Nike Lighting Workshop

“I didn’t realise that lighting could create such a difference” – Nike Visual Merchandiser

At Basis Lighting, we often discuss quality and temperature of light. This is a vital consideration in many environments but can have a dramatic effect in retail lighting. We were contacted by Nike to prepare a lighting presentation and workshop for their UK visual merchandising teams. They wanted us to demonstrate how light could be used to achieve maximum impact on their displays by using the highest quality of light in the best arrangement. Nike already knew how to attract attention with their branding and merchandising, but we wanted to illustrate how excellent retail lighting could considerably enhance displays and make their products truly shine.

Before the team arrived we used their existing light fittings and re-lit the store showing some common lighting pitfalls. This was followed by a presentation on lighting types, colours and power rating and how these could be altered to dramatically enhance merchandise. For example, using different combinations of wattage and LED results in different colour temperatures, ‘cool’ lights would reflect on blues and blacks and warmer lights make reds and oranges ‘pop’. By altering the temperature of the light, the saturation of colour of a product could be brought out, making it appear sharper and more vivid.

With their new found knowledge we then challenged the visual merchandisers and asked them to review our arrangement, to see whether they could spot where lighting wasn’t as effective and what they would suggest to improve it. Using their answers, we showed examples of various Basis light fittings that could be used to greater effect, relighting their displays to enhance their products.

The whole team were amazed by the effect lighting could have on the way their merchandise is viewed. We received great comments like “Now I have a better understanding about lighting a whole store” and “I’ll go back to my store and start looking at changing the lighting”.

We left the visual merchandisers with our four top tips for good retail lighting and the best way to implement it in a retail environment.

1. Use the correct colour temperature for the merchandise (cooler lights for cooler colours like blues or blacks, warmer light to bring out reds and oranges.)
2. Ensure that the correct beam angle is used to highlight the visual display.
3. Always direct the beam of light, where possible, away from the customer flow.
4. Use different power settings and beam angles to a dramatic lighting scheme. Placing the same lamp everywhere produces a flat appearance.

To view the products we suggested for Nike, click on the links below.

Lights used: