Randall Whitehead wrote in his book "Lighting Design Sourcebook": "Light should be part of the design." Your achievements and interests in illumination are the best reflect these words. Can you describe then how light is arranged to become part of the design?

Greg Kay: Lighting is not part of the design, it is a design in itself. Mitch Collin, other lighting designer, said: "How important is light? So important, that without it you can not see anything". Think about, when you get up in the morning on a cloudy day, how do you feel? And how do you feel on a sunny day? Light reaches all your emotions. When I first became interested in lighting, I wondered, how could light influence our emotions even more than music. After all, without light you will not see a beautiful picture or the best design of your architect. Therefore simply light is everything. However, people do not appreciate light, since it is always present. Not everybody can also appreciate the impression that light creates. For that reason lighting designer should be very patient and have a lot of passion, so he does not get discouraged, since even though everybody needs light and use it every day, most people know nothing about it.
Notice; when you enter a room, your eyes automatically search for something brighter. Therefore lightning designers must be aware of what draws people's attention and of the kind of lighting they use. If the light is pointed, for instance on the ceiling, it is flat and it does not drop any shadows. On the other hand, sunlight creates all the shadows. The designer must decide what is better for the room.
In lighting design, it is important that you do not necessary need to put 300 light bulbs in the middle of you room- and that is it. Nobody does that. The whole idea is to pay attention to details in the room and to underline them. In order to stress them properly they should be arranged not after the electricians, interior designer or interior architect visit, but should be part of the design from the very beginning.

-It means that, lighting requires work of both the interior designers and lighting designers?

GK: Exactly. Especially as a lighting designer each day, I come across technical novelties. It is an exciting feeling to be up to date with all these inventions, new technology is challenging. That is why I travel the world and often bring new products along with me.
Interior designers concentrate on their job, on new building materials, new fabrics etc. Few of them have a general knowledge of lighting design, but even they will never be up to date as someone who deals with it exclusively. You cannot be a specialist in every field. It is like going to a doctor- if you have a cold you go to a general practitioner, but if you are more seriously ill, you must visit a specialist. So that very problem is lighting. Thanks to light you can sort of lead the person, point out what you would like him to notice, when he enters the room.

-So, it is sort of like marking out certain elements on the wall with the help of colors?

GK: Yes. Besides that simple light also has different colors. Typical daylight is blue, but we cannot see it. However, if you have a white wall and you illuminate it with red light- you will automatically see a color, which creates the impression of warmth. If you use a blue color- it will feel cold. Besides it, if you use cool white light in a blue room, the light will create such vibrations. However, if you use blue or white light on a wall in warm color, it simply will not look interesting.

-You are suggesting a warm color of the wall- warm light, cool colored wall-cool color light?

GK: Yes. The designers use the Kelvin scale to determine the color of the light. I will explain it briefly: in the past Kelvin conducted an experiment. He heated a metal rod until it began to change colors. First, it became red, and as it became hotter- it turned orange, then yellow, white, blue and violet. Based on the temperature that the changes occurred, a Kelvin scale was established. 1500 degrees signifies color yellow, 2000- whiter, 3000-even whiter, 5400- blue, like sunlight. This scale is the key to the colors of the light. That is why lighting designers often say e.g.: "I need to use 5400 degrees Kelvin" -and everything is clear.

-It is a kind of slang...?

GK: Lighting designers face different circumstances. Illusions using light are mainly used in the disco business. However, generally the illusion creates your own interior space, which you enter. What does this illusion create? It generates few layers of light. What does that mean? First, we look at a room or space. I observe what attract my eyes, where they gaze. I observe what architectural details draw my attention. If for instance there is a library in the room, I wonder how to illuminate it. If I want to draw the attention on the flowers on table- how should I concentrate light on it, so that it is stressed. First, I like to underlie something, choose first thing, which I want to draw my attention e.g. a painting, picture, a tree in the corner...
I also determine the setup of the room; let us say that in a particular place, someone will watch TV and he would not want the light to reflect in the screen-neither artificial nor natural light entering the room through the window. It must be agreed, where the e.g. the sofa, table will be, decide on the place for resting, relaxing etc. Therefore, you must decide where the main light will be directed and which elements are worth emphasizing. For all of the places a separate light can be used, turned on in one place (with one remote control), which creates specific atmosphere and emphasizes each activity.
Of course, the design depends on the budget and how much you are willing to spend. However, this is a challenge for the designer to create the right lighting in the room, regardless of the budget.

-What kind of lighting should be used in our homes?

GK: As far as for e.g. living room is concerned, you must firstly specify if it is a more traditional or modern room. Is it a new construction or remodeling? Of course, every home is different, but the living room is usually the place where you watch TV, meet your guests, it is a place for entertainment and for resting, there could also be a library. Therefore, this room might be used for different purposes. As I have already mentioned, it is important what you want to see when you enter the room, what you want to emphasize (you can use low voltage light).
The type of the light depends on what the room will be used for. As a result, light is adapted to different activities. Light should make people happy. You also must know your tools. You must also establish if you want to emphasize for e.g. walls, corners, architectural elements in the room etc. Whereas in the bedroom it is important whether your husband likes to read at night, do we get up at night, do we have children who need to go to the washroom at night, and so on. It is all-important. A good lighting designer should consider our daily routine.

-What are the new trends in lighting designing?

GK: It is a challenge for all manufacturers of modern lighting. However, the modern style is definitely getting warmer. Brown color is beginning to be used, although nickel is still popular. In addition, warmer shades of fabrics and materials used in interior designing are becoming more common. Even the colors of Sworowski crystals have warmer shades of amber and sky-blue.
Therefore minimalism, simplicity and at the same time elegance are still fashionable. However warmer shades and different geometrical shapes are appearing. Moreover, as in modern style interior designing, there is no single way; the same goes for lighting design. In addition, there should not be one otherwise, it would be boring. It all depends on your personal approach. Every place is different, just as every person is.

-Thank you for the interview.