Lighting Matters®

Watch on YouTube Did you know the only federal lighting requirement for prisons is 20 foot-candles, with no ceiling at all? Edward Bartholomew, principal of Bartholomew Lighting and executive director of Light Justice, and Richard Muthama, lighting designer at Lam Partners and Light Justice curator, join Lisa Reed of RBLD and Avi Mor of Morlights to make the case for humane lighting. Night walks. Quality darkness. The first IES recommended practice for spaces of incarceration. And the November 4 symposium. “Why should we have a 2x4 that is pushing out 5000 lumens within a cell?”Edward Bartholomew, IALD, LC, LEED AP, IES, is Principal of Bartholomew Lighting, an award-winning architectural lighting design firm based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. With over 40 years of experience, he advances lighting design as both an architectural discipline and a means of addressing social and environmental justice. Edward is co-founder and executive director of Light Justice, an organization advocating for equitable, community-engaged lighting that supports underserved communities and building occupants. Light Justice recognizes light and darkness as essential environmental resources influencing health, safety, dignity, and belonging. Richard Muthama is a lighting designer at Lam Partners in Cambridge, MA. He is the Curator of Light Justice. He holds an MFA in Lighting Design from Parsons School of Design, where his thesis on humane lighting for prison cell sleep environments received the Parsons Lighting Design Partners Thesis Prize for Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice. Richard is Vice President of Black United in Lighting and Design (BUILD) and serves on the IES Security Committee, where he helped develop the first IES Recommended Practice for lighting spaces of incarceration. In This Episode: (00:00) Lighting for spaces of incarceration (07:38) Night walks challenge “more light equals safety” (13:53) Daylight access, power, and back-of-house lighting (21:09) No recommended practice for incarceration spaces (26:40) Outward-facing mission and the November 4 symposium (35:41) ACA’s 20 foot-candle rule and amber light (41:04) Favorite spaces: Grandmother’s living room, Kenyan daylight Would you be interested in sponsoring our podcast? Reach out to us.  Share your thoughts, comments, like and subscribe to hear all of our informative upcoming episodes! About the show:  Lighting Matters is hosted by Lisa Reed and Avi Mor. In each episode, we’ll dig deep into the meticulous process of creating lighting design for architecture, showcasing industry leaders who balance artistic creativity with technical precision, and listen as they share their successes and challenges in architectural lighting design. Resources: Light Justice https://lightjustice.org/ Symposium registration (IES events) https://ies.org/events/ Past Light Justice symposium videos https://lightjustice.org/webinars IES e-learning: Light + Justice https://elearning.ies.org/p/lightjustice Illuminating Engineering Society https://www.ies.org American Correctional Association https://www.aca.org Lam Partne...

Watch on YouTubeHow much of your product's value depends on an organization nobody credits?  IES standards aren't free, and Brienne Willcock wants the lighting industry to understand why. This episode covers the real cost of a recommended practice, IES's growing footprint (AES, NCQLP), and a client-trust framework borrowed from healthcare. Brienne is Associate Executive Director at the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), and she joins hosts Avi Mor (Morlights) and Lisa Reed (Reed Burkett Lighting Design) to trace her path from fine art and flower color-matching into IES leadership. They dig into IES's mergers with the Audio Engineering Society and NCQLP, the real cost behind every IES file, and why "dumbing it down" is a phrase Brienne refuses to use. It's a candid look at standards, advocacy, and earning trust in the built environment.Brienne Willcock is Associate Executive Director at IES, focused on Strategy, Standards, and Industry Engagement, leading content strategy across technical standards and education. Her background as an architectural lighting designer shapes how she manages collaborative programs, gathers input, and curates content. Brienne was named to Lighting Magazine's International 40 Under 40 (2017), served as past president of the Detroit IES section (2013–2015) and IES Annual Conference Committee Chair (2016–2017), and was awarded Honorary Affiliate status by the American Institute of Architects (2014). In This Episode: (00:00) Brienne's expanding role as IES Associate Executive Director (15:09) Building bridges with AIA, ASID, and allied organizations (22:10) Manufacturer funding fatigue and thirty competing lighting organizations (30:35) Six years in the red: IES's financial turnaround and advocacy (40:35) The hidden value of the IES file and standards funding (50:52) The patient advocacy model for earning client trust (58:33) Brienne's favorite illuminated space: the Detroit Institute of Arts Would you be interested in sponsoring our podcast? Reach out to us.  Share your thoughts, comments, like and subscribe to hear all of our informative upcoming episodes! About the show:  Lighting Matters is hosted by Lisa Reed and Avi Mor. In each episode, we’ll dig deep into the meticulous process of creating lighting design for architecture, showcasing industry leaders who balance artistic creativity with technical precision, and listen as they share their successes and challenges in architectural lighting design. Resources: Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) — https://www.ies.org Audio Engineering Society (AES) — https://aes2.org National Council on Qualifications for the Lighting Professions (NCQLP) — https://www.ncqlp.org National Lighting Bureau (NLB) — https://www.nlb.org Lighting Matters Podcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lighting-matters-podcast/Lighting Matters Podcast YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbLkEKnB8XgSXoeDY0T8t3w Lisa Reed  https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-j-reed-b198154/  Reed Burkett Lighting Design  http://www.rbldi.com

