Professional Lighting Design

Street Lighting design (S38, S278 and non-adoptable)

At it does Lighting Ltd., we specialise in providing high-quality street lighting design for house builders and developers across the UK. Our expertise extends to both adoptable and non-adoptable lighting schemes, designed to meet British Standards such as BS5489-1 and BS12464, as well as other relevant industry standards. What sets us apart is our commitment to offering a service that goes beyond a simple lighting layout. We work closely with you, your team, and other consultants, ensuring that every aspect of the lighting design is fully coordinated with the wider project. Our early-stage involvement allows us to review and optimise layouts, identifying any potential issues before they arise, and ensuring that your lighting can be easily implemented.

Our team’s close collaboration with Local Planning Authorities ensures that the lighting specification is accurate from the outset, supporting the smooth progression of your project and enabling adoption when the time comes. We are the only accredited Secured by Design (SBD) designers in the UK, ensuring that your designs are secure and meet all necessary regulations. In addition, we prioritise the balance between design, ecology, and the environment, integrating these elements seamlessly into every project. Our designs also comply with CDM2015 regulations and include comprehensive risk assessments. Choosing a qualified and competent lighting designer, like us, ensures that your designs are recognised by local authorities, avoiding costly delays and complications that can arise when relying on manufacturers for free designs that may not meet adoption standards. With us, you can be confident that your lighting design will be not only compliant but also functional and adoptable from day one.

Lighting Impact Assessments (LIAs)

Lighting Impact Assessments (LIA) and Lighting Environmental Statements (EIA) are key components in ensuring that your project meets both planning and environmental requirements. We understand that these early-stage documents must be tailored to fit your specific needs, whether that means providing a high-level overview with suggested mitigation measures or including a more detailed preliminary design. The latter allows for actual lighting results to be demonstrated, providing clarity to planning authorities and enabling ecologists to assess the precise impact once the lighting is in place.

More information:
Download – Lighting impact assessments

Exterior and Landscape lighting design

When it comes to exterior and landscape lighting, it’s about more than just meeting British and industry standards, it’s about creating an atmosphere. Lighting has the power to transform a space, enhancing the beauty of its surroundings while ensuring safety and security. Whether it’s illuminating a rooftop garden, a balcony with stunning city views, or a traditional landscape, our approach blends aesthetics with practicality. We work closely with architects to ensure our designs harmonise with the overall vision for the space, creating a seamless connection between daytime and night time experiences.

Lighting plays a crucial role in how we perceive a landscape after dark, highlighting key features, adding layers of texture, and evoking a sense of magic. We’re mindful of the environment, ensuring that our designs respect and protect the ecology of the space, whether it’s a private garden or a public area. Our experience spans a range of projects, from residential rooftops to a housing developments green space, and we take pride in delivering designs that are not only compliant with regulations but also elevate the space, making it an enjoyable and immersive environment for everyone to experience.

Interior Lighting Design

Interior lighting design goes beyond meeting standards and compliance, it’s about creating healthy, functional, and dynamic spaces. We understand that lighting needs to adapt to the specific functions of each room, from offices to meeting rooms, breakout spaces, and beyond. Daylight interaction, the use of artificial light, and how each space is used plays an integral part in shaping the experience. With nearly all of us spending the majority of our time indoors, it’s more important than ever to ensure that our indoor lighting supports our well-being. LED lighting, while energy-efficient, can be detrimental to cell health if not balanced correctly, especially when it comes to blue-based LEDs with unbalanced red. A well-designed space not only provides functional lighting but also enhances employee wellness, reduces fatigue, provides cell support at a biological level, resulting in happier, more productive people. Who wouldn’t want that?

White Paper:
“Lighting Design for Health, Wellbeing and Quality of Light, A Holistic Approach to Integrative Lighting
“A White Paper from the IALD European Regulatory Affairs Working Group

Workgroup:
Kevan Shaw, FIALD, CLD, C. Eng MILP,
Ioannis Ladopoulos, Ph.D
Chiara Carucci, Design IALD
Alexia Gkika
Lorraine Calcott, IEng FILP IALD CLD MSLL MCIBSE MBSS

With Assistance of:
Virginie Gabel, Marijke Gordijn, Roger Sexton, et.al. The Good Light Group.

More information:
Download – 2025 IALD Whitepaper; Lighting Design for Health

Our designs are rooted in research and development (R&D), ensuring we stay at the cutting edge of lighting technology and how it affects human and ecology health. By considering factors like employee age, eye responses, shift work, and the impact of lighting on circadian rhythms (sleep/wake cycles), we can create lighting schemes that promote healthy eyes, support mitochondria and improve rest/sleep. We also think beyond just UGR (Unified Glare Rating) when addressing glare. No one wants to endure a day at the computer with uncomfortable overhead lighting causing headaches, eye strain and frustration.

