Lighting Matters

Episode 34: The Unregulated Profession: Why Lighting Design Needs Licensing Now

Why does the profession that shapes how humans experience every built space they occupy still have no regulatory recognition — anywhere in the world? Dawn Brown, CLD, Design IALD, Lighting Designer at Ontario Aesthetic Lighting Design (OALD), joins Avi and Lisa for a direct look at the future of the profession. The conversation covers the persistent divide between interior designers and lighting designers, Dawn's proposal to regulate lighting design in Ontario, and the science case for circadian and wellness lighting. "If we know there's something we can do to prevent harm, why not just do it?" Engineering addresses the conscious mind. Lighting design influences the subconscious. That distinction, Dawn argues, is why professional recognition is long overdue. In This Episode: * (00:00) Dawn Brown's path from architecture to lighting design * (09:05) Interior designers and the lighting design disconnect * (14:29) Engineering serves the conscious mind, design serves the subconscious * (20:49) Proposing lighting design regulation to Ontario's Parliament * (27:39) IES recommended practices, professional liability, and malpractice * (38:10) Why CLDs must lead wellness and circadian design * (42:28) Circadian lighting adoption: barriers and the next generation * (50:03) Reaching interior designers and elevating the profession * (56:01) The boardroom moment that made Dawn a lighting designer * Would you be interested in sponsoring our podcast? Reach out to us.  * Share your thoughts, comments, like and subscribe to hear all of our informative upcoming episodes! About the show:  Lighting Matters is hosted by Lisa Reed and Avi Mor. In each episode, we’ll dig deep into the meticulous process of creating lighting design for architecture, showcasing industry leaders who balance artistic creativity with technical precision, and listen as they share their successes and challenges in architectural lighting design. Resources: Dawn Brown LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawn-brown-cld-design-iald-03404aa9/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawn-brown-cld-design-iald-03404aa9/]Lighting Matters Podcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lighting-matters-podcast/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/lighting-matters-podcast/]Lighting Matters Podcast YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbLkEKnB8XgSXoeDY0T8t3w [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbLkEKnB8XgSXoeDY0T8t3w] Lisa Reed  https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-j-reed-b198154/  [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-j-reed-b198154/] Reed Burkett Lighting Design  http://www.rbldi.com [http://www.rbldi.com/] Avraham Mor  https://www.linkedin.com/in/avrahammor/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/avrahammor/] Morlights  https://www.morlights.com/ [https://www.morlights.com/]

Episode 33: Profit Leaking Out the Floor: Inside Lighting's Broken Spec Process

Lighting's go-to-market model is one of the most complex in any product category. Does anyone outside the industry actually understand that—and does it matter if they don't? Amy Bonder came to Luminii from the Fortune 500—Black & Decker, Advance Auto Parts, Bridgestone—and found that nothing prepares you for lighting's go-to-market complexity. In this episode, hosts Avi Mor (Morlights) and Lisa Reed (Reed Burkett Lighting Design) dig into what's broken. One agent partner touched a single project 178 times. The conversation moves through data fragmentation, spec integrity, and a harder question: why does this industry still fail to develop its own leaders? "Better is better," Amy says. Take the nuggets and move. In This Episode: * (00:00) Amy Bonder's path from Fortune 500 to the lighting industry * (06:55) Why lighting's go-to-market model is unlike anything else * (14:24) The real cost of a fragmented specification process * (23:53) Solving the data and software gap across the value chain * (32:50) Spec integrity and the lighting designer's role in reducing friction * (37:31) Personal branding and leadership development for design firms * (44:08) Feedback as a leadership tool: building stronger teams * (50:26) The business fundamentals design school never teaches * (55:15) Interns, AI, and developing the next generation * Would you be interested in sponsoring our podcast? Reach out to us.  * Share your thoughts, comments, like and subscribe to hear all of our informative upcoming episodes! About the show:  Lighting Matters is hosted by Lisa Reed and Avi Mor. In each episode, we’ll dig deep into the meticulous process of creating lighting design for architecture, showcasing industry leaders who balance artistic creativity with technical precision, and listen as they share their successes and challenges in architectural lighting design. Resources: Amy Bonder LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-bonder-3b23b47/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-bonder-3b23b47/]Lighting Matters Podcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lighting-matters-podcast/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/lighting-matters-podcast/]Lighting Matters Podcast YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbLkEKnB8XgSXoeDY0T8t3w [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbLkEKnB8XgSXoeDY0T8t3w] Lisa Reed  https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-j-reed-b198154/  [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-j-reed-b198154/] Reed Burkett Lighting Design  http://www.rbldi.com [http://www.rbldi.com/] Avraham Mor  https://www.linkedin.com/in/avrahammor/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/avrahammor/] Morlights  https://www.morlights.com/ [https://www.morlights.com/]

Episode 32: Ron Unterreiner on Cash Flow, Minority Contractors, and the 90-Day Problem

What if the fastest way to bring a project in under budget was just to pay people on time? Ron Unterreiner—retired design-build executive, founder of the People networking initiative and WBEDC, and advisor to the Rise CDFI—joins hosts Avi Mor of Morlights and Lisa Reed of Reed Burkett Lighting Design for a direct conversation about what's quietly breaking the AEC payment chain. The discussion is anchored in three realities: 30-day payment terms aren't prompt, they're a slow disaster for small firms; minority and women-owned contractors are turning to predatory lenders at 82% interest to bridge the gap; and lighting design is a specification decision, not an optional add-on. "There is no such thing as cash flow anymore," Ron says flatly. "It does not flow." So who has the power to change it—and why aren't they? In This Episode: * (00:00) Ron Unterreiner on 32 years in design-build and minority contractor equity work * (08:24) How design and construction disciplines communicate—and where lighting fits in * (11:21) Who actually controls which fixtures end up on a job site * (18:59) The 90-day payment gap bankrupting AEC's smallest firms * (25:27) Why large firms absorb slow payment while small firms can't survive it * (32:10) What prompt payment actually looks like: lessons from HBE Corporation * (38:13) Industry organizations, antitrust fears, and stalled collective action * (43:05) The financial case owners aren't hearing: prompt payment costs less * (50:52) Prioritizing clients who pay: a survival strategy for small design firms * (51:46) Ron's defining lighting experience: Pope John XXIII at St. Peter's Basilica * (57:39) Lighting design as a specification decision, not a budget line to eliminate * Would you be interested in sponsoring our podcast? Reach out to us.  * Share your thoughts, comments, like and subscribe to hear all of our informative upcoming episodes! About the show:  Lighting Matters is hosted by Lisa Reed and Avi Mor. In each episode, we’ll dig deep into the meticulous process of creating lighting design for architecture, showcasing industry leaders who balance artistic creativity with technical precision, and listen as they share their successes and challenges in architectural lighting design. Resources: Ron Unterreiner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ron-unterreiner-49a549184/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ron-unterreiner-49a549184/] IALD (International Association of Lighting Designers): https://www.iald.org [https://www.iald.org]Lighting Matters Podcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lighting-matters-podcast/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/lighting-matters-podcast/]Lighting Matters Podcast YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbLkEKnB8XgSXoeDY0T8t3w [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbLkEKnB8XgSXoeDY0T8t3w] Lisa Reed  https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-j-reed-b198154/  [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-j-reed-b198154/] Reed Burkett Lighting Design  http://www.rbldi.com [http://www.rbldi.com/] Avraham Mor  https://www.linkedin.com/in/avrahammor/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/avrahammor/] Morlights  https://www.morlights.com/ [https://www.morlights.com/]

Episode 31: From Frustration to Strategy: Lighting Perception, Neocon, and What Comes Next