Watch on YouTubeCould bad lighting be quietly costing a restaurant its best customers?"People aren't buying lumens. They're buying outcomes." Jenny West, founder of West Consulting and a former workplace strategist at Knoll and CRESA, joins hosts Avi Mor of Morlights and Lisa Reed of Reed Burkett Lighting Design (RBLD). West traces her path from Gensler through corporate change management to a practice spanning retail, aviation, and art. The trio unpacks budget pressure, borrows a fee structure from Broadway theater, and insists lighting teams belong in the visioning session from day one. Why does the industry still lack a shared research voice?Jenny West is a multidisciplinary designer and artist and the founder of West Consulting, based in Colorado. A Kansas State University graduate in Interior Architecture and Product Design, she began at Gensler, where her work included the Westin Hotel and Transit Center at Denver International Airport. She spent nearly a decade at Knoll as a Global Account Director working with Fortune 100 brands including Google and Microsoft, then led Gensler's Denver consulting practice and later directed national workplace strategy as Vice President at Cresa. She holds NCIDQ and LEED AP ID+C credentials and has spoken at NeoCon, CoreNet, and IIDA. In This Episode: (00:00) Framing part two of the Illuminate@NeoCon debrief (02:07) Hunter Tremaine of QTL on crossing into architecture and design (05:13) Why color quality is the "magic sauce" of good LED (08:35) Gregory Kay of Lightology and PureEdge on educating with color temperature (12:45) Brian Keilt of Lighting Services Inc on the color and material vignette (16:44) The ArtLifting installation and its last-minute rescue (19:29) Brian Maite of ALW on reaching an audience they don't normally see (23:32) Rebranding as an architectural brand, not a lighting brand Would you be interested in sponsoring our podcast? Reach out to us.  Share your thoughts, comments, like and subscribe to hear all of our informative upcoming episodes! About the show:  Lighting Matters is hosted by Lisa Reed and Avi Mor. In each episode, we’ll dig deep into the meticulous process of creating lighting design for architecture, showcasing industry leaders who balance artistic creativity with technical precision, and listen as they share their successes and challenges in architectural lighting design. Resources: Watch the Illuminate@NeoCon panel referenced in this episode — "Lighting that Shapes Design" — featuring Avi Mor, Lisa Reed, and Jenny West: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OKOe1oX90Q Jenny West / West Consulting — official site, portfolio, and press: https://www.jennywestartist.com  IES (Illuminating Engineering Society) — www.ies.org IIDA (International Interior Design Association) — www.iida.org ASID (American Society of Interior Designers) — www.asid.org Lighting Matters Podcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lighting-matters-podcast/

