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 some great comments – “I now have a much better understanding about lighting a whole store” and “I’m going to go straight back to my store and start changing the lighting”.

We left the visual merchandisers with our four top tips for good 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.