Tips for planning your event lighting

Whatever type of event you are planning, if you want to really impress your guests, and create a successful, memorable occasion, then the right lighting is a must. But what is the right lighting? Well, this will depend on your event itself, and the type of event you are hosting. But working with a professional lighting design team to plan and implement an effective lighting design strategy is the best way to make your event a success. So is planning really all that important? And how exactly can you plan your lighting? Well, here at Light Design Ltd, we are leading lighting design and equipment hire professionals. And these are our tips for planning your event lighting.

Planning any event involves making a number of decisions, including:

  • the type of lighting to use
  • the colour of the lighting
  • the lighting effects and when to implement them

But before you can decide on these factors, there are two questions you must tackle first. And these are:

  • What is the purpose of your lighting?
  • Is your lighting part of a larger design theme?

What is the purpose of your lighting?

When planning your event lighting, its important to consider the purpose or role of the actual lighting itself. This can range from:

Providing ambient light at the right level- this is basic lighting that will provide comfortable lighting for your guests. For some events, like meetings and conferences, this may be all that is required of your lighting. While for other events, this will only be part of the overall design.

Using lighting for practical purposes- lighting for practical purpose does include basic ambient lighting, but it can also mean using lighting as a tool to direct guests towards entrances and exits, illuminating staircases, and installing LED screens for information and display. Deciding on the type of practical applications you would like your lighting to serve is a good way to begin the light design process.

Using lighting for decorative purposes- lighting for decorative purposes can be a very effective way to create visual interest across your venue. This could include installing a video wall to liven up blank bare spaces, or using colour wash lighting to support the theme of your event. 

Creating a full scale lighting feature- a full scale lighting feature is something that will draw the eye and capture the attention of your audience. This could include GOBO projection, video walls, or uplighting, but whatever you choose, this lighting will need to be able to really stand out and become a stunning feature of your event.

Lighting to fit with your overall design

Once you have decided on the purpose of your lighting, and the way you will use lighting for different purposes, you will need to consider your overall design theme. Whatever the theme of your event, your decor and lighting can work together to create a stunning end result that will really impress you guests. This could include:

colour lighting that sticks to the theme- if you have a colour theme, using lighting in this colour can help you colour wash your event, and create features too. It’s a lot easier than painting the entire venue too.

lighting decor features- if you are using decor and set pieces, you might want to illuminate these in a certain way, to really draw attention and cement the theme of the event. 

For professional lighting design to transform your next event, get in touch with the team today, here at Light Design Ltd.