HIRING A FIRM VS A FREELANCER

Once the project scope and scale are solidified, determining who to hire should be relatively straightforward.

Lighting design firms/practices will handle a number of rotating projects, giving their designers exposure to a variety of project categories. Lighting design practices are usually contracted by architects, interior designers or the building’s owners. As an organization with a team, lighting design firms will generally have the staff to cover a wide range of project types and scales. Firms can provide continuity on long-construction projects or preserve aesthetics across national accounts.

Freelance lighting designers may be a good option for: singular corporate spaces; stand alone restaurants; projects that are piece-meal; or small-scale projects. Lighting design firms may opt to employ freelance designers on a project or task basis. Architects, interior designers, electrical engineers, lighting sales agencies, or lighting manufacturers may contract project work with freelance lighting designers for a number of tasks, including: lighting design for project size and turn-around; value engineering or lighting calculations for technical designs; or rendering/modeling.

In addition to the flexibility and scale that lighting design firms provide, they will have greater resources. This includes their own documentation set, access to a wide range of software programs and a rotating stock of lighting samples.