Week 7 - João Ducci - Site Specific (Irvine Spectrum Center)

 

I chose to post two different pictures to talk about the overall environment of the Spectrum. I can tell they were going for a festive, holiday vibe, but because they went all out around the Christmas tree and Ferris wheel, the rest of the place felt pretty underwhelming. Especially because throughout the Spectrum there are many dark pathways like this one. The stores, trees and walls are lit, but the pathways are very dark which gives the place a creepy feeling. Not to mention how disorienting it is when you're walking through these dark areas and the periphery is so bright. If they had taken some string Christmas lights and hung them across these areas, it would tie the whole place together a bit more, and maybe even pull some of the crowd away from the heavily themed/decorated area (which was pretty packed).

A store I found to be successful in their lighting was LIP LAB. Though it didn't have a lot of people in it, I loved the ambience of the place and it caught my eye right away. The huge circular light that sits over the beauty "bar" pulls your focus right to it and makes it the center-piece of the store. I'm pretty sure the counter-top itself was also lit from underneath. The lighting around there is bright, like you want beauty lights to be, but then the rest of the store is still nicely lit, without taking away from this "center-piece." The shelves on the walls are also lit, which takes your eyes exactly where it's important, the products. I also noticed that though the light itself is pretty much all white, the colors of the walls, ceiling and floor, as well as the decor help bounce this colorful glow all over the store that catches your attention even from the outside. 

In comparison to LIP LAB, ROYAL BEE fails drastically. It not only lacks color, decor and intentional lighting, I honestly couldn't tell what services this store provided or products it sold. Going minimal on the color palette and decor could've worked if their lighting was more intentional, but there are only two rows of down lights and nothing else. This emphasizes how narrow and tall the store is and brings more attention to how bare the walls are, especially after a certain height. Products are also not highlighted by creative displays or specific lighting. Overall, completely uninteresting and unappealing.