Watch on YouTube Is Illuminate at NeoCon actually a design show wearing a lighting show's name?Avi Mor of Morlights and Lisa Reed of Reed Burkett Lighting Design close out their Illuminate@NeoCon debrief series with four more manufacturer conversations, recorded live on the show floor without a script. Hunter Tremaine, VP of Business Development at QTL, breaks down why the family-owned power and LED manufacturer's first-time booth landed alongside partners like Fry Reglet, and why color quality is the detail that separates a QTL fixture from a big-box tape light. Gregory Kay, CEO of Lightology and PureEdge, explains how mirrors and color-temperature demos turned window shoppers into engaged designers who wanted to understand the science, not just admire the trapeze. Brian Keilt, VP of Sales at Lighting Services Inc, a longtime sponsor of Lighting Matters, details the last-minute scramble that saved the show's ArtLifting installation, which showcases work by artists with disabilities. And Brian Maite of ALW makes the case for treating Illuminate as a design show and not a lighting show, right down to the paint colors on the booth walls. Is a lighting brand even the right label anymore? Part two of two, wrapping the Illuminate@NeoCon debrief series. In This Episode: (00:00) Framing part two of the Illuminate@NeoCon debrief (02:07) Hunter Tremaine of QTL on crossing into architecture and design (05:13) Why color quality is the "magic sauce" of good LED (08:35) Gregory Kay of Lightology and PureEdge on educating with color temperature (12:45) Brian Keilt of Lighting Services Inc on the color and material vignette (16:44) The ArtLifting installation and its last-minute rescue (19:29) Brian Maite of ALW on reaching an audience they don't normally see (23:32) Rebranding as an architectural brand, not a lighting brand Would you be interested in sponsoring our podcast? Reach out to us.  Share your thoughts, comments, like and subscribe to hear all of our informative upcoming episodes! About the show:  Lighting Matters is hosted by Lisa Reed and Avi Mor. In each episode, we’ll dig deep into the meticulous process of creating lighting design for architecture, showcasing industry leaders who balance artistic creativity with technical precision, and listen as they share their successes and challenges in architectural lighting design. Resources:QTL — qtl.lighting.com Lightology — lightology.com PureEdge Lighting — pureedgelighting.com Lighting Services Inc — lightingservicesinc.com ALW (Architectural Lighting Works) — alw-inc.com LMPG Inc. (parent company of ALW) — lmpg.com ArtLifting: https://www.artlifting.com/NeoCon 2026 Featured Panel Talk: https://youtu.be/8OKOe1oX90Q?si=rGxIhUvENzU9Es1JEducational Vignettes at NeoCon 2026: https://edisonreport.com/2026/06/0...

Watch on YouTube Avi Mor of Morlights and Lisa Reed of Reed Burkett Lighting Design pull up chairs on the Illuminate@NeoCon floor for four back-to-back manufacturer check-ins. Sage Russell, VP of Specification Sales at LumenWerx, explains why a fully custom experience room, built in just thirty days, outdrew every standard booth on the floor. Nate Jackson of Fixt Electric traces an unlikely path from Soviet-era salvage runs across Russia to launching Cym x Fixt, a new architectural line made with ceramicist Cym Warkov. Sean Gaydos, president of USAI Lighting, gets candid about the real math behind an eighty-show marketing calendar, drayage, unions, and rep support included. And Jana Owens, director of sales at Luminii and part of the team behind Morlights' recent LeSelect restaurant project in Chicago, makes the case for an underrated Midwest design community. "Bring something special, make it worth your while," one guest says. What did the lighting industry's first dedicated trade show floor actually deliver, and what still needs fixing before next year? Part one of two — episode 39 picks up the conversation with more manufacturers from the show floor.In This Episode: (00:00) Framing the Illuminate@NeoCon debrief series  (02:09) Sage Russell of LumenWerx on Illuminate's first-year impact  (07:42) Booth placement and next-year growth for exhibitors  (08:59) Nate Jackson of Cym x Fixt launches a new architectural line  (12:14) Sean Gaydos of USAI Lighting on trade show economics  (17:34) Designers backing the manufacturers who back the industry  (20:56) Jana Owens of Luminii on selling light beyond the spec sheet  (24:16) New product launches and the Midwest design community Would you be interested in sponsoring our podcast? Reach out to us.  Share your thoughts, comments, like and subscribe to hear all of our informative upcoming episodes! About the show:  Lighting Matters is hosted by Lisa Reed and Avi Mor. In each episode, we’ll dig deep into the meticulous process of creating lighting design for architecture, showcasing industry leaders who balance artistic creativity with technical precision, and listen as they share their successes and challenges in architectural lighting design. Resources:LumenWerx — https://www.lumenwerx.com Fixt Electric Co. — https://www.fixtelectric.com USAI Lighting — https://www.usailighting.com Luminii — https://www.luminii.com NeoCon 2026 Featured Panel Talk: https://youtu.be/8OKOe1oX90Q?si=rGxIhUvENzU9Es1JEducational Vignettes at NeoCon 2026: https://edisonreport.com/2026/06/08/llluminate-at-neocon-2026-built-for-designers/ Illuminate @ NeoCon 2026: https://edisonreport.com/2026/06/08/llluminate-at-neocon-2026-built-for-designers/IALD —  iald.orgNeoCon neocon.com Lighting Matters Podcast LinkedIn: