Member of the Month

August 2022

Linnaea Tillett Ph.D.
Founder | Principal, Tillett Lighting Design Associates

Q: How did you first get started in the lighting industry?
When I was first exposed to the practice of lighting design it seemed to me to be a rather curious profession. As I am a rather curious person, I thought there might be a fit.

I began my career in the 1970’s as a theatrical lighting designer, which taught me how the control of the angle and color of light can support a narrative arc. That training continues to inform my lighting approach.

In the 80’s I moved out of the ‘black box’ to practice private residential lighting. Here I was schooled in how deeply personal our responses to lighting can be. Why, for example, would one client spend whole evenings in a dim, twilight-filled room with just a single painting glowing in the background while another would sit with every single light on, illuminating every corner of the room? Answering these questions, clarified for me that the practice of residential lighting design required an understanding of subjective needs from light as well as the technical and practical aspects.

In the 90’s I turned my attention to the lighting of outdoor public space in underserved communities. As I could not directly apply my private lighting chops to the unique challenges of outdoor public lighting, I returned to university to get a PHD in environmental psychology. It was a direct, though rather time consuming, way to acquire an understanding of how public lighting, if it were sensitive to the local social and psychological context, could do more than simply providing a sense of safety and security.

Since graduating in 2000, I have had a rather robust career lighting public and private exterior spaces. I have been surrounded by talented associates, all of us take a distinctly ‘less is more’ approach. In the last 8 years we have given special attention to the design of habitat-sensitive lighting. Public lighting is designed for humans, but it does not need to displace or harm the species we share our world with.

Q: How did you first get involved in the IESNYC?
I joined the IESNYC in 1983 or there about. I had just incorporated Tillett Lighting Design and it was important to me to join a broad-based professional lighting organization.  

Q: How do you see your role as a member of the IESNYC?
I have been active as a judge for the Lumen Awards, and I encourage my studio members to attend IESNYC events, stay up to date with all IES publications and build relationships with manufacturers and other colleagues through the local organization.

Q: In your opinion, what are the best assets of the IESNYC?
That it brings together all the players in the industry so we can understand each other’s needs and challenges. And, as Mariana G. Figueiro wrote in her January profile, “There is a center of gravity for the lighting industry in NYC that is unlike any other in the country, probably even globally.”