pendant lights hung above a large table to demarcate a space where people get together. Spotlights should dot corridors to guide people along a path. Receptions or lobby rooms may have to opt for eye-catchy fixtures that create a lasting first-impression.

The positioning of your office lights are of extreme importance, that goes without saying. No light should reflect directly into the eyes from screens or surfaces. Instead of opting for uniform illumination across the whole office, one can experiment with letting light bounce off of walls and ceilings to create the illusion of a larger space.

It helps to break the monotony by playing with varying temperatures of colour while lighting an office space. Cool white light is bright and helps to concentrate and brainstorm, while warm tones work well in break rooms and help create a relaxing atmosphere.

Energy Efficient Lighting – LED

An optimum office lighting installation is one that strikes the perfect balance between enhanced workers’ productivity and reduced electricity bills. Not only are LEDs more energy efficient, they are also long lasting and can drastically help you save up on overheads. In fact, LEDs are anti-glare and flicker free which help reduce work-induced headaches and in turn, boosts productivity. Be it an LED panel or a combination of linear lighting design, LEDs are the most versatile when it comes to style and economically feasible option to get the best out of your lighting design plan.

At Magik, we have a wide range of office solutions ranging from lamps, ceiling lights, panel lights to spotlights, battens and downlights that you can choose from. You can explore all our solutions here.

Now that you have a fair idea of the basics that you need to keep in mind while figuring your office lighting plan, we hope you are able to choose the best LED lighting solutions that meet your functional as well aesthetic needs. 

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