Week 7- Emily- Irvine Spectrum

I visited the Irvine Spectrum for this site specific blog. The overall feeling was bright, inviting, and warm. The entire space feels carefully maintained and curated, especially in the way that lighting was integrated with architectural and landscaping designs. In this first picture, the  lighting gives enough sweeping ground cover to see where you are walking- a big contribution to the safety of shoppers. There are blue lights that complement oranges in the building design and define several zones in this area. The lighting in the palm tree zone accents their verticality and grandeur, while also drawing our attention to lit pathways on the ground. The blue lights also help in lighting up the archway to another section of the mall- guiding shoppers to the next destination. I think the lighting here is very supportive of the goal. With light, the designer has created a safe environment, that encourages movement through the mall.

This second image is of a shoe store specializing in collectible sneakers. I think this store did a good job of balancing the brightness of the white lights, necessary to properly display the color of the shoes, with the cool toned square in the center. The blue light has two functions: to give shoppers eyes a break from the harsh display lights, and to encourage the flow of movement around the perimeter of the store-where their featured products are displayed.

The last image is of a sleep number store. While I think it was a nice idea to light a mattress store with dim and cozy lighting, it also makes shoppers unsure if they are open or not. We are used to bright lights as a signal of being open for business, and dim lights as being closed. So while it makes sense in the context of mattresses, the dim lighting does is not effective as a retail strategy.