Our designs focus on creating comfortable, adaptable lighting systems that support both energy efficiency and the long-term health of your workforce. With the right balance of spectrum, lighting intensity, suitable control systems, and the potential for future flexibility, we ensure that every space is optimised for both the present and the future, with employee well-being always at the forefront.

High End residential lighting design

Hospitals and Healthcare

Lighting in healthcare environments is not just a functional necessity, it plays a vital role in supporting the health and well-being of patients, staff, and visitors. At it does Lighting Ltd., we specialise in designing spectrally specific lighting systems that cater to the unique needs of healthcare settings, from neonatal units to palliative care. Research has shown that exposure to daylight or circadian lighting can significantly improve health outcomes, enhancing recovery times and supporting the natural biological rhythms of patients. Studies, including those by Prof. Glen Jeffrey and Dr. Robert Fosbury, have highlighted the importance of light exposure in accelerating recovery and improving sleep patterns, particularly for those with dementia or other chronic conditions. By incorporating spectrally specific lighting that mimics natural daylight, we help foster environments where health and healing are at the forefront.

The benefits of proper lighting extend to all stages of life, from babies being born to patients in palliative care. Spectrally enriched lighting, particularly in the red end of the spectrum, is vital for mitochondrial health, yet blue-enriched LEDs, which are often overused in artificial lighting, can disrupt circadian rhythms and negatively impact health. Our designs incorporate the latest research, ensuring that light levels are balanced, particularly in the latter part of the day, to support the body’s natural rhythms. These principles are not only beneficial for patients but also for the healthcare staff, doctors, nurses, and support staff, who spend long hours in these environments. Just as patients deserve spaces that promote health, so too do those who care for them. Our designs create healthier, more supportive spaces for everyone, helping to improve not just recovery times but overall wellness in healthcare environments.

Offices, Education and Retail

Lighting in offices, educational institutions, and retail spaces has the power to influence more than just visibility, it can shape productivity, engagement, and the overall experience. At it does Lighting Ltd., we design lighting solutions that cater to the specific needs of each environment, ensuring that every space is illuminated in a way that supports its purpose. In office settings, the right lighting enhances focus, reduces eye strain, and improves employee wellness. For educational spaces, effective lighting not only improves concentration but also supports cognitive function, helping students and teachers perform at their best. In retail environments, lighting design plays a key role in creating an inviting atmosphere, drawing attention to products, and enhancing the shopping experience.

Our approach is grounded in an understanding of how lighting can influence human behaviour and health. We incorporate spectrally specific lighting to support circadian rhythms, ensuring that office workers, students, and retail staff are energised and focused during the day, while encouraging relaxation and restfulness in the evening. We also consider the practical aspects of each space, from energy-efficient lighting and glare reduction to the integration of smart control systems that allow flexibility and adaptability. Whether it’s a corporate office, a classroom, or a high-end retail store, our lighting designs create environments that support well-being, enhance performance, and make a lasting impression on all who use them.

Lighting design for ecology comfort

Lighting isn’t just about brightening a space, it’s about creating a balance between human comfort and ecological harmony. At it does Lighting Ltd., we take a unique approach to lighting design, ensuring that artificial lighting works in tandem with the natural environment. Whether it’s ensuring that lighting systems don’t disrupt nocturnal wildlife or creating designs that help preserve the local ecosystem, we bring together the best of both worlds. Our focus on ecology comfort means that we carefully consider the needs of wildlife, integrating solutions that minimise light pollution and protect species such as bats and insects, all while maintaining functional, aesthetic lighting for human spaces.

Our designs are rooted in the belief that lighting should enhance both people’s lives and the natural environment. With nearly four decades of experience, we’ve become experts in blending sustainability with creativity. By working closely with ecologists and planning authorities, we ensure our lighting strategies meet the needs of the environment and human users alike. From residential developments to public spaces, we deliver lighting solutions that not only look stunning but also contribute positively to the ecology, proving that great design can support both nature and people, in perfect harmony.

What customers think of us

Frequently Asked Questions – Lighting Design

What illuminance and uniformity parameters are recommended for street lighting?

Inadequate illuminance levels, flicker or spectral peaks in artificial lighting can exacerbate visual fatigue, trigger headaches, and disrupt circadian entrainment, potentially leading to chronic sleep disorders. Retail spaces can mitigate these effects by specifying high-frequency electronic ballasts and  flicker-free drivers, employing higher colour rendering index (CRI ≥ 90) sources to reduce spectral gaps, and incorporating circadian-supportive dynamic lighting (e.g. cooler, blue-enriched light during the morning transitioning to warmer red enriched tones later in the day).

