Week 8 - Michael Diaz - Site Specific Blog

 

     I was able to go to the Irvine Spectrum today with two of my friends and walk around. We had a good time going out and taking pictures. It was cool that I went to it with the a critical eye as a lighting designer. I had fun critiquing stores as we walked around about the lighting and how it came off as. Below I have included several picture that demonstrate the environment of the Spectrum as a whole. Since the Christmas Christmas lights are up, I couldn't help but include images of the Christmas lit buildings. Enjoy:

     I felt that the lighting designers were trying to blend some Christmas elements into the modern, villaesque vibe of the spectrum. I felt that the little bits of thing they added, enhanced the setting and ambiance of the place a little more. I still think more things could've been included. Not necessarily lighting wise, but decor wise. It seemed a little bare for Christmas. It is late November so I'm wondering if they may add a little more Christmas things later on. I think they definitely wanted to give the touch of Christmas, while still acknowledging the modern elements. If that was the case, then they succeeded!

As for the shops there were quite a few good lighting one and a lot of others with horrible lighting. Below I have included of my favorite one and the one I disliked most.

     Junie Grey was the store that caught my eye, and the one I felt was very successful with their lighting design of it. The lighting of it was very calming and to some extent, it was dimmed. The light had a hint of warmness in it, as it was not harsh cold florescent lighting. Since this was sort of like a boutique shop, I felt that they did a great job balancing how lit it was in there so the product was still visible, but not too over exposed. I feel that it's tricky with places like this as you wanna provide lighting so that customers can see what they are buying, but you also want your lighting to be welcoming. This light gave the right vibes of what this shop was selling and the things in it complemented it very well. I must include that I loves the minimalistic look the lights were giving in this space. It truly made all the pieces in the racks stand out. 

     Foot locker was the lighting I vibed with the least. While I love this store, because of the shoes it sell. It is unecessarily to bright in there. I understand that seeing the shoe iu important, but I don't think that much light is needed in a shoes store. There is so much fluorescent litting in there that can come off as to exposed. I'm glad footlocker is a well known store and people go into it despite of the lighting, I feel that Footlocker corporations should invest in a new lighting look for their stores. The huge fluorescent lights are genuinely not it for me. They make the store look quite tacky and super bright.

     Overall, I had such a great time putting this blog together. I loved how it made go out the Irvine spectrum and take a moment and become analytical about lighting. Overall, I had a great experience with my friends who joined me too. Good time!