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DETAILS / INTERNATIONAL LIGHTING DESIGN SURVEY
WORKING HARDER FOR YOUR DOLLAR
This year’s International Lighting Design Survey research unveils a mixed bag with more projects being won but less revenue being generated. However, it is clear that the role of the lighting designer is being cemented and this can only be good news for the future...
Now in its third year, the survey of 50 light- ing designers was able to extrapilate some interesting analysis due to the comparative data that is now available. In fact, the 50 has now turned to 46 due to two companies not responding and two not now operating (one being taken over by a larger organisa- tion so comparative results were not possi- ble; and one having been wound down with its work taken over by a newly established practice - again comparative results were not possible). Plans to expand the sample are under way for next year’s survey. Depending on who we talked to, the light- ing design profession has either turned the corner or it is in serious trouble. In actual fact, the answer often depended on which region(s) you practice in, how big your firm is and how diverse your work is. Those that have a diverse portfolio now appear to be reaping the benefits whereas those that have, for whatever reason, remained in a single market have, for the most part, suf- fered a downturn. Paul Traynor’s (Principal of UK firm Light Bureau) response was typical of those who had a good year: “For us, 2009 was awful, 2010 was better and 2011 has been excep- tional. In the depths of the downturn, the hospitality and residential sectors thank- fully remained firm and in the recovering months (particularly 2011) the commercial sector seemed to return strongly. I think that the fact that lighting designers stayed busy during this recession is testament to our increased value and credibility since the last major recession which saw demand for our services all but dry up.” Tapio Rosenius of Lighting Design Collective echoes the importance of diversity with a sorry tale of the state of the profession in Spain: “The market in Spain is in dire states. 46% of the registered architects are unemployed. There are very few proper projects on the go or starting. Lighting design practices are mainly one man bands. We are now the second biggest in the coun-
try and we only started two and a half years ago! Only those with international work are surviving. The lighting design profes- sion however is clearly developing here and receiving more exposure. Many academic courses have been established as well as APDI (Spain’s lighting design association).” What is clear from the results is that the lighting design practices have taken on more work in 2011 (an average of 43 per practice compared to 41 in 2010) but these projects have, on the whole, been smaller and have earned less revenue. This is borne out by Jim Youngston of Ga- bler-Youngston in the USA: “I see a lot more requests for proposals, which is encourag- ing, but am finding that most of our new work is on a very rapid schedule and that larger, longer term, ‘pipeline filling’ proj- ects are still few and far between.” Average gross revenue per practice has dropped from US$1,508,000 in 2010 to US$1,475,533. Bearing in mind that, in 2009, this figure stood at US$1,600,000, we can see that there has been a steady, if not dramatic, drop in turnover since the survey began. Couple this with an actual increase in staff (from just over 13 per practice in 2010 to just over 14 per practice in 2011) and we can see that revenue per head has fallen more sharply from US$115,143 in 2010 to US$104,583 in 2011. One may be tempted to apply the basic equation of turnover divided by number of projects to find out the average project fee but there are obviously other factors that need to be applied. However, as an exercise this results in a basic average fee per project of US$34,315 in 2011 compared to US$36,780 in 2010. Based on the number of employees and projects completed in 2011, the average number of projects per employee is three.
Financial constraints caused by more de- sign practices (whether bona fide lighting designers or not) with highly competitive fees, manufacturers and architectural /
What the lighting designers had to say...
“I see lighting legislation as an opportunity to be more creative. Lighting legislation is not a problem. It has only pushed us to design in a way that has never been seen before. Design without constraints usually lacks the spark of creativity that comes from overcoming obstacles.” Paul Gregory, Focus Lighting, USA
“In Italy there is a huge problem in the recognition of the role of the lighting designer. Unfortunately, most companies that produce luminaires give free lighting ‘design’ executed by their technical departments just to sell their luminaires, taking work and respect from the lighting designer. These projects are only technical - they have no artistic and creative content. There should be collaboration between lighting designers and manufacturers to have real lighting design projects.” Francesco Storaro, Italy
“Stay current, stay creative and stay global. This is how you stay successful in my opinion.” Ted Ferreira, CD+M Lighting Design Group, USA, China & Middle East
“The demand for lighting design services in India is growing but we face an uphill task in educating the clients against strong commerce driven information that aligns their thoughts in predetermined directions. Major challenges also exist in the lack of trained and skilled installation teams.” Kapil Surlakar, LIGHT@WORK Design Consultants, India
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