How can exterior lighting schemes mitigate ecological impacts and light pollution?

Research shows that blue-rich LED spectra disproportionately disturb wildlife reducing bat activity by up to 90 per cent in some receptors and disrupt human circadian rhythms. Strategies to mitigate these effects include:

• Specifying warmer CCTs (≤ 3 000 K) or filtered spectra that limit short-wave emissions.
• Employing daylight-responsive photocell controls to curtail unnecessary operation.
• Adhering to environmental lighting zones (e.g. ILP’s Environmental zones) to tailor obtrusive light limitations.
• Using shields and louvres to shape the light and reduce vertical illuminance.

Which standards and guidance underpin high-quality exterior lighting design?

Key references include:

• CIBSE Lighting Guide 6: comprehensive best practice for the exterior environment.
• BS 5489: specification of road lighting luminance and illuminance parameters.
• BS EN 13201: international roadway lighting standards.
• ILP Environmental Zones: guidance on permitted upward light ratios, obtrusive light and ecological lighting limits.

Why is maintenance planning critical for long-term performance?

Exterior luminaires endure harsh conditions: dirt build-up, thermal cycling and component ageing all diminish output over time. A maintenance regime, regular cleaning, lamp and driver replacement, optical inspections ensure maintained illuminance values remain within specification, safeguarding both safety and visual quality throughout the installation’s lifespan.

What will I learn on the exterior street, landscape and amenity lighting course?

it does Lighting Ltd’s bespoke, research-led courses have been developed by Lorraine Calcott, IEng FILP IALD CLD MSLL MCIBSE MBSS which equip you to:

• Understand the application of CIBSE LG 6 and BS 5489/EN 13201 guidance in real-world projects.
• Understand the significance of spectrally specific lighting for ecological and human health.
• How to ensure your projects can eliminate glare, trespass and sky-glow.
• Implement smart controls and robust maintenance protocols, ensuring the implanted designs stay relevant through their lifetime.
• Delegates leave knowing more about the importance of competent lighting design, how it can improve their projects and ultimately how to identify and use lighting professionals’ services to enhance outcomes, saving time and money. Enrol today to transform your knowhow and lead the way to professionally lit projects.

What distinguishes street lighting, landscape lighting and amenity lighting?

Street lighting principally ensures safety and wayfinding along highways, footpaths and public thoroughfares through consistent, glare-controlled illuminance. Landscape lighting highlights topography, planting and architectural features to create visual interest and depth in gardens, parks and plazas. Amenity lighting, often pedestrian scale, provides comfortable, inviting illumination in communal spaces such as playgrounds, seating areas and civic squares. Each category balances technical requirements (security, uniformity, illuminance, glare) with contextual goals (aesthetics, ecology, identity) as outlined in CIBSE Lighting Guide 6.

How can optical control minimise glare, light trespass and sky-glow?

Precision optics, shields and rear light reduction louvres direct light only where needed, reducing upward light and intrusive glare. Effective optical control not only improves visual comfort for road users and residents, but also limits sky-glow, preserving night-sky visibility and reducing ecological disruption.

What role does spectral power distribution play in exterior lighting?

Spectrally specific lighting tailored to biological photoreceptor sensitivity allows us to support human and ecology wellbeing whilst protecting ecosystems. By selecting luminaires whose spectral power distributions suppress peak emissions around 450 to 480nm (the most ecologically disruptive) while maintaining colour rendering, designers can balance visual performance with environmental responsibility.

How can energy efficiency be maximised in exterior schemes?

Beyond high-efficacy luminaires, energy savings derived from intelligent control. Dimming profiles, presence detection (where appropriate) and adaptive scheduling can slash operating hours and wattages without compromising safety. Dark Sky International reports that shielding alone can prevent 30 per cent energy waste, translating to substantial carbon and cost reductions. 

What design strategies create appealing amenity and landscape lighting?

Successful amenity and landscape schemes combine:

• Accent lighting to draw attention to focal points (trees, sculptures) ecology permitting.
• Lighting from different angles and wall-washing to sculpt textures and volumes. Improving vertical illumination levels adds depth of field and potentially reduces the need for higher horizontal lighting levels. 
• Colour contrast to guide movement and enrich night-time ambience.
• Lighting for Women, Girls and vulnerable people to ensure all users are appropriately supported.
• These approaches foster engaging, accessible outdoor spaces that encourage evening use and bolster community wellbeing.