This weekend I visited Irvine Spectrum Center. I found the lighting design particularly interesting since they recently added some of their holiday season decor. From my past experience of Irvine Spectrum, the lighting design tends to lean very warm-toned and modern, giving a high-quality feel and making guests feel like they are in a very nice, inviting, and expensive environment. I feel that the intent was to give the space a high-end yet welcoming feel, not only encouraging guests to shop there, but also to encourage stores of value to bring more properties there. Even if all the stores there are not necessarily 'high-end', shoppers want to feel like they are shopping somewhere classy, so this lighting helps to add to their experience. Rather than going very traditionally colorful with their holiday decor, they keep even the festive bits very sleek and modern looking, with all mono-toned warm light. Additionally, some of the lighting draws attention to the Southern California setting, with palm trees being accentuated with string lights (as pictured in the first photo).
Store 1: Kevin Jewelers
A store that I think had unsuccessful overall lighting was Kevin Jewelers. I think the intent was to have high visibility in the store so as to draw potential customers to the sparkly jewelry. However, there are just too many different types of lighting in the store, and it makes it sort of difficult to know where to look. The store has 3 types of lighting on the ceiling (recess lights, track lights, and hanging lamps), as well as bright bars of cool-toned LED lights within the jewelry cases. The store is also filled with glass cases and screens, so the light feels even more reflected. It overall feels washed out, and the warm and cool tones aren't working together in the design much.
Store 2: Chilli Beans
A store that I think had very successful overall lighting was Chilli Beans, a store that specializes in sunglasses. Ironically, the two stores had some similar lighting designs, with 2 types of ceiling light and a mix of warm and cool tones. However, Chilli Beans really utilized the 2 different tones of lighting to highlight different parts of the store. The cool-toned lights reflect well on the white walls, making the store look sleek and high-end. Meanwhile, there are small lights positioned over each pair of sunglasses on the wall, and the contrasted warm light makes them really pop. Your eyes in the store are immediately drawn to the merchandise, rather than the entirety of the store.
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