Structural engineers are licensed. Architects are licensed. Why isn't lighting? Hosts Avi Mor of Morlights and Lisa Reed of Reed Burkett Lighting Design go unscripted. It starts with a hotel ballroom running 20 footcandles at a dinner event, broken dimmers, and no one who knew how to operate them. From that comes a pointed question: why is proper lighting still treated as a luxury? The specification market sits at roughly 3–5% of total luminaires sold in the U.S. Lisa and Avi dig into licensure, the IES partnership with America by Design, and whether Neocon's Illuminated show can move that number. In This Episode: * (00:00) Season preview and upcoming guest lineup * (06:18) Hotel ballroom lighting failure and the luxury perception problem * (12:04) Neocon's Illuminated show: lighting in front of 50,000 designers * (17:41) When lighting work becomes how you see everything * (21:03) KU Campanile project and plans for the season ahead * Would you be interested in sponsoring our podcast? Reach out to us.  * Share your thoughts, comments, like and subscribe to hear all of our informative upcoming episodes! About the show:  Lighting Matters is hosted by Lisa Reed and Avi Mor. In each episode, we’ll dig deep into the meticulous process of creating lighting design for architecture, showcasing industry leaders who balance artistic creativity with technical precision, and listen as they share their successes and challenges in architectural lighting design. Resources: IES (Illuminating Engineering Society): https://www.ies.org  [https://www.ies.org] Neocon / Illuminated: https://www.neocon.com [https://www.neocon.com] The Merchandise Mart, Chicago: https://www.themart.com [https://www.themart.com] IALD (International Association of Lighting Designers): https://www.iald.org [https://www.iald.org]Lighting Matters Podcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lighting-matters-podcast/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/lighting-matters-podcast/]Lighting Matters Podcast YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbLkEKnB8XgSXoeDY0T8t3w [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbLkEKnB8XgSXoeDY0T8t3w] Lisa Reed  https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-j-reed-b198154/  [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-j-reed-b198154/] Reed Burkett Lighting Design  http://www.rbldi.com [http://www.rbldi.com/] Avraham Mor  https://www.linkedin.com/in/avrahammor/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/avrahammor/] Morlights  https://www.morlights.com/ [https://www.morlights.com/]

Episode 30: Ten Designers, Three Questions, One Profession

Ten experienced lighting designers walk into a conference. Can they agree on what they actually do for a living? "What do you do?" For lighting designers, it's a deceptively hard question to answer well. At the IALD Enlighten Americas 2025 conference in Tucson, hosts Avraham Mor (Morlights) and Lisa Reed (Reed Burkett Lighting Design) posed three pointed questions to ten industry veterans — Chip Israel (Lighting Design Alliance, A Salas O'Brien Company) Aram Ebben (EXP) Francesca Bastianini (Sighte Studio) Ron Kurtz (Dark Light Design) Randy Burkett (RBLD) Giulio Pedota (Schuler Shook) Steven Rosen (Available Light) Laura Arroyo (FLOU Lighting Design) Gonzalo Saez (SV Lighting Design) Nancy Clanton (Clanton & Associates) The conversation cuts to the core of professional identity, the real distinction from electrical contractors, and whether a unified global vocabulary for the profession is even achievable. Then ChatGPT weighs in — sort of. In This Episode:  * (00:00) Welcome and IALD Enlighten Americas 2025 conference recap * (06:47) How do you describe lighting design to a non-technical audience? * (10:48) Lighting designer vs. electrical contractor: where expertise diverges * (14:31) Can the profession agree on a shared vocabulary? * (20:44) ChatGPT synthesizes responses from eight designers * (26:30) Debating the definition — and who it actually needs to reach * Would you be interested in sponsoring our podcast? Reach out to us.  * Share your thoughts, comments, like and subscribe to hear all of our informative upcoming episodes! About the show:  Lighting Matters is hosted by Lisa Reed and Avi Mor. In each episode, we’ll dig deep into the meticulous process of creating lighting design for architecture, showcasing industry leaders who balance artistic creativity with technical precision, and listen as they share their successes and challenges in architectural lighting design. Resources: IALD: https://iald.org/Conferences/EA25 [https://iald.org/Conferences/EA25]Lighting Matters Podcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lighting-matters-podcast/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/lighting-matters-podcast/]Lighting Matters Podcast YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbLkEKnB8XgSXoeDY0T8t3w [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbLkEKnB8XgSXoeDY0T8t3w] Lisa Reed  https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-j-reed-b198154/  [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-j-reed-b198154/] Reed Burkett Lighting Design  http://www.rbldi.com [http://www.rbldi.com/] Avraham Mor  https://www.linkedin.com/in/avrahammor/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/avrahammor/] Morlights  https://www.morlights.com/ [https://www.morlights